theSkimm Founders Explain Why They're Betting on Millennial Women

How many people would sign up for a “membership to live smarter”? More than seven million, apparently, because that’s how many subscribers wake up to find the Daily Skimm newsletter in their in-boxes each morning.

theSkimm cofounders Carly Zakin (l) and Danielle Weisberg (Photo by Sarah Marloff)

Carly Zakin and Danielle Weisberg founded theSkimm in 2012 with a mission to help millennial women, via their daily digest of news stories, to live smarter, stay informed, and make the right decisions for “themselves and their families,” Weisberg explained to the Chronicle.

As their company – and brand – continues to grow (they released their first book How to Skimm Your Life earlier this year), the pair spoke at the Texas Conference for Women’s 20th anniversary opening night event on Wednesday, Oct. 23. Like the conference’s bipartisan stance, both Zakin and Weisberg are serious about theSkimm delivering the news sans bias. As Zakin said during their talk with author of You Deserve the Best and all-around millennial personality Erica Williams Simon, theSkimm isn’t interested in telling their readers how to think, but “what’s out there to consider.”

Backstage, Weisberg expanded on theSkimm’s stance – clarifying that they’re not bipartisan, but nonpartisan. “That's actually a very big distinction. Today there are so many different political parties out there. … For us, it’s really thinking about what could be the different perspectives you could hear and putting that out there.”

In many ways it was the drive to keep people informed that inspired the pair – who previously worked at NBC News – to start their newsletter. Weisberg explained that, in 2012 when the company was formed, they were reacting to two things: the constant barrage of information – “that feeling we had, even being paid to read the news all day long, but walking away from your desk and coming back to an onslaught of tweets you’re never going to be able to tackle” – and a wave of news personalization. “There was a trend to opt into news you were interested in,” Weisberg said. “To us, that felt a little bit scary. It shouldn't just be about getting news you’re interested in or tailoring news to your own interests.”

Seven years later though, Weisberg said, “now that seems quaint,” calling the current state of news media “overwhelming.” Today, there are “so many more sources of news and information”available, as well as numerous opinions and “biases.” As proof, Zakin recalled a recent poll, which found that nine of the 12 most divisive brands are media companies. “That’s scary,” she concluded.

That’s why theSkimm focuses on a different strategy. As the two reiterated throughout our conversation, “the only side we’re on is that of our audience,” which they credit for being geographically and politically diverse. theSkimm also remains committed to “calling out B.S. on both sides,” said Zakin. That’s a goal they feel they’ve achieved; as Weisberg noted, late night TV host Stephen Colbert confessed to them: “I read you every day, and I have no idea where you stand.”

When asked why theSkimm has opted to focus on millennial women (which Zakin, Weisberg, Williams Simon, and your reporter all identify as), Zakin didn’t hesitate: “This generation is so fascinating.” She went on to point out that millennial women are out-earning our millennial men in “paychecks and degrees,” that slowly but surely we’re breaking glass ceilings, and that “we are the key voting block, we are becoming legislators – that’s incredible.”

On the flipside, said Zakin: “We’re buried in student debt, we cannot afford our first homes, we are having families later, and we are also occurring the costs of fertility treatments. Our parents are living longer and getting pushed out of work earlier… We might not have social security.”

With the many accomplishments and hurdles in mind, theSkimm has assumed the responsibility of helping women of the generation navigate the many unique challenges we face. To their credit, in the leadup to the 2016 elections, theSkimm – through partnership with Rock the Vote – registered 110,000 Daily Skimm readers to vote. And, according to The Cut, nearly 95,000 of those folks were women.

One other thing millennial women have in our favor? As Zakin put it: “There’s a lot of us.”