When I acquired The Onion, it was about saving the company from a failing business model and focusing on creating content that resonates with readers.

By September 2014, we officially made Instapaper free and launched a new subscription pricing model, which led to a recovery in revenue and a growth trajectory for the app.

Tim Robinson created the subscriptions feature, which became a third of our revenue for years without anyone knowing.

In 2010, we launched Reddit Gold as a subscription service out of desperation to generate revenue since advertising wasn't sufficient, and it surprisingly raised more money in one day than we made in ads that month.

We started with a freemium model, but realized it distracted us; we shifted to a paid model and consistently increased prices over time, which helped us focus on serious customers.

I chose a subscription-based model because it aligns with the benefit users receive from having more users, and it's a common practice in our industry.

We're now cash flow positive, which is great, and a lot of that success comes from significantly reducing server costs and continued growth in subscriptions.

Our new dinner subscription service significantly outperformed previous versions of Gobble, achieving five times the revenue and showing promising growth.

Subscriptions are powerful because they feel less expensive than a flat fee, leading to more people willing to pay over time.