Ryan Gilbert
Ryan Gilbert liked desk setups. Now he runs a 14,000-subscriber newsletter.
What started as a Saturday morning routine — collecting and sending other people’s desk photos — became Workspaces, a newsletter built on smart timing, a visual-first approach, and a natural flywheel of organic sharing.- ■ The best ideas aren’t always about invention. They’re about seeing what people are already doing and building around it.
- ■ Consistency beats complexity. Show up, deliver what people want, and let the flywheel do the work.
- ■ If no one says no to your price, you’re probably charging too little.
- ■ The best ideas aren’t always about invention. They’re about seeing what people are already doing and building around it.
- ■ Consistency beats complexity. Show up, deliver what people want, and let the flywheel do the work.
- ■ If no one says no to your price, you’re probably charging too little.
Ryan Gilbert posts desk pictures on the internet. At least, that’s how he explains it when people ask him what he does. But as the founder of Workspaces, a newsletter with 14,000 subscribers and a cult following, what started as a “weird hobby newsletter” has turned into a full-time project.
“I started Workspaces because I wanted to work in tech, but didn’t really have a path toward doing that,” he tells. “I was liking all of these desk pictures online and thought ‘Okay, I can do something with this without really needing too many technical skills.’”
In April 2020, Ryan launched his first Workspaces newsletter — and he’s sent out one every week since.
At the time, Ryan was working in supply chain in Wisconsin. “My girlfriend had no idea that I was doing this,” he laughs. “It was just a weird hobby newsletter on the side.”
But as the newsletter gained traction, sponsorship offers and contract work started rolling in. “It was making money and I was like, okay, I need to tell people about this in my real life.”
"Every Saturday morning, I was secretly sending this newsletter about home workspaces. When I told my girlfriend and parents, they were just like, 'What is this?'"
Ryan’s unconventional approach was a big part of his success. For one, he sent the newsletter on Saturday mornings, when inbox competition is much lower. “Maybe some people aren’t on their phones or their computers during the weekend, and they’ll see it Monday when they come back,” he reasons. “But it was a sacrifice I was willing to make.”
Then there’s Workspaces’ visual-first format. “I didn’t want to compete with those long-form text newsletters. I wanted it to be consumed super easily over a cup of coffee, when you’re just easing into your day.”
Turns out, beautiful workspaces are an easy share. “The people I featured would share because it’s their desk, their content, their story. I was just packaging it up and telling it for them,” he says. “And if I’m liking something on the internet, there’s a good chance I’m not the only one.”
Today, Workspaces has a steady 55% open rate and a flywheel effect that Ryan hopes to replicate across other projects.
“I love taking projects from zero to one. So doing things like H1 Gallery [a marketing newsletter] and a couple other ideas I have allow me to flex the creative muscles,” says Ryan. “If done correctly, I could definitely have a horizontal portfolio of similar newsletters that all grow and feed off of each other.”
Now, Ryan is also exploring offline possibilities for his projects. “I’m on my phone or computer way too much,” he admits. While Workspaces is an online brand, Ryan is expanding into physical products — wooden coasters, a fake wooden keyboard, a coffee table book.
“If this project went away completely and I didn’t have anything physical to look at and be like this is what the last four and a half five years like did for me, it would be sad, I guess. So I want to make sure that I have that.”