How Refinery29 bootstrapped for 8 years, caught fire, and raised $133 million — only to end up selling to another struggling startup, Vice Media, for mostly stock
It's an uneasy marriage. Refinery29 presents itself as the voice of female empowerment. It was early in publishing stories celebrating body positivity and ethnic diversity. Vice Media has a mostly male audience and is known for its edgy content, and it has historically fought a reputation that suggests its culture is hostile toward women. Both publications are losing money.
Combining commerce and content is hard, though, and the company eventually ditched that approach to focus on being an ad-supported publisher with click-to-buy links integrated into its articles. The company became overwhelmingly ad-driven. Refinery29 was still a midsize media company, though. And its early advantage from email newsletters didn't last as social apps like Facebook and Snapchat took over how people engaged with media.
To maintain traffic, staffers said they were told they had to bank one or two stories a day for each day they were on vacation. Stories on the net worth of famous people became a running joke because they would guarantee traffic.As Refinery29's online growthcompared with 25 million a year earlier, its leadership tried to find new ways to make money off the audience.
Refinery made headlines with its events, but the margins on that kind of business are slim. Refinery29 didn't try selling subscriptions, another way digital-media companies are trying to diversify revenue streams — some more successfully than others.
México Últimas Noticias, México Titulares
Similar News:También puedes leer noticias similares a ésta que hemos recopilado de otras fuentes de noticias.
Refinery29 bootstrapped for 8 years and raised $133 million — only to sell to Vice Media for mostly stockBusiness Insider talked to numerous current and former employees and other people close to the company about its rise and disappointing exit.
Leer más »
Vice Media CEO discusses its $400M Refinery29 acquisition“We’re really excited about the brand. I think it’s incredibly complimentary to what we are already doing at Vice.” Vice Media CEO Nancy Dubuc discusses the company’s $400 million Refinery29 acquisition.
Leer más »
John Malone Sells His Remaining Lionsgate Stock to Mark RacheskyRenowned media investor John Malone has sold off his remaining stock holdings in Lionsgate, the studio that has grappled with a steep decline in its share price during the past two years. On Thursd…
Leer más »
Trump signs executive order expanding Medicare, saying Democrats are 'stealing' health careFall homebuyers are getting a bonus. The sell-off in the stock market is causing an unexpected turnaround in mortgage rates.
Leer más »
New plunge in mortgage rates could save borrowers thousands of dollarsFall homebuyers are getting a bonus. The sell-off in the stock market is causing an unexpected turnaround in mortgage rates.
Leer más »
'Absolutely no reason' to own Tesla stock, wealth manager saysTesla's stock price has slid over 25% since the beginning of 2019 as the company has failed to build on the profits it earned at the end of last year.
Leer más »