206. How I built a newsletter with 7,000+ subscribers (and growing) (Dexter Zhuang)

As creators, many of us start with a hunch, a curiosity, or a simple “let’s see where this goes.” Today’s guest, Dexter Zhuang, embodies this experimental mindset. He’s the founder of Portfolio Path and a fractional product leader who’s spent the last 12 years leading teams across the U.S., Southeast Asia, and Latin America at companies like Dropbox and Xendit.

In 2023, Dexter launched Money Abroad—a newsletter exploring personal finance for expats—as an experiment. Over time, it evolved into Portfolio Path, an education platform that helps high-performers grow their portfolio careers and manage their money with intention.

Today, Portfolio Path reaches over 7,000 subscribers. Along the way, Dexter has leaned into audience surveys, embraced feedback, and navigated the common insecurities that come with publishing your ideas publicly. 

In this episode, we unpack that journey—from testing an idea to building something that resonates deeply with a growing community.

In this episode, we cover:

(00:00) Introduction

(02:02) Starting a newsletter as an experiment 

(06:11) Pivoting the newsletter 

(11:10) Reviewing Dexter’s past content 

(16:26) Insecurities when building the newsletter 

(20:49) Content is a stepping stone for the audience 

(23:24) Conducting surveys with your audience 

(30:52) Underrated parts of building a newsletter 

(37:26) Actionable Takeaways 

Prefer to listen to the audio version?

Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube | Any Player

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Connect with Dexter Zhuang

Newsletter: https://www.theportfoliopath.com/subscribe 

Website: https://www.dexterzhuang.com 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dexterzhuang

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Additional Resources

ANNOTATIONS – The Newsletter

The edits that got cut from the podcast.

Every interview on EDIT HISTORY runs about 60 minutes. But less than 40 minutes makes it into the final cut. This newsletter is where the rest live.

ANNOTATIONS is where I share the 33% I left behind — and the insights that came after we stopped recording.

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