Introducing Upstarts Media
Welcome to Upstarts Media, a new tech media brand founded by me – Alex Konrad.
The (Up)Start
Upstarts Media is a community-driven, independent media company and events business that I’m launching today. It’s founded on the belief that startups are at their best when they challenge the status quo to achieve lasting impact.
This mission is deeply personal to me – enough that I’m staking my career on it. When I cut my teeth reporting on startups at Fortune in 2010, tech coverage was mostly centered around Silicon Valley. As a lifelong New Yorker, I got started by covering the under-hyped challengers in my own backyard, like Foursquare, ZocDoc and General Assembly.
I kept covering startups after I joined Forbes in 2012, writing some of the first in-depth stories about Blue Apron, Peloton and WeWork (years before Adam Neumann met Masayoshi Son).
Over 12 years at Forbes, my work ranged from CEO cover stories to funding scoops and trend stories about policy battles around generative AI. As longtime editor of the Midas List, I got to study many of the world’s top venture capitalists over too many trips to San Francisco. Co-creating the Cloud 100 list was my ticket to sing karaoke with Salesforce’s Marc Benioff in Tokyo.
But it was startup stories that I kept coming back to, like my cover profile of Canva and CEO Melanie Perkins, or my more recent profile of Wiz and CEO Assaf Rappaport. Those stories represent what’s always inspired me the most about being a tech reporter: the ability to share founder journeys and early looks into world-changing startups, before they’ve broken out. In a moment of Big Tech dominance and tech leaders in the White House, I believe these types of stories are increasingly overlooked.
Across dozens of hours of market research and more than 25 calls with early audience members, you agreed: there’s a need for more in-depth coverage on startups, their funders, and the opportunities and challenges they face.
With Upstarts Media, I plan to proudly focus on the startup ecosystem, from inception through IPO.
The Upstarts Newsletter
Our flagship newsletter, Upstarts, will be at the heart of everything we do. We are partnering with Substack as our publishing platform. Starting the first week of April, Upstarts will begin publishing twice weekly, providing the in-depth coverage you have come to expect from me – as well as plenty of new tricks you haven’t seen from me yet.
Upstarts will build on that written coverage with a video interview series also launching in April, as well as community partnerships and high-touch events (underway soon). Expect an Upstarts podcast to come later this year.
There won’t be a better time to subscribe to our full Upstarts membership than now. And you’ll have my eternal gratitude to have supported us early on.
Subscribe Today
We are building an inclusive community here at Upstarts. (We’ll also keep saying “we” a lot, but Upstarts is just Alex, at least for now, in full startup mode.)
It’s important that Upstarts can provide original content in front of any paywall, in order to make our reporting accessible to all — from students and the startup-curious to early-career employees and founders watching their burn rate.
What you’ll get as a free subscriber:
One weekly edition with original reporting focused on early-stage startups
Curated monthly funding and launch exclusives
The previous week’s live video interview hosted in Substack, when applicable
We will be able to offer this paywall-free edition through the help of mission-aligned sponsors. A hearty shoutout to our launch partner, Brex, for standing alongside Upstarts from Day 1.
What Paid Subscribers Get
Upstarts can do more, faster, with your support. Signing up today as a paid subscriber will go a long way to Upstarts being able to serve this community better, and achieve our ambitious goals.
What you’ll get as a paid subscriber:
A second premium weekly edition focused on established startups, VC backers and industry trends
Special edition scoops and breaking news you’ll see here first
Early word and ticket access to upcoming Upstarts events
Become A Founding Upstart
If you’re excited to be part of the Upstarts community and support my work on a deeper level, I welcome you to join us as a Founding Upstart. Founding Upstarts will receive all of the benefits of free and paid subscribers, plus more perks. (I still won’t write about your company if it’s boring, though. My gratitude is immense, but non-transferable!)
What you’ll get as a Founding Upstart:
Access to a private WhatsApp group of Founding Upstarts, moderated by Alex
Invitations to exclusive Founding Upstarts meetups
The first fifteen (15) Founding Upstarts will receive an invite to our exclusive launch party in April in New York, and preferential access to future events
Starting Up Together
To get Upstarts ready for the world, I spoke with dozens of audience members, industry peers and friends for advice and support. Thank you all so much.
The talented designer Mark Yocca created our branding. Big thanks to Alexis, David, Evan and Josh for your collaboration, and to the endless patience of my rescue dog, Margot, and my wife and COO of our family, Natalie Sportelli.
Let’s get (up)started!
–Alex
Founder and Editor, Upstarts Media
Work With Us
If you’d like to learn more about supporting our free weekly edition as a sponsor, or how to collaborate with Upstarts on a future event, please reach out to: partnerships@upstartsmedia.com.
To pitch exclusives, share story tips or other reader feedback, please respond to this or future newsletter editions, or reach out to: tips@upstartsmedia.com.
Light Housekeeping
If you’re a Gmail user, be sure to check the Promotions tab for future editions of this newsletter.
If you can’t find it at all, check your spam folder and be sure to white-list this email address as ‘not spam,’ because it’s not :)
Sorry if I broke the subscribe button by smashing it too hard.
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