Meta vs Substack: Founders, CEOs and History
Meta was founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg, Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum and is led by Mark Zuckerberg. Substack was founded in 2017 by Chris Best, Hamish McKenzie, Jairaj Sethi and is led by Chris Best.
Company facts
Founders
Meta
Mark Zuckerberg
Meta possesses arguably the most scrutinized, polarizing, and dramatized founding story of the 21st century, rooted entirely in the exclusive, intensely competitive dormitory culture of Harvard University and driven by an effective, socially awkward computer p…
Eduardo Saverin
Eduardo Saverin was a Facebook co-founder and the company's first chief financial officer, but his long-term story diverged sharply from the company he helped start.
Andrew McCollum
Andrew McCollum co-founded Facebook but left the company relatively early compared with Zuckerberg and Moskovitz. After Facebook, he continued in technology and entrepreneurship, including work connected to education and startup leadership.
Dustin Moskovitz
Dustin Moskovitz co-founded Facebook and served as a key early technical and operational leader before leaving in 2008 to co-found Asana.
Chris Hughes
Chris Hughes co-founded Facebook and later became known for his work in media, politics, and public policy after leaving the company.
Substack
Chris Best
Chris Best is the co-founder and CEO of Substack. Before Substack he co-founded Kik.
Hamish McKenzie
Hamish McKenzie is a Substack co-founder and serves as its Chief Writing Officer, acting as the company's main voice to the writer community and recruiting creators to the platform.
Jairaj Sethi
Jairaj Sethi is a Substack co-founder and its chief technology officer, responsible for the platform's engineering.
CEOs and their tenures
Meta
- Mark Zuckerberg2004–present
Founder, Chairman and CEO
Zuckerberg sets product and capital priorities and controls the majority of shareholder voting power through Class B shares.
Source - Eduardo Saverin2004–2005
Co-Founder
Eduardo Saverin co-founded Facebook with Mark Zuckerberg while at Harvard in 2004, providing the initial seed funding and serving as the company's first CFO and business manager.
Source
Substack
- Chris Best2017–present
Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Sets product and business strategy; led the 2025 Series C and the push into the app, Notes and video.
Source - Hamish McKenzie2017–present
Co-Founder and Chief Writing Officer
Leads writer relations and the company's public voice to creators.
Source - Jairaj Sethi2017–present
Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer
Leads engineering of the publishing, email and payments platform.
Source
Timeline: Meta and Substack side by side
2004Meta
Facebook launches at Harvard
Facebook launched on February 4, 2004, as a real-name student network. The product mattered because it made identity, campus trust and friend connections the core of the service before the company became a public social platform.
2007Meta
Ad platform becomes the business model
Facebook's advertising products turned user attention into a scalable commercial system. The shift mattered because the company could keep the consumer product free while charging marketers for measurable reach, targeting and conversion tools.
2012Meta
Instagram acquisition
Facebook agreed to acquire Instagram for about $1 billion in cash and stock. The deal mattered because Instagram was mobile-native at a moment when Facebook needed to prove it could survive the smartphone shift.
2014Meta
WhatsApp acquisition
Facebook announced a deal to acquire WhatsApp, adding a large private messaging network to a company still known mainly for public feeds.
2014Meta
Oculus acquisition
Facebook agreed to acquire Oculus VR for about $2 billion. The deal mattered because it gave the company a hardware and immersive-computing bet years before the Meta rebrand.
2017Substack
Substack founded in San Francisco
Chris Best, Hamish McKenzie, and Jairaj Sethi founded Substack to build subscription publishing for writers.
2017Substack
Bill Bishop Launches Sinocism as First Substack Publication
China analyst Bill Bishop moved his Sinocism newsletter to Substack, proving that writers could earn six figures directly.
2019Substack
$15.3M Series A led by Andreessen Horowitz
a16z led a $15.3 million Series A.
2020Substack
The Great Media Exodus & COVID-19 Newsletter Boom
Prominent journalists (Matt Taibbi, Andrew Sullivan, Glenn Greenwald) left corporate media to build independent Substack empires.
2021Meta
Facebook becomes Meta
Facebook changed its corporate name to Meta in 2021 to bring its apps and technologies under a new company brand.
2021Substack
$65M Series B at $650M Valuation Led by a16z
Valuation surged to $650 million, crossing 1 million paid subscriptions and launching Substack Pro.
2022Substack
Launches Substack Reader Mobile App and Substack Chat
Debuted dedicated consumer mobile reading app and subscriber-only chat rooms.
2023Meta
Threads launch
Meta launched Threads in July 2023 and said the app passed 100 million sign-ups in its first five days. The launch mattered because Instagram distribution gave Meta a fast entry into real-time text conversation.
2023Substack
Launches Substack Notes & Raises $7.8M Community Crowdfund
Debuted Substack Notes to rival Twitter/X, raising $7.8M from 6,700+ community investors on Wefunder.
2024Meta
$164.501B revenue
Meta reported $164.501 billion in FY2024 revenue and $62.360 billion in net income. The year mattered because AI-powered ad tools, Reels monetization and expense discipline restored confidence after the 2022 slowdown.
2024Substack
Passes 3 million paid subscriptions
Substack said in 2024 that creators had passed 3 million paid subscriptions.
2025Meta
$200.966B Revenue
Meta reported $200.966B in FY2025 revenue, $60.458B in net income, $83.276B in income from operations, and 78,865 employees at year-end.
2025Substack
$100M Series C at $1.1B valuation
BOND and The Chernin Group led the round, with a16z, Rich Paul and Jens Grede participating.
2026Meta
Q2 2026 revenue up 28%
Meta reported Q2 2026 revenue of $60.80B, up 28%, and net income of $15.85B, down 14%, after $2.40B of legal charges and $1.18B of severance from a May 2026 headcount reduction. It narrowed 2026 capex guidance to $130-145B.
2026Substack
Data breach disclosed
Substack disclosed on February 5, 2026 that user emails, phone numbers and internal metadata were accessed in October 2025.
Acquisitions
Meta
- Kustomer2022$1B
- CTRL-labs2019$500M
- WhatsApp2014$19B
- Oculus VR2014$2B
- Instagram2012$1B
Questions about Meta vs Substack
Who is the CEO of Meta Platforms, Inc. and Substack Inc.?
Meta Platforms, Inc. is led by Mark Zuckerberg and Substack Inc. is led by Chris Best. Both serve as the top executive responsible for the company's strategy, operations, and financial performance.
When was Meta Platforms, Inc. founded vs Substack Inc.?
Meta Platforms, Inc. was founded in 2004 — 13 years before Substack Inc., which was founded in 2017. Meta Platforms, Inc.'s longer operating history gives it a deeper track record but also potentially more institutional inertia compared to the younger Substack Inc..
How many employees does Meta Platforms, Inc. have compared to Substack Inc.?
Meta Platforms, Inc. employs approximately 75,472 people. A verified employee count for Substack Inc. is not currently available.
Where are Meta Platforms, Inc. and Substack Inc. headquartered?
Both Meta Platforms, Inc. and Substack Inc. are headquartered in United States, meaning they operate under the same primary regulatory and tax environment.
Who founded Meta Platforms, Inc. and Substack Inc.?
Meta Platforms, Inc. was founded by Mark Zuckerberg, Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Moskovitz, Chris Hughes. Substack Inc. was founded by Chris Best, Hamish McKenzie, Jairaj Sethi.
Which company has a longer operating history — Meta Platforms, Inc. or Substack Inc.?
Meta Platforms, Inc. has been operating for approximately 22 years, making it the more established of the two companies. Substack Inc. has been in operation for around 9 years. A longer operating history often signals greater institutional resilience and brand recognition, though it can also mean slower adaptation to new market conditions.
Figures come from each company's filings and the sources linked beside them. Amounts reported in another currency are shown in US dollars at an approximate rate and marked with ~. Back to the Meta vs Substack overview