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Edwin Dorsey is the author of The Bear Cave, a Substack newsletter. Not to be confused with the in-house brand of the same name, Build-a-Bear, which is aimed at people 18 and older. Dorsey, whose focus is exposing corporate wrongdoing, says he earns $500,000 a year. That's an amount that would make most businessmen blush (try saying that five times fast). He earns this through a paid subscription that costs $64 per month for individuals or $640 per year.
Like most heartwarming stories set in our capitalist world, Dorsey had a business mindset from the beginning. “I've been passionate about stocks since I was in second grade,” Dorsey said. “During my freshman year of college, I was really fortunate to be introduced to two really big short sellers, people who were betting on companies professionally, and they were like my mentors. was.”
That experience would shape The Bear Cave. “Specifically, there's a hedge fund called Sophos near my college campus, and I interned there off and on throughout my four years of college,” Dorsey said. However, as his graduation neared and the company was closing down, he began strategizing how to make himself stand out from other employers.
“So I started Substack in February 2020 primarily as a way to get attention. I thought, “If I put out smart content, maybe people will find it interesting, and maybe someone will like me.'' We might want to hire you,'” Dorsey said. As email newsletter writers ourselves, we empathize with the need to get noticed in order to get hired.
Then came the pandemic, which would pose another obstacle. “I went home for six months and worked on this newsletter primarily as a means of getting employed. But the newsletter quickly became quite popular,” he said. . “People were bored and looking for something to read. So the newsletter just got bigger.”
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As a result, Dorsey was able to release a paywalled version of The Bear Cave in the fall of 2020. [the newsletter] Full-time income was over $100,000. So from there, it was kind of my job,” he said.
Here's the breakdown of the numbers: “I receive approximately 86 cents for every dollar of subscription revenue. [That’s because] 10% allocated to Substack [and] 3.5% goes toward credit card fees,” Dorsey said. His other business expenses are small and he only needs an accountant and a lawyer. Dorsey's biggest financial obligations are New York City rent and quarterly taxes.
Despite doing business research, Dorsey keeps investing simple. “Literally 100% of my money, […] It was Apple and then a microcap restaurant chain. “I probably have the strangest source of income and the strangest personal portfolio,” he said.
Part of his investing efforts are due to what he learned through The Bear Cave. “When I was younger, I was more focused on trading individual stocks. I think I'm much more suspicious of management teams and companies in general now,” Dorsey said.
But Dorsey acknowledged that this is not a proven strategy from a diversification perspective. “Two people would probably be too focused,” he said. “But if you're going to focus and invest thinking you can outperform, and I believe you can, then you might as well focus on what you really love. I think we know who will be first in line for the next iPhone launch. 📱
