Welcome to the Friday free edition of How They Make Money.
If youβre not a Premium subscriber, hereβs what you missed this month:
Upgrade to Premium to unlock Tuesday posts and our entire library.
This is HUGE! Our community just reached 100,000 subscribers! π
Word of mouth and reader recommendations have been the main engines behind this growth. So, this success is yours. π
Whether you subscribe to Premium, read our free issues on Fridays, or interact with any of our posts on social media, I can't thank you enough for your support! π
For more than a decade, Iβve been a French expat in Silicon Valley.
When I worked in corporate finance, I had to explain complex concepts to busy executives. That's the inspiration behind this newsletter.
Businesses are complex, and youβre busy.
A picture is worth a thousand words, and my visuals and insights are here to give you the clarity to understand what would otherwise require hours of research in a few minutes.
Hitting a new milestone is the opportunity to reflect on our journey and whatβs next. Check the poll at the end to participate in and impact our future content.
Today at a glance:
How we got here.
This community.
A special thank you.
What else is brewing?
1. How we got here
I started How They Make Money as a business-focused newsletter for the curious investor and visual thinker. My goal is to share visual and data-based insights about:
π° Investing.
π± Technology.
π Company earnings.
The writing process has helped me understand companies better than I would ever have otherwise. Teaching is the best way to learn. I usually spend two days on a single article before creating visuals and sharing my insights.
I found out that writing what would delight me as a reader has often been the right editorial choice.
The newsletter's rapid growth started shortly after its launch in October 2022. At the time, I tweeted some of my visuals using a popular gaming meme.
This tweet started gathering millions of views, and the newsletter blew up.
So did my blood pressure. π
For 18 months, Iβve been on a mission to deliver high-quality business breakdowns and visuals to delight this fast-growing community. Two articles per week, one free on Fridays and one for Premium members on Tuesdays.
Some of the most popular posts include:
Business breakdowns
βοΈ Amazon: Day 1
π¦ Uber: In the Driverβs Seat
π§ Spotify: Let The Music Play
π Airbnb: Off The Beaten Path
π Disney: Creative Destruction
π₯ Instacart: IPO Key Takeaways
π LVMH: The Wolf in Cashmere
π¦ Alibaba: The Great Unbundling
π¦ CrowdStrike: AI-Powered Security
Earnings Visuals
Every month, I share roll-ups with visuals of the significant recent earnings.
We only share a small portion of our visuals on social media.
π Earnings Visuals monthly reports now include over 200 companies, and the list keeps growing. Recent additions include Adidas, Dell, Ferrari, and Reddit.
Our company coverage has doubled in the past year, and I prioritize requests from the community.
If you havenβt already done so, I encourage you to reply to this email and let me know a company youβd like me to visualize or cover in the newsletter.
I factor all replies into my selection process.
Investing Hub
The Investing Hub series of free articles focuses on visualizing investing concepts:
How To Value A Stock: The Ultimate Guide
Stock Buybacks & Dividends Explained.
Stock-Based Compensation Explained.
How to Analyze Financial Statements.
How Many Stocks Should You Own?
And more!
These have been very popular, and I plan to add more to this library.
2. This community
Our shared passion for visual insights is what makes this community unique.
If you are here, you're probably like me, a visual learner. And you're just as fascinated as I am by dissecting how companies operate.
Here are some fun stats on our community:
How They Make Money is read across 196 countries. π
46% of readers live in the United States.
I receive messages every day from you and read them all.
Here are a few that brightened my day in the past 18 months that Iβm sharing with their permission:
I would not be able to keep the lights on without the support from Premium subscribers. So, thank you from the bottom of my heart.
I have focused on content creation and havenβt actively looked for sponsors. If you have a product that could add value to this community and would like to apply to sponsor us in Q2 and beyond, reach out here.
3. A special thank you
Iβm passionate about investing, and Iβve been sharing my stock portfolio online for years.
Since 2018, I run App Economy Portfolio, one of the most popular investing groups hosted by Seeking Alpha.
Itβs a community of hundreds of long-term-focused investors where I share how I invest my money in real time. In short, I use the insights from my business research to put my money to work and share it alongside my visuals.
I have something special for you as a token of appreciation for being among the first 100,000 readers of How They Make Money.
β³ For the next 3 days only, when you subscribe to App Economy Portfolio on the annual plan, you'll get How They Make Money Premium for free for a year.
4. What else is brewing?
This is just the beginning!
My vision is for How They Make Money to be the go-to resource for understanding the business models and financials of the world's most innovative companies.
With your continued support, we'll break down even more companies and bring you the insights you need without the fluff.
YouTube Channel
In March 2023, I launched a YouTube Channel with my friend Stephanie. We deliver business breakdowns and simplify complex tech topics, combining my corporate finance background and her tech expertise.
We are still tiny but thrilled to see this channel grow alongside the newsletter. Show us some love by subscribing! You'll get access to our videos as they are released.
What to expect?
My research evolves with your feedback. What topics or companies should we explore next? Let me hear it! Donβt hesitate to hit reply and share your ideas.
100,000 subscribers is fantastic! But you know what's even more exciting? All the business breakdowns, visuals, and investment wisdom we're about to unleash together! Buckle up, the best is yet to come.
Letβs continue to build this together. Thank you for reading, subscribing, and sharing. Your support means the world to me.
And remember, you get special rewards for sharing this newsletter with your friends. Iβll send you our popular report π 12 Global Titans in 28 Visuals when you get 3 people to subscribe using your unique referral link.
Thatβs it for today!
Stay healthy and invest on!
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Author's Note (Bertrand here ππΌ): The views and opinions expressed in this newsletter are solely my own and should not be considered financial advice or any other organization's views.
Hi, I just subscribed on seeking alpha but not yet received the substackβs access. Itβs April 2 in my time zone but still in the last day of the special offer in yours, right? Please let me know if itβs too late. Thanks.
Congratulations! Really impressive and a strong motivation for everyone!