Stratechery is, starting from today, presented by Stripe.

The Unified Content Business Model

Readers have, over the years, pointed out the paradox of my belief in and advocacy for advertising-based business models being delivered in a format bereft of advertising. In truth, however, there was no paradox, just pragmatism: when I launched the Stratechery business model I intended on having sponsors, and did for a month or two, before I realized that ad sales for a one-person business with a small audience was a waste of time; I was much better served devoting my attention to content and trusting that readers would be willing to pay.

And, thankfully, readers were willing to pay, and ultimately, there ended up being far more such readers than I ever dreamed of. In fact, there were so many readers willing to pay that I have, over the subsequent 12 years, been able to build an audience that is uniquely attractive to potential advertisers, along with a team that can help me pursue the multi-faceted business model I always planned on. Stratechery is a business, and subscriptions + advertising is The Unified Content Business Model I have long advocated.

Embracing Conflict

That noted, this is a big change, both for you and for me; I’ll start with the latter. I take my ethics policy very seriously, including the fact I am not paid for posts, I do not hold individual stocks, and I pay for all of my own expenses. This has, in all honesty, probably cost me a fair bit of money, but the payoff has been trust from you, and for me the sense of personal integrity this provided.

To that end, with this announcement, I am editing my ethics policy to include this paragraph:

Stratechery is, as of October 2026, presented by Stripe, and there I make no claims of objectivity. To the extent I analyze not just Stripe but the entire fintech space, I strive to give my honest opinion; my contract with Stripe contains total editorial independence. However, the reality of a conflict is inescapable, and I will disclose my relationship to Stripe in every post where this conflict may be relevant.

My ethics policy is going to include a link to this announcement, because there is one more admission to make: if I am honest with myself I have never been truly objective about Stripe specifically, for three reasons.

• First, Stripe is a foundational business for my business. The then-startup launched the Subscription API (what later became Stripe Billing) in late 2011; Stratechery was predicated on that feature existing (and, I would add, the fact that a novice developer like myself could incorporate the Subscription API spoke to Stripe’s ease-of-use!).
• Second, Stripe is the foundation of Passport, the access management software that undergirds Stratechery, SemiAnalysis’ institutional offerings, and The Ankler; we have and continue to work with Stripe closely for both Stratechery and Passport.
• Third, I have had the good fortune of becoming friends with Patrick and John Collison, who were some of the earliest Stratechery readers and subscribers.

I did always try and set these considerations aside when writing about Stripe; in truth I actually just wrote about Stripe and the fintech space less, as I was cognizant about these informal conflicts.

By the same token, this is exactly why I couldn’t be more thrilled to have Stripe as an exclusive sponsor: if I am informally conflicted, why not make it formal? I actually think this gives me more freedom to write about fintech, not less, because the conflict will be on my sleeve; more than that, however, every ad I run or read is going to be heartfelt: I believe in Stripe, love their service, and while I am being paid for those ads, I will have the satisfaction of truly believing in them as well.

FAQ

That leaves the impact on you, the reader, and I’ve made an FAQ:

Where are ads going to run?

There are three primary places you will see Stripe ads:

• There is a “Presented by Stripe” placement on Stratechery, the cover art of the Stratechery, Stratechery Interview, and Sharp Tech podcasts, and in the emails I send. I honestly think it looks pretty great, but I’m biased!
• There will be occasional ad placements between sections of the Update, in the Interviews, and between Articles; this will apply to the web, email, and the Stratechery podcast (which is, and will continue to be, simply the audio version of what you can get on the web or via email).
• There will be a segment of Sharp Tech where Andrew and I discuss the Stripe ad topic of the week, along with an acknowledgment at the beginning of an episode, and an ad at the end.

More on Sharp Tech below.

What about sponsored content?

There is no requirement that I run sponsored content; however, I’m actually very excited about the potential of occasionally leveraging Stripe content. Stripe has a unique position in terms of working with companies across the entire economy, and that is particularly true when it comes to AI. You see some of the insights that come from this position on both the Stripe blog and the Stripe Economics blog, and I look forward to incorporating those kinds of insights when it makes sense (and I should also call out Stripe’s Works in Progress site). Just to be clear, however, that will be my call.

So Stripe can’t tell you what to write?

Absolutely not. More than that, Stripe cannot tell me what not to write either. I could call for Patrick Collison’s firing and I’m still going to get paid.

I am not, for the record, going to do that; as I noted I will disclose this relationship whenever it seems relevant. However, my first loyalty is to my readers; that meant absolute editorial independence was a prerequisite for this deal.

Can I skip the ads if I’m a subscriber?

No. Like I said above, Stratechery is a business, and it’s the quality of my audience that makes this deal possible. Moreover, Stratechery has never promised to be ad-free: what I am selling is access to my paid content, and it’s on me to make that content worthwhile. In fact, I would spin this the other way: my motivation to deliver great content is higher than ever, knowing that it has to be worth not just your money but also the attention that I have chosen to share with a sponsor.

That noted, while I don’t make categorical statements about my business, I do not anticipate raising subscription prices again, and certainly not over the course of this deal.

Do I get anything out of this deal?

This is the part I’m most excited about: I am going to invest the revenue from this deal into making more and better products. I have a bunch of ideas that are now unlocked, and one of them is launching this week: in-person Sharp Tech.

The New Sharp Tech

I am extremely excited to announce that, starting this week, Sharp Tech will become a video podcast, recorded live and in-person. Over the past couple of months I have been building a small video studio in my home, and Andrew will be flying to Wisconsin every week (when possible) to make what I strongly believe will be a better product. There is no matching the energy and chemistry that comes from recording in person, so we’re going to do exactly that the majority of the time.

We will be posting video episodes on YouTube (for clarity, not live as we record, at least to start), as well as through existing feeds; these episodes will be free. In addition, we will be adding a second weekly mailbag-centric audio-only episode — recorded the same day, in-person — for subscribers only.

This is the first of what I hope will be many product launches for subscribers; my goal is that this sponsorship is seen as a real unlock and accelerant for what it means to be not just a subscriber but a member of the best audience in the world. That’s what I believe I have, it’s what Stripe believes that I have, and I’m grateful to every one of you for making that a reality and this business possible.