Type Private Headquarters United States Founded 2012 | Industry News media Area served United States | |
 | ||
Key people Danielle Weisberg
Carly Zakin Products The Daily Skimm
Skimm Ahead Founders Danielle Weisberg, Carly Zakin CEO Carly Zakin (18 Jul 2012–), Danielle Weisberg (18 Jul 2012–) | ||
The Skimm (styled theSkimm) is an American media company, founded in 2012 by Danielle Weisberg and Carly Zakin, known for its daily email newsletter that focuses on delivering popular news to its subscribers. The Skimm focuses on a short, simple, and easy-to-read version of the news, and is specifically targeted at urban women aged 22–34.
Contents
History
Weisberg and Zakin were two college students from two different cities. Zakin was attending the University of Pennsylvania and Weisberg, Tufts University. They met when they were both studying abroad in Rome. After college they both happened to pursue careers as producers at NBC News. Both the women describe themselves as "news nerds." They wanted to create an easy-to-read way to learn about the news and current events. In July 2012, they resigned from their jobs and started The Skimm. The community around The Skimm quickly grew and now celebrities like Oprah, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Michelle Obama call themselves subscribers and supporters. Weisberg and Zakin have been guests on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, Today Show, Good Morning America, MSNBC’s Morning Joe, Fox & Friends, CNBC’s Squawk Alley, and have been named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 in Media, Vanity Fair's The Next Establishment, Fortune’s 40 Under 40, and Adweek's Young Influentials.
In June 2016, theSkimm raised $8 million in Series B funding to move into video with the launch of Skimm Studios. The round was led by 21st Century Fox and included early backers RRE Ventures, Homebrew and Greycroft Partners.
In the Fall of 2016, theSkimm interviewed 12 of the major candidates for U.S. President and registered 110,000 people to vote in the 2016 election.
Products and Services
The Daily Skimm is the company's daily email newsletter. According to the company's website, it gives you "all the news and info you need to start your day." It focuses on a short, simple, and easy-to-read version of the news, and is specifically targeted at urban women aged 22–34. In 2015, the newsletter had over 1.5 million subscribers. As of November 2016, the newsletter has over 4 million subscribers.
In 2016, theSkimm launched the Skimm Ahead app for iOS, which highlights key upcoming events by directly inserting them into its subscribers' calendars.
Skimm’bassadors
theSkimm has more than 16,000 Skimm’bassadors who, in their communities, serve as brand ambassadors for the company. Skimm’bassadors get company swag, access to the company’s founders and brand promotions, product testing and networking opportunities.
To become a Skimm’bassador, a Daily Skimm subscriber must refer 10 people to subscribe to the newsletter using his/her unique referral link from the newsletter.