Successful startup founders share many traits. Among them is a passionate curiosity for new ideas that helps them remain competitive. And while the internet has evolved enough to accommodate any idea you ponder on, many will agree that it’s extremely challenging to sift the real value from the noise.
For this reason, we compiled a list with some of the best startup newsletters to subscribe to. We are not affiliated with any of the authors behind these newsletters, and the selection derived from the value they have offered to our individual startup journeys.
So whether you are looking to improve your systems, create a better work-life balance, or stay up to date with relevant trends, it is best to read some of the older editions and describe whether subscribing is in your best interest. Remember, the value you can extract from email newsletters is not measured in quantity, but quality.
Having said that, let’s dig into our list of best newsletters for entrepreneurs.
1. Tim Ferriss Newsletter
Tim Ferriss is an avid researcher, “life hacker”, and successful entrepreneur that loves to share his expertise with his millions of followers. He is mostly known for his self-help bestsellers, which include the 4-hour Workweek, Tools of Titans, Tribe of Mentors, and others.
And in addition to his podcast, Ferris sends out a weekly newsletter called “5-Bullet-Friday”, which discusses his creative interests.
It’s as simple as it sounds - the newsletter contains the 5 most interesting things that he’s come across in the past week. These bullet points can cover a wide array of subjects - a book, a quote, a new artist, or even a gadget that has made an impact on his life.
The compact nature and directness of the newsletter make it one of the best pieces of content that founders can read to expose themselves to new information. This information is largely related to extracurricular activities, which touch upon the human nature of the reader instead of their everlasting quest to improve work performance.
By joining Tim’s newsletter, subscribers also enjoy exclusive offers and discounts to a wide range of tech, books, and other products that are promoted within his emails. In some cases, however, these apply only to US residents.
2. Atomic Habits Newsletter
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James Clear is best known as the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller, Atomic Habits. This book has become widely successful thanks to the way it implements small changes in everyday life to ultimately reap great benefits over time.
To “decode” this mindset, Clear writes a minimalistic newsletter each Friday, known as the “3-2-1 Newsletter”. What makes it one of the best startup newsletters is the predictable and compact structure the email follows. It always contains:
- 3 ideas from the author that emphasize his “one step at a time” attitude.
- 2 quotes from famous people with relevant thoughts to contemporary events.
- 1 question you should be asking yourself, where the answer should lead you one step further towards self-improvement.
3-2-1 is one of the most popular newsletters for founders that enjoy the process of self-reflection. It’s short and concise to accommodate busy founders, and it always leads the reader to ask how this information can apply to (and improve) their life.
3. SEOFOMO Newsletter
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Aleyda Solis is a world-renown SEO strategist and consultant that has continuously allowed startups to organically approach this ever-evolving marketing process. Having won the European Search Personality of the Year in 2018 award (among many others), Solis’ track record is nothing short of impressive.
The “#SEOFOMO!” newsletter that she sends weekly is an absolute goldmine on everything related to SEO. It’s organized in several key categories and can assist founders in improving the most important marketing channel for their startup.
- The most coveted job positions in the sphere.
- The best SEO influencers to follow on Twitter.
- A bunch of free SEO tools to help you optimize your work process.
- There’s even a reward program if you refer some of your friends.
All in all, #SEOFOMO! may not be specifically oriented towards founders but is certainly one of the best startup newsletters on this list.
4. The Profile Newsletter
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Authored by Polina Marinova Pompliano, this weekly newsletter features insight into some of the most interesting profiles in the world of business, sports, entertainment, and more.
Using her 5 years of experience at FORTUNE, writing the magazine’s leading dealmaking newsletter, Marinova created the “Profile Newsletter”. Her main goal is to provide interesting and valuable information by deconstructing the biography and habits of high-performance individuals.
To this end, she curates hundreds of “profiles” and conducts interviews with eminent industry leaders. She then compiles this information into action-packed newsletters that founders can skim through during their lunch break.
Being listed on Substack, this newsletter follows a Freemium model. The free plan is a great start, as it delivers one weekly email. That said if you want to gain access to the full archive of the Profile newsletter you will need to pay a small fee of $50 per year.
All in all, it’s one of the best startup newsletters appreciated by famous fans such as Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and a great read to accompany your Monday morning coffee.
Big mahalo 🙏🏾🌺 to @polina_marinova for her Profile Dossier on my 56th favorite subject - myself.
— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) December 24, 2020
I really enjoyed this read and think you all will too - especially the parts about my arrests as a teen for theft, fighting and check fraud 🤦🏽♂️
Enjoy 👇🏾👇🏾https://t.co/o6BPP0oUbb
5. AngelList weekly
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AngelList Weekly is the newsletter from and for the largest startup community in the world.
Founded in 2010 by serial entrepreneur Naval Ravikant (who also has a newsletter that you should check out), AngelList helps startups find talent and access funding from angel investors. As such, their newsletter is focused on providing a learning platform for startup enthusiasts from all backgrounds.
Each week, the staff browses hundreds of websites and brings you one interesting and relevant topic, while highlighting top products, services, and jobs in the space. The newsletter also contains a summary with some of the latest funding and acquisition news, providing a great follow-up on current events and investments.
6. CBInsights
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While most of the best startup newsletters send weekly emails, CBInsights delivers an email to your inbox daily.
This company focuses on a detailed deconstruction of business news, instead of simply sharing relevant pieces of content. For founders that like relevant and research-backed data, CBInsights ticks all the boxes.
Furthermore, the content is written in simple jargon, so as to not confuse the average reader with complicated tech terms.
Finally, ranging from blockchain to healthcare, each piece of content is accompanied by beautiful and pertinent infographics. That, paired with the engaging writing, makes CBInsights one of the best startup newsletters in this post.
7. Other Valleys
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Other Valleys is a website that tracks emerging markets’ innovation, technology, business, and creativity. As such, the information it covers tries to break out from the US/EU/UK bubble we tend to get stuck in.
Created by Anjali Ramachandran, the Other Valleys newsletter is delivered weekly to your inbox, offering insights to startups in Africa, South America, and Asia.
Alongside its engaging storytelling style, each piece of information is accompanied by the relevant source material. It allows the reader to delve deeper and get a better understanding of these emerging markets, as well as their ecosystem.
The email also encompasses some of the best job propositions in the sphere and often includes a “Founder Spotlight”. This section gives the reader some hands-on experiences to help them understand the challenges founders face in their journey.
8. Trello
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You might be familiar with Trello, which is considered one of the best project management tools for startups. In addition to providing a great visual overview of your projects, Trello also sends a weekly newsletter filled with helpful startup tips.
While the knowledge base of the platform is a great source of information, the additional knowledge that Trello offers makes it one of the best startup newsletters.
To give a short example, Trello focuses on sharing info about project management and organizational processes. What’s even better is that the email accompanies each challenge you might face with a solution through their platform.
Aimed at founders and stakeholders, this newsletter will help your startup become more efficient regarding organization and management.
9. First Round Review
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This website became a staple for startup founders after its launch in 2013. The Review is the content arm of the VC firm First Round Capital and was created to help startup founders share experiences and knowledge with their peers.
Each article they share provides usable tactics to change your career and company for the better.
The Review functions as a magazine, providing pertinent insider information on a wide array of subjects including company culture, startup management, and product development.
Each email contains one in-depth reviewed subject, together with some additional resources from around the internet and trending articles from the website.
10. Sifted Newsletter
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Endorsed by the famous Financial Times, Sifted provides a news source that offers in-depth reports on the status of startups in Europe.
Filled with tons of useful information such as registration and funding processes, organizational tips, and industry-relevant interviews, Sifted gives a curated insight on everything that happens in the European startup ecosphere.
Even better, Sifted doesn’t offer one, but five different newsletters. Each one focuses on a particular startup sector: general, future-proof, fintech, startup life, and sustainability.
The emails are organized in a reader-friendly manner, presenting their content in a concise layout allowing you to quickly scan for relevant info.
Wrapping up
No matter if you are only starting out or looking to grow your business, this list of the best startup newsletters will keep your inbox full with useful and insightful information.
To summarize, we explored:
- 5-Bullet Friday - Tim Ferriss’ newsletter that provides a good mix of life guidance tips and professional entrepreneurial experiences.
- 3-2-1 Newsletter - life and business wisdom presented in a compact way to accommodate the busiest of entrepreneurs.
- #SEOFOMO! - the ultimate resource for SEO marketing specialists.
- The Profile Newsletter - curated personality lists and profile reviews of outstanding industry leaders in business, sports, tech, and much more.
- AngelList weekly - an invaluable resource on emerging tech trends.
- CBInsight - daily newsletter containing some of the most research-backed data on the internet.
- Other Valleys - newsletter focusing on emerging markets and a great source of startup insights from developing countries.
- Trello - an informative startup newsletter brought to you by one of the best project management tools available.
- 1st Round review - a quintessential source of information for venture capitalists and startup founders.
- Sifted - exhaustive knowledge base related to European startups and the intricate links that connect them.
There are hundreds of blogs and newsletters out there that claim to be the missing link to success. However, the truth is that entrepreneurs need to keep up to date on a wide variety of subjects.
Conversely, our article on the best startup newsletters should give you a good start on making your inbox a thorough source of information and great ideas.