TheSkimm

TheSkimm
source
Name	TheSkimm
Type	Private
Founded	2012
Founders	Danielle Weisberg; Carly Zakin
Headquarters	New York City
Industry	Media; Newsletters
Website	(company website)

TheSkimm

TheSkimm is an American digital media company founded in 2012 that produces daily email newsletters, podcasts, and branded content aimed at millennial readers in the United States. The company was created to distill news and cultural events into concise summaries for busy professionals and has expanded into podcasting, event programming, and political engagement initiatives. Founders Danielle Weisberg and Carly Zakin developed the brand amid the rise of platforms such as BuzzFeed, HuffPost, Vox Media, Gawker, and Mashable and within a media ecosystem that includes The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN, BBC News, and NPR.

History

TheSkimm was launched in 2012 by former NBC MSNBC producers Danielle Weisberg and Carly Zakin after careers at organizations including NBC News, ABC News, CBS News, Reuters, and Associated Press. Early coverage from outlets like Fast Company, Forbes, Time, Fortune, The Wall Street Journal, Adweek, and The New Yorker traced its rapid growth alongside companies such as Google, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snap Inc.. The company scaled through email list expansion strategies similar to Mailchimp campaigns and analytics approaches used by Chartbeat and Comscore. In 2014 and 2015 investors from firms such as DFJ, Rho Capital Partners, Google Ventures, Insight Venture Partners, and individuals connected to Greylock Partners and Sequoia Capital participated in funding rounds. TheSkimm launched audio programming during the podcast boom marked by series like Serial and platforms like Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Stitcher. Its initiatives intersected with civic efforts involving organizations like When We All Vote, League of Women Voters, Rock the Vote, National Voter Registration Day, and political campaigns during the 2016 United States presidential election and 2020 United States presidential election.

Products and Services

The company produces a flagship daily email newsletter, morning summaries, and evening briefings modeled for commuters and professionals who also consume content on platforms such as LinkedIn, YouTube, TikTok, Pinterest, and Reddit. Audio offerings included a signature podcast and topical series similar in format to shows on NPR and Wondery; partnerships have produced content across platforms including iHeartRadio and SoundCloud. TheSkimm developed a subscription app and event series that paralleled projects from The Atlantic, The Economist, Vox, Quartz, and Bloomberg. Branded content and native advertising campaigns aligned with brands such as Nike, Amazon, Apple Inc., Microsoft, Procter & Gamble, Unilever, L'Oréal, Spotify (service), and Uber Technologies while editorial partnerships occasionally resembled work between The New York Times and Netflix, or The Washington Post and Amazon Studios.

Business Model and Funding

Revenue streams combined advertising, sponsored content, event ticketing, and subscription experiments similar to models used by Conde Nast, Hearst Communications, Vox Media, BuzzFeed, and Vice Media. Investment rounds drew comparisons to startup financings for media ventures backed by firms such as Sequoia Capital, Benchmark, Accel Partners, Andreessen Horowitz, and Greylock Partners. Strategic hires often came from companies like Facebook, Google, Spotify, The New York Times Company, NBCUniversal, and Time Inc.. TheSkimm’s funding profile placed it in fundraising conversations alongside peers TheSkimm was not to be linked—note: founders navigated venture capital interest similar to histories of Giphy, Snapchat, Tinder, Airbnb, WeWork, and Peloton.

Audience and Distribution

Targeting primarily millennial women in urban centers, the audience profile overlapped with demographics pursued by Refinery29, Bustle, Elite Daily, Mic, and HelloGiggles. Distribution channels included email platforms, social media networks such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and content aggregators like Apple News and Google News. TheSkimm conducted marketing akin to campaigns by Sephora, Glossier, HBO, Netflix, Spotify, and political mobilization efforts seen in collaborations with When We All Vote and community organizations like YWCA and Planned Parenthood.

Leadership and Organization

The company was co-founded by Danielle Weisberg and Carly Zakin, who assumed executive roles while recruiting executives from legacy media and tech companies including The New York Times Company, NBCUniversal, Google, Facebook, and Spotify. Boards and advisors featured individuals with ties to investment firms and media institutions such as Greylock Partners, NYU (New York University), Columbia University, Harvard Business School, and corporate partners reminiscent of executives from Condé Nast and Hearst Corporation.

Reception and Criticism

Wider media reception included profiles in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Time, Forbes, Fast Company, Vanity Fair, The Atlantic, and Wired. Praise centered on accessibility and audience engagement similar to acclaim for BuzzFeed and Vox Media, while criticism addressed commercial content, editorial balance, and questions raised by media critics at Columbia Journalism Review, Nieman Lab, and academic commentators from Stanford University, Harvard University, Columbia University about newsletter-driven newsrooms and social influence. Debates referenced ethics discussions parallel to controversies involving Facebook data practices, platform moderation debates involving Twitter, and sponsored content critiques faced by BuzzFeed and Vice Media.

Partnerships and Social Impact

TheSkimm engaged in civic partnerships and voter education efforts alongside organizations such as When We All Vote, Rock the Vote, League of Women Voters, Voto Latino, and corporate citizenship programs similar to collaborations by The New York Times and philanthropic initiatives tied to foundations like Chan Zuckerberg Initiative and Ford Foundation. Brand partnerships spanned advertisers, media collaborations, and events echoing joint projects between The Atlantic and The New Yorker and community outreach efforts comparable to campaigns run by Charity: Water and Girls Who Code.

Category:Digital media companies