publy.to

Solving the cold-start problem with seed groups

Every platform faces the same chicken-and-egg: no content without creators, no creators without audience.

Instead of waiting for organic growth, I'm seeding the first groups myself. Currently building out around 10 groups:

Fitness/Health:

- Postpartum recovery

- Fitness for working moms

- Training for working dads

- Strength training

Founders/Business:

- Solo founders

- B2B SaaS founders

- Content creators

- Product managers

The idea is simple: one subscription, multiple experts. A reader interested in strength training doesn't want just one voice — they want the programming guy, the nutrition guy, the mobility guy, the mindset guy. Paying each separately is $40-50/month. Bundled together it's $20-25 and everyone makes more because more people subscribe.

Same logic applies to founders. You need advice on PMF, growth, sales, ops — not just one person's perspective. A group of 5 people who've actually done it beats one guru.

Each author commits to 2 posts/month. Group publishes 8-10 pieces monthly. Revenue splits automatically via Stripe Connect.

Currently recruiting authors

Hey IH! 👋

The idea for publy.to came from trail running, not startup Twitter.

I'm into trail running and cycling — niche sports with no ESPN coverage, no sponsorships, no celebrity athletes. But these communities have amazing content creators: detailed race reports from ultramarathons, honest gear reviews, training breakdowns, beautiful videos from remote trails.

Many have Patreon pages. I found 6 creators I genuinely wanted to support.

$5 here. $8 there. $10 for video content. Total: ~$50/month.

For a niche most people don't care about, that's a lot. I could barely justify it. Most fans probably couldn't.

Then I thought about the creator side. A trail running creator with 2,000 followers, 50 subscribers at $5/month = $250 gross. After platform fees and Stripe, maybe $220/month. For hours of work every week.

That's when it clicked: what if they bundled together?

6 creators × $5 each = $30 (too much for most fans)

6 creators as a bundle = $15 (everyone subscribes)

More subscribers. Same or more revenue per creator. Everyone wins.

But no platform does this. Substack can't split payments automatically. Patreon is solo-only. The infrastructure didn't exist.

So I spent 10 months building it.

publy.to — group subscriptions with automatic revenue splits via Stripe Connect. One payment from subscriber, automatically split between creators, each paid directly to their bank.

Currently pre-launch with 127 creators on waitlist. Launching late January.

Would love feedback — especially if you create content or subscribe to newsletters/Patreons. What would make you join (or create) a group subscription?