Medium. How Solving Distribution Became Its Growth Engine

This episode traces how Medium, founded by Evan Williams after Blogger and Twitter, grew to roughly 60 million monthly readers without buying advertising by building distribution directly into its product — and how a painful 2017 decision to abandon its advertising business model in favor of a subscription model realigned its incentives around quality over clicks. The core insight: the line between product and marketing dissolves when a company builds growth loops into the user experience itself.About the podcastThe voice you hear in this podcast is AI-generated, but every idea, insight, analysis, and editorial decision comes from Volodymyr Khomichenko.Volodymyr Khomichenko is a Tech B2B Marketing Strategist and Senior Marketing Director at Zoolatech with 12+ years of marketing experience, including 8+ years leading marketing teams in B2B technology companies.🌐 Website:⁠ ⁠⁠https://khomichenko.com⁠Newsletters📩 The Marketing Behind Rapid Growth (LinkedIn)Deep dives into growth, marketing leadership, AI, and the systems behind successful companies.→ Subscribe: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/marketing-behind-rapid-growth-7472018686078472192/⁠ 📬 The Marketing Behind Rapid Growth (Substack)Exclusive articles, case studies, frameworks, and behind-the-scenes insights on marketing, business growth, leadership, and AI.→ Subscribe for free: ⁠https://substack.com/@rapidgrowth⁠ Book - The Marketing Behind Rapid Growth https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0H6VHNRMG ⁠Connect with Volodymyr⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/volodymyrkh/⁠ ⁠https://x.com/V_Khomichenko⁠ ⁠https://www.threads.com/@khomichenko⁠ ⁠https://amazon.com/author/khomichenko⁠⁠https://www.producthunt.com/@khomichenko⁠ ⁠https://medium.com/@Khomichenko⁠ ⁠https://hackernoon.com/u/khomichenko⁠DisclaimerThis podcast is based on publicly available information, industry research, company statements, and independent analysis. The views and interpretations presented are intended solely for educational and informational purposes and should not be considered investment, legal, financial, or business advice.