On the TechTO stage ×1
First seen on the TechTO stage in 2021. Every talk is searchable — ask the archive about Chris ↗
In their words
while you can't shape human nature, when you're designing the space that they live in, the space where they interact with each other, the way you set this up actually has profound implications for how people are going to experience their life there
email is one of the last free open platforms where you can reach out to someone, you can form a relationship with somebody and get onto their home screen without them having to install an app, without going through the gatekeeping algorithms of their social media feeds
literally never — that does not happen as long as you're still on the track. The only way that happens is if you fail, then it gets easy. If you don't, it just gets different.
More from TechTO ×1
Around the web ×2
Quick answers
Who is Chris Best?
The co-founder and CEO of Substack. He studied systems engineering at the University of Waterloo, met Ted Livingston in third year and became the technical co-founder of Kik, working on it for about eight years before leaving to start Substack.
How did Substack start?
By accident, as Best told the TechTO stage. After leaving Kik he took time off to write an essay about what had gone wrong with media and internet culture, shared it with Hamish McKenzie, and the two made a company while procrastinating on finishing it. Substack went through Y Combinator in winter 2018.
Is Chris Best Canadian?
Yes. He studied at the University of Waterloo and co-founded Kik there before moving to San Francisco for Y Combinator. Substack is headquartered in San Francisco with a Toronto contingent, including co-founder Jairaj Sethi.