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The Foundr Podcast with Nathan Chan

220: Building Community as the Foundation for a Successful Content Business, With Carly Zakin & Danielle Weisberg of theSkimm

The Foundr Podcast with Nathan Chan

Nathan Chan

Marketing, Business, Entrepreneurship

4.8 • 662 Ratings

🗓️ 9 October 2018

⏱️ 33 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Carly Zakin and Danielle Weisberg started their business as good friends on a couch, with nothing but their laptops and a healthy dose of hustle. Today, their millennial women-focused media company theSkimm serves seven million daily subscribers, employs 70 people, and boasts more than 30,000 enthusiastic brand ambassadors. The company also just closed a round of Series C funding led by GV (formerly Google Ventures) and a group of mainly female investors—including the likes of Shonda Rhimes, Tyra Banks, and Spanx founder Sara Blakely. Weisberg and Zakin have maintained a close friendship and strong collaboration throughout their six years in business. This dynamic forms the backbone of their company and sets the tone for daily operations, which is largely focused on supporting and empowering women. In this interview, learn about the early days of theSkimm, the power of community and connection, and how the brand monetizes its content to build a sustainable media business. The company publishes news that fits into the daily routines of its members, continually nodding to its mission statement of making it easier for people to live smarter, more connected lives. But if you ask us, these powerful founders are the smart ones, effectively proving the mantra, “We are all stronger when we work together.” Key Takeaways How and why they waited two and a half years to monetize their community of loyal followers How they monetize their content with multiple income streams to build a sustainable, well-rounded business Details of the Skimm’bassadors program and why it has grown so rapidly Zakin and Weisberg’s top tips for growing a content-based business

Transcript

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0:00.0

This is episode number 220 with Daniel Wiseberg and Carly Zakin of the Founder Podcast.

0:08.5

What you need is thirst.

0:10.1

You need to be a thirsty human who is intent on learning.

0:14.2

It's a really fascinating exploration of human potential.

0:17.8

Now.

0:20.4

The Founder Podcast. even the greatest entrepreneurs had help if you want to

0:26.7

learn from the most successful founders on the planet you are in the right place branson mark

0:32.3

human tony robin tim ferris ariana humphington steve case g Gary V. Sophia Amorosa. Robert Corcoran.

0:37.6

Damon John.

0:38.7

Learn from the greatest minds in business today with interviews hosted by Nathan Chan.

0:43.3

This is not your average entrepreneur podcast.

0:46.9

The Founder Podcast.

0:54.0

Hey guys. Thank you so much for tuning in.

0:57.4

Before we start today's episode, I just want to let you know that our goal at Founder

1:02.4

is to help entrepreneurs succeed however we can by giving away high quality content

1:07.2

in the form of interviews, blog posts, podcasts, YouTube videos, you name it.

1:12.7

We put out so much content to help you.

1:15.0

And another interesting project that we're working on right now is partnering with world-class

1:19.9

founders like Damon John, Alexa von Tobel, Greta Van Riel, and so many more to teach crucial

1:25.9

skills like negotiation, finance, e-commerce, and so many more to teach crucial skills like negotiation, finance, e-commerce and so much more.

1:32.2

So if you'd like to get access to these free trainings with founders like this, which is 100% free,

1:39.2

just go to founder.com forward slash free.

...

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