Doing Well From Doing Good: A Conversation with Substack Co-Founder Hamish McKenzie

On a cultural vision for Substack, expanding representation for writers, and living without fear of failure

Intimate conversations with our greatest heart-centered minds.

When I started Beyond, Hamish McKenzie was a background figure who I vaguely understood was one of the founders of Substack. Notes didn’t exist then, so there wasn’t much opportunity for interaction with him. But then The Active Voice launched and, for me, Hamish moved front and center as he began interviewing writers from George Saunders to Patti Smith to Cheryl Strayed.

A good interview is hard to pull off. And week after week, Hamish offers smart, well researched, often funny, and wise conversations. I was impressed. I reached out to tell him as much; we exchanged a few emails, and the next thing you know, I was interviewing Hamish.

Of course, in addition to the interviews, in 2017, Hamish did indeed cofound Substack alongside Chris Best and Jairaj Sethi. He believes a better world for writers is possible and is doing his darnedest to manifest that. And that’s the reason we’re all here together in this moment. So, thank you, Hamish!

Born in New Zealand, Hamish currently lives in San Francisco. A former journalist with a focus on technology and social issues, he also worked in the communications department at Tesla. He wrote Insane Mode: How Elon Musk's Tesla Sparked an Electric Revolution to End the Age of Oil.

Hamish’s Advice on Craft

Don’t miss Hamish discussing how kicking away the ladder and writing with courage is the difference between a good and great Substack. Plus, how to pull off a good interview by outlining a thesis, three acts, and conclusion.

I hope you enjoy our conversation as much as I did.

I love your interview style. Interviewers tend to be naturally curious. What drives your curiosity?

I'm very interested in people. I'm an extrovert and enjoy conversation. I like digging into people's minds and trying to figure out why they are like they are. I especially like speaking with writers. Stories are so important, they drive everything. The universe is basically math and stories... and the stories are the more interesting part most of the time.

Are there certain things you're trying to figure out about people?

The writers who I talk to for The Active Voice have a particular perspective that is outside the band of normal. Throughout my career in media, I’ve seen what happens to people who put themselves out there. I've seen what it was like before social media. I've seen what it's like during the frothy times of Twitter and the intensity of the pandemic. I'm concerned by it. The culture created by the last ten years of social media is contributing to a sticky situation for society. The spell needs to be broken. Substack is an attempt to create a better system that ultimately leads to better outcomes for culture.

I don’t know if people realize how hard it is to pull off a good interview. Can you talk us through your process a bit, both the prep work and the interview itself?