Like pretty much every startup, the California Sun launched with a mix of sweat, borrowed money, and optimism.

We recently passed the six-month mark, and the response has been encouraging enough that we’re doubling down with a redesign of the newsletter and website. We’ve partnered with the makers of Proof, an editorial suite aimed at helping small publishers punch above their weight.

Among the changes:

— A more eye-catching design, with updated fonts and graphic elements.

— Streamlined code to power the email. That means it’s easier on your inbox and lets us, for example, include more and bigger photos.

— Simpler sharing. Below each summary, you’ll see options to post the item on Facebook and Twitter, or grab a link that can be shared anywhere. (This will be deployed later after some kinks are ironed out.)

We’re committed to becoming the go-to hub for the best journalism in California, and we remain optimistic that we’ll get there.

That said, we need a much bigger audience. The Sun is a shoestring operation. So word-of-mouth is really the only way we’ll get there. If you’ve been liking the newsletter, please tell your friends about us.

Later this summer, we plan to roll out a membership drive that will be crucial to making the Sun a sustainable enterprise. Stay tuned!

For now, thanks so much to all of you who’ve already been spreading the word. It really means a lot.

This article is from the California Sun, a newsletter that delivers California’s most compelling news to your inbox each morning — for free. Sign up here.