The Hustle

Daily business and technology newsletter and media company, owned by HubSpot since 2021.

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Acquired^{Source [2]}^{Source [3]}Last verified Oct 2, 2026

About The Hustle

The Hustle is a daily email newsletter covering business and technology news in a conversational tone. It began as the marketing list for Hustle Con, an annual conference for startup founders, and became the company's main product.^{Source [1]}^{Source [4]}

Before the sale the company made money from conference tickets ($300 each) and newsletter advertising sold at $25 to $100 CPM, later adding Trends, a paid research subscription. In 2017 it reported net revenue of $2.21 million, mostly from Hustle Con, and had 18 employees.^{Source [1]}^{Source [3]}

HubSpot bought the company in February 2021, when the newsletter had 1.5 million subscribers. HubSpot said the deal would help it serve scaling companies with business and tech trend content, and it now runs The Hustle, The Hustle Daily Show and My First Million under its media arm.^{Source [3]}^{Source [2]}^{Source [5]}

What happened

Formed in November 2014 as Hustle Con Media to run the Hustle Con founders conference, it grew a daily business newsletter called The Hustle and later added the Trends research subscription and the My First Million podcast. HubSpot acquired 100% of the company on February 9, 2021 for a total purchase price of $20.3 million. The newsletter and podcasts continue under HubSpot at thehustle.co.^{Source [1]}^{Source [3]}^{Source [2]}^{Source [5]}

Timeline

2021-02HubSpot acquired 100% of Hustle Con Media on February 9, 2021.^{Source [2]}^{Source [3]}
2019-06Launched the My First Million podcast.^{Source [6]}
2017-02Raised $152,200 through a Regulation Crowdfunding offering.^{Source [1]}
2017Reported net revenue of $2.21 million.^{Source [1]}
2015-06Converted from a California LLC to a Delaware corporation.^{Source [1]}
2015John Havel joined Sam Parr as co-founder; first SAFE funding of $245,000.^{Source [1]}
2014-11Formed as Hustle Con Media LLC on November 25, 2014.^{Source [1]}

Products and brands

The Hustle newsletter: Daily email on business and technology news.^{Source [1]}^{Source [5]}
Hustle Con: Annual conference for startup founders, the company's original business.^{Source [1]}^{Source [4]}
Trends: Paid research subscription on business trends, now run by HubSpot.^{Source [3]}^{Source [4]}
My First Million: Weekly podcast in which Sam Parr and Shaan Puri brainstorm business ideas.^{Source [3]}^{Source [7]}
The Hustle Daily Show: Daily business news podcast.^{Source [5]}

How it makes money: Advertising sold in the newsletter and podcasts, conference ticket sales and paid subscriptions (Trends); since 2021 it also promotes HubSpot's own products.^{Source [1]}^{Source [3]}^{Source [2]}

Leadership

Sam Parr	Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer^{Source [1]}^{Source [3]}	2015 to 2021
John Havel	Co-founder and President^{Source [1]}	Since 2015

Funding and financials

Net revenue: $2,210,404 (fiscal 2017, unaudited, SEC Form C-AR)^{Source [1]}
Net revenue: $397,836 (fiscal 2016, unaudited, SEC Form C-AR)^{Source [1]}
Acquisition price: $20.3 million total purchase price, $17.2 million cash net of cash acquired (HubSpot 10-K, February 2021)^{Source [2]}
Newsletter subscribers: 1.5 million (February 2021, reported by TechCrunch)^{Source [3]}

Date	Round	Amount	Investors
2015	SAFE^{Source [1]}	$245,000	11 investors
2016	SAFE^{Source [1]}	$497,000	19 investors
2017-02	Regulation Crowdfunding (Crowd Notes)^{Source [1]}	$152,200	Offered through SI Securities
2017	SAFE^{Source [1]}	$444,000	5 investors

People on Founded, and where they went next

1 person on record, connected to 3 other companies.

Person	Here	Also built
Sam Parr	Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer2014 to 2021	Hampton2022 to nowActiveBunk2012 to 2013AcquiredSouthern Sam'sStatus unknown

Sources

Hustle Con Media, Inc. Annual Report (Form C-AR) for fiscal year 2017, SEC EDGAR, 2018-05-11. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
HubSpot, Inc. Annual Report (Form 10-K) for fiscal year 2021, SEC EDGAR, 2022-02-14. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
HubSpot acquires media startup The Hustle, TechCrunch, 2021-02-04. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
Sam Parr (personal site, Welcome page), samparr.com, 2019-02-05. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
The Hustle, HubSpot. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
My First Million podcast RSS feed (episode #1 dated 2019-06-23), HubSpot Media / Megaphone. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
About My First Million, My First Million. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.

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