S
S
Starter Story
Login Join Starter Story
Source
Researched profile. Starter Story's AI research system compiled this page from 114 public sources — the founder didn't write it. Automated research can misread or misattribute a source, so treat figures as best-effort. How this works →
Starter Story logo

How Starter Story Makes Money

Media platform showcasing founder success stories.

How did Starter Story monetize?

Summary of the sourced claims below

Starter Story monetizes primarily through recurring subscriptions, sponsorships, and affiliate marketing. Sponsorships account for around 57% of the revenue, with companies like Klaviyo paying to sponsor the website and newsletter. Affiliate marketing contributes about 5% of the revenue through commissions on affiliate links. Starter Story also offers courses and mentorship as part of its subscription tiers, and sells standalone courses separately.

Revenue sources

6 sources · grouped by how Starter Story makes money

  • Sponsorships & partnerships

    · 6 mentions · 6 sources
    “I monetize the newsletter with a sponsorship, and I start making some money from affiliate revenue...we start to talk about the potential of Klaviyo sponsoring the newsletter. And then he comes to me with a number, $12,000.”
    high
    Show 5 more quotes
    “Pat left his job at Google in 2019 when Starter Story was generating about $8,000 per month from a combination of newsletter sponsorships and a premium membership at $29 per month.”
    high
    “A few months after launching Starter Story, Walls was approached by an email marketing company called Klaviyo, and they soon struck a deal that positioned the company as the exclusive sponsor of Starter Story.”
    high
    “Sponsorships account for a slight majority of the revenue Starter Story brings in, around 57%. In March of 2019, Pat said Klaviyo started paying $4k per month, or $48k per year to sponsor the whole website and newsletter.”
    high
    “At one point, he was selling upward of $50k a month in sponsorships.”
    high
    “Years ago, we relied 100% on sponsorships and ad revenue.”
    high

  • Recurring subscriptions

    · 5 mentions · 5 sources
    “premium membership at $29 per month. The premium tier gave subscribers access to the full database of case studies, financial data, and downloadable resources ... Pat raised the premium price to $39 per month (later $33 per month billed annually) and saw subscription revenue climb rapidly.”
    high
    Show 4 more quotes
    “Premium memberships (~38% of revenue): Members pay a yearly fee and get unlimited access to all of our case studies, databases, and other benefits”
    high
    “Starter Story has a similar business model to what the New York Times has for its content... There are 3 pricing tiers for the subscription, with the highest one including their courses and mentorship for your business.”
    medium
    “it is profitable and generates a 'seven-figure' revenue, according to founder Patrick Walls.”
    medium
    “he doubled down on publishing, hired carefully and built out a subscription product. Revenue climbed past six figures, then hit seven. Starter Story crossed the $1 million mark in annual revenue and kept going, all while staying bootstrapped. A growing vault of thousands of founder interviews tu...”
    medium

  • Advertising revenue

    · 4 mentions · 4 sources
    “Advertising and sponsorships (~57% of revenue): Companies pay us to advertise their product in our newsletter and our website.”
    high
    Show 3 more quotes
    “We would put the ad at the top of every page, and then we put a native ad in every newsletter.”
    high
    “The business is run by a team of three full-time staff: Walls, his sister and chief operating officer Sam, and producer Gus Tiffer.”
    medium
    “Within two years, Starter Story surpassed $1 million in annual revenue.”
    high

  • Affiliate / referral commissions

    · 3 mentions · 3 sources
    “I monetize the newsletter with a sponsorship, and I start making some money from affiliate revenue...I'm making money through some affiliate marketing.”
    high
    Show 2 more quotes
    “Affiliate revenue (~5% of revenue): We get paid when a reader clicks an affiliate link on our website and signs up for something or makes a purchase”
    high
    “Many of these are affiliate links, and Starter Story gets paid a commission when these are used. Affiliate marketing accounts for around 5% of revenue.”
    high

  • One-time / lifetime deals

    · 2 mentions · 2 sources
    “he also switched from recurring subscriptions to a one-time payment that gave customers permanent access to his content archives.”
    high
    Show 1 more quote
    “Today, Starter Story has... more than 10,000 paid members...”
    high

  • Course / training sales

    · 1 mention
    “Pat also created the Lean SEO course that walks through how he grew the website to over 1M monthly visitors from search alone. He sells that as a standalone product that can be bought without having an annual subscription. Right now it’s $249, but it looks like they’re increasing the price to $44...”
    high

How 1,917 businesses make money

Of businesses with mapped revenue sources, the share using each — Starter Story’s highlighted.
  • Recurring subscriptions
    55% ◀
  • Services & consulting
    29%
  • Physical products
    28%
  • One-time / lifetime deals
    24% ◀
  • Affiliate / referral commissions
    16% ◀
  • Course / training sales
    13% ◀
  • Add-ons & upsells
    10%
  • Usage-based fees
    10%
  • Sponsorships & partnerships
    9% ◀
  • Advertising revenue
    9% ◀
  • Marketplace commissions
    6%
  • Licensing
    2%
  • Donations & tips
    2%
  • Setup / onboarding fees
    2%
S
Starter Story
Support Privacy Terms