Substack Hires Former Roku Executive Dan Robbins to Lead Brand Sponsorships
Substack has hired Dan Robbins, a former executive at Roku, as its first head of brand sponsorships, the company confirmed June 15, marking the platform’s most significant move yet to build out a revenue stream beyond paid subscriptions.
Robbins, who previously served as VP of Ad Marketing and Partner Solutions at Roku and held senior roles at Nielsen, joins as Substack launches a native sponsorships program backed by seven inaugural brand partners Uber, T-Mobile, Balenciaga, Yahoo Scout, Whatnot, Granola, and Polymarket who are collectively directing millions of dollars toward creators on the platform, according to a post by CEO Chris Best on Substack’s official blog.
Substack’s core business has long been built on paid subscriptions, which currently support more than 100,000 publishers on the platform. Best said the top 10 earning publishers collectively generate more than $100 million per year. The sponsorship expansion is designed to complement, not replace, that model.
“Subscriptions remain the foundation of creator businesses on Substack,” Robbins told Axios.
Who Is Dan Robbins?
Robbins built his reputation in media and advertising over more than a decade in senior roles at two major companies. He began his career at Nielsen, where he worked on strategic partnerships and product rollouts across local TV, digital, and national TV pilot testing, he told Adweek in an earlier interview. He later joined Roku, where he led the company’s marketing, research, analytics, events, design, and branded content strategy for its advertising division as VP of Ad Marketing and Partner Solutions.
During his time at Roku, Robbins was recognized by the industry for his work in streaming advertising. He was named to the Broadcasting and Cable “40 Under 40” list in 2018 and to the GRIT Future List in 2019. He also participated in the 2019 Fellows Program at the Economic Club of New York. He has served on the boards of the Ad Council and the MMA (Mobile Marketing Association) and has taught advertising economics at Cornell University, where he is also an alumnus. He has juried for both the Clio Awards and the Effie Awards.
At Substack, Robbins will oversee the platform’s effort to formally connect brands with its publishers, a function creators previously had to manage independently. According to Best’s post, the new arrangement means creators will no longer need to handle their own brand outreach, contract negotiations, or relationship management.
Creator Kits and the New Partnership Structure
Alongside the hire, Substack has launched Creator Kits media kit tools that enable eligible publishers to present audience data to potential sponsors. The kits display subscriber counts, open rates, active reader figures, audience location data, and sponsorship preferences.
Access to Creator Kits is currently limited to Substack Bestseller titles or publishers with at least 100 paid subscribers, according to Substack’s support page. The kits serve as an entry point into a forthcoming brand partnership platform that Substack says will allow creators to connect directly with sponsors investing in the ecosystem.
Best was explicit about the distinction between Substack’s approach and traditional digital advertising. “These are not arbitrarily inserted ads,” he wrote. “Creators choose who they work with. They set the creative direction. They keep full editorial independence.”
Robbins echoed that positioning in comments to Axios, saying the approach is not modeled on conventional internet advertising.
Context: Substack’s Shift Toward Advertising
The move is part of a broader evolution for Substack, which spent years positioning itself as a subscription-first alternative to ad-supported media. In December 2025, Adweek reported that Substack had launched a limited beta allowing writers to insert paid sponsorships into newsletters, the first formal step toward advertising on the platform. The June 2026 announcement with Robbins and the seven launch partners represents a scaling of that program.
Substack has raised $100 million from investors including Andreessen Horowitz, BOND, and The Chernin Group, giving it a valuation of $1.1 billion, according to The New York Times. In January 2026, it also launched Substack TV, a standalone app for Apple TV and Google TV supporting video posts and livestreams, another indicator the company is diversifying its product surface and revenue model.
