Thought Catalog is a website founded in 2010 by American entrepreneur and media strategist Chris Lavergne.^[2] Owned by The Thought & Expression Company, the site attracts 25 million monthly unique visitors.^[3]

The site's founder, Chris Lavergne, registered the domain name in 2008, and began working on the site while a marketing strategist at Warner Bros. Records.^[4] Thought Catalog started publishing on February 1, 2010.^[5] By 2012, Thought Catalog was attracting 2.5 million unique visitors per month, and began to attract a large number of millennial readers, with nearly three-quarters of the site's audience falling into the 21- to 34-year-old demographic.^[4]

The site is based on a semi-open model, employing staff and freelance writers while also taking submissions for publication.^[4][6] Thought Catalog receives between 100 and 500 pieces a day via the submission form.^[7]

In July 2014 Thought Catalog was drawing more than 34 million unique visitors per month, with much of the traffic due to social sharing.^[8]

Thought Catalog earns revenue from branded content and banner ads, with the Wall Street Journal featuring the site on its list of “Sponsored Content That Buzzed In 2014.”^[9][10]

Thought Catalog’s founder, Chris Lavergne, was named to Forbes “30 Under 30” list in 2014.^[11]

Thought Catalog launched Thought Catalog Books with four original e-books priced from $2.99 to $4.99.^[12] As of June 2015, the imprint accepts manuscripts from their active contributors and from unaffiliated authors, some with agents, some without.^[13] They publish both eBooks and print books. In September 2014, Thought Catalog Books and UTA sold the rights to The Tracking of a Russian Spy, by Mitch Swenson, to StudioCanal.^[14] The imprint published Prozac Nation author Elizabeth Wurtzel’s book Creatocracy in early 2015.^[15][16]

Thought Catalog’s content, which includes listicles, essays, and think pieces, has been noted for its “millennial” voice.^[3][17] Many well-known authors have contributed to the site including Simon Critchley, Elizabeth Wurtzel, Tao Lin, Robert Greene, James Altucher, Mélanie Berliet, Nicole Mullen and Tim Ferriss, in addition to previously unpublished essayists.^{[7][18][19][20][21][22]}

Early on, the site was known for publishing alternative literature, with Tao Lin as a regular contributor.^[17] Later, it became associated with a personal, confessional style.^[23]