# Chris Best

> Chris Best is the co-founder and CEO of Substack, the subscription newsletter platform that has paid out hundreds of millions of dollars to independent writers. A systems engineer turned serial entrepreneur, Best previously co-founded Kik Messenger, scaling it to 300 million users before pivoting to rewrite the economics of media. Substack - which he launched in 2017 with Hamish McKenzie and Jairaj Sethi - has grown to over 5 million paid subscriptions, raised $213M in total funding including a $100M Series C in 2025, and minted more than 50 creators earning over $1 million annually on the platform.

- **Role:** Co-Founder and CEO at Substack
- **Organizations:** Substack, Kik Interactive, Y Combinator
- **From:** Richmond, Virginia, United States
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** Bachelor of Applied Science, Systems Design Engineering, University of Waterloo
- **Known for:** Co-founded Kik Messenger and scaled it to 300 million users as CTO, Co-founded Substack, which has paid out hundreds of millions to independent writers, Grew Substack to over 5 million paid subscriptions by 2025

## Career timeline

- **2006** — Programmer Analyst at Schaeffler Canada Inc.
- **2006** — Software Engineer at Sandvine
- **2006** — Application Developer at iAnywhere
- **2008-2009** — Software Development Intern at Airline Intelligence Systems
- **2009** — Co-founded Kik Interactive with Ted Livingston, starting with $45,000
- **2009-2017** — Served as CTO at Kik Interactive, scaling platform to 300 million users
- **2017** — Co-founded Substack with Hamish McKenzie and Jairaj Sethi
- **2018** — Substack launched publicly; entered Y Combinator W18 batch
- **2021** — Substack raised $65M Series B at $650M valuation
- **2025** — Substack raised $100M Series C, achieving unicorn status at $1.1B valuation
- **2025** — Substack surpassed 5 million paid subscriptions

## Achievements

- Co-founded Kik Messenger and scaled it to 300 million users as CTO
- Co-founded Substack, which has paid out hundreds of millions to independent writers
- Grew Substack to over 5 million paid subscriptions by 2025
- Raised $213M total for Substack including $100M Series C
- Built a platform where 50+ creators earn over $1 million annually
- Positioned Substack as a unicorn valued at $1.1 billion
- Launched Substack TV app for Apple TV and Google TV
- Acquired Letter, a collaborative writing platform

## Latest updates

- **2025-07** — Substack raised $100M Series C led by The Chernin Group and BOND, achieving a $1.1B valuation
- **2025-03** — Substack surpassed 5 million paid subscriptions, up from 2 million in 2023
- **2025-01** — Substack launched TV app for Apple TV and Google TV, expanding beyond newsletters into video
- **2024** — Substack acquired Letter, a collaborative writing platform for teams
- **2024** — More than 50 Substack creators reported earning over $1 million annually on the platform

## Links

- Website: https://cb.substack.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cjgbest
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/cjgbest
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/substackinc/

---

Profile page: https://yespress.io/chris-best
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-27