Happy Monday,
Did you know theres 19,000 cities and towns in the United States. Most of them have no local newsletter.
Anyways we have an idea behind this statistic..
In Todays Edition, TL;DR
the local newsletter business nobody in your city has started yet
how to get your first 50 subscribers before you write a single word
a real time AI production crew for podcasters
Claude just came for Figma and the design industry is having a moment
The Monday Idea
💡 The local newsletter is the most boring media business alive. That's why it works.
The Problem: Every city in America has the same problem. Local news is dying, residents have no central source for what's happening in their town. Theres around 19,000 cities and towns in the United States. Most of them have no decent local newsletter. That's a distribution opportunity sitting on top of a monetization opportunity.
🛠 Solution: A local email newsletter monetized through sponsorships sold to the same businesses that subscribe to it. Pick any city with 50,000 people or more. Set up on Beehiiv in 20 minutes. Run one Meta ad targeting residents. Dead simple.
Business Model
Sponsorships: CPM based. Charge local businesses for ad placement per send. At 10,000 subscribers and a standard open rate, each send is worth real money.
Beehiiv Ad Network: Passive fill for issues you haven't sold directly. Lower rate, zero sales effort.
Paid tier: Exclusive event access, early deals, or a curated weekly roundup for subscribers willing to pay monthly.
Validation Filter
Why Build It Now?
Local news is a graveyard with a gap. Around 1,800 US newspapers closed between 2004 and 2019. More than 100 local newsrooms folded during COVID.
The model already works. 6AM City started with one newsletter in Greenville, South Carolina. They hit nearly $8 million in revenue by 2023, reached profitability in early 2025, and now operate across 400+ cities. Its not an exception. It’s a template.
Ad spend is moving off the big platforms. Local businesses that used to buy Facebook reach in their zip code are actively looking for alternatives. Rising CPMs and declining returns. A local newsletter with a clean, engaged list is exactly what they're shopping for. Your sponsors find you.
The exit is already happening. 6AM City acquired a competing AI-powered local newsletter network in 2025 to accelerate into underserved markets. Regional broadcasters are hunting for local audience assets. A documented list with strong open rates is an acquisition target. You don't need to build the empire, you just need to build the asset.
Idea Scorecard
How to Test this in a Week
Pick a city you have some connection to: where you grew up, where you went to school, anywhere with 50,000+ people. Search the Meta ads library for "newsletter" filtered to that location to see who youre competing with
Spin up a free Beehiiv account in 20 minutes. Pick a template, publish the site, set a welcome email. Don't overthink the name. You're testing demand, not building a brand.
Record a 15 second phone video. "There's more happening in [city] than most people realize, and nobody's putting it in one place." Set a $20/day Meta ad targeting that geography only. Run it for five days.
If you hit 50 subscribers at under $1.5 each, you have a business. Email them a poll: what do you want covered? DM the three most active local businesses you can find and offer them a free first sponsorship slot in exchange for a testimonial.
Napkin Note Ideas
Howard Stern had Gary, Robin, Fred, and Jackie. A full production crew that turned a radio show into a $500M empire. Most podcasters have a laptop and a hope.
There are over 4 million podcasts. The difference between good and great almost always comes down to production support, research, context, and comedic timing. That support costs money most creators don't have. what if there was an AI version of a production crew?
The idea: A real time AI production crew that listens as you record and feeds you live fact-checks, context, jokes, and news updates. Four personas, running in the background, surfacing what you need exactly when you need it.
Business model:
Indie tier: monthly subscription for solo creators
Team tier: higher monthly rate, multi guest support
Enterprise: licensing for podcast networks and live event producers
Weekly Gems Worth Reading
Someone posted a stat this week on how early we actually are with AI. This Graph blew my mind 🤯
Adobe and Figma are shaking right now. Claude just launched Claude Design
Check out this post about the fastest way to get a business credit card approved, interesting idea.
That’s all guys
That's Monday.
A media business you can launch in an afternoon, a podcast tool that puts a production crew in your ear, and Anthropic quietly making Figma investors very nervous. Good week to build something.
Talk Friday.