From 0 to HubSpot: Scaling a Newsletter to 150K Subscribers

Welcome back to The AI Report, where Liam Lawson speaks with the people shaping the future of AI, one breakthrough at a time. This week’s guest is Adam Biddlecombe, co-founder of Mindstream, the daily AI newsletter that was acquired by HubSpot just 17 months after launch. Adam shares how he went from posting on LinkedIn during his lunch breaks to building a globally recognized media brand with over 150,000 engaged readers. In this conversation, Adam breaks down how to grow and monetize a newsletter, what most people get wrong about AI adoption in companies, and why editorial quality still matters more than ever. He also shares the realities of startup life. from managing deliverability nightmares to building a distributed team across Lebanon, Iran, Pakistan, and beyond. We talk through how to drive real AI literacy in teams, how to think about pricing ads for sponsors, and why being early matters less than being consistent. Subscribe to The AI Report and stay sharp on everything happening in AI: theaireport.ai Connect with Adam: linkedin.com/in/adambiddlecombe Chapters: (00:00) Why AI Literacy is the New Career Edge (00:43) How Adam Sold Mindstream to HubSpot (03:07) Growing the Newsletter from Scratch (06:17) Building on LinkedIn in 2025 (09:25) Talking AI Fear and Workplace Buy-In (12:21) Rolling Out AI Internally at Scale (15:10) Educating Without Overwhelming (19:06) The Mindstream Monetization Model (22:18) Differentiating Through Editorial Voice (27:02) Deliverability, List Hygiene, and Real Engagement (30:47) Hiring Internationally and Building Culture (35:00) Why Young, Global Talent Was the Secret (40:14) The “Doppelgänger” Way to Train New Hires (44:17) The Truth About Deliverability Pain (48:08) The Email That Led to a HubSpot Acquisition (49:19) Adam’s 4-5-Mile Clarity Walk Follow the show and leave a rating if you found this episode valuable. It helps new listeners find the pod. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices