Huffington Post co-founder and editor-in-chief Arianna Huffington gave away some real shocking news to Reuters. Stepping down and directing her focus on new ventures ‘Thrive Global’, she bid farewell to the 11-year-old news editorial.
She answered reporters at a press conference confirming a contract that still puts her in the President position till 2019. However, she said the contract boosted her decisions to start up new launches while continuing her role on the site.
Things escalated to a whole new point when her startup ‘ Thrive Global’ received Series A funding for her latest venture. This caused her to confirm her separation from Huffington Post, citing that she could no longer work for the editorial.
“I really thought I could do both, but as we started building it up, I realized that it really needed my full attention,” she told reporters. “It is important to know when one door closes and another opens, and I felt that moment had arrived.”
People familiar with her have pointed towards Verizon as a more likely cause for the shift. Verizon’s acquisition of AOL last year Yahoo about a month ago puts Huffington Post in a tough spot. Under AOL, it enjoyed a dominant position. But now coupled with Yahoo and AOL under the same roof, there are a whole new set of rules and hierarchies.
Ms. Huffington is a Greek native. Her then-husband, Michael Huffington was a billionaire oil magnate running for the Republican Party. He ran for the U.S. Senate in California in 1994 but lost to Dianne Feinstein in a landslide election. Ms. Huffington developed a more liberal perspective after her divorce. In 2005, she co-founded the Huffington Post working along with Kenneth Lerer and Jonah Peretti.
Jonah Peretti became the think tank behind BuzzFeed with Kennenth Lerer’s help. He became a top venture capitalist for numerous digital media companies after splitting. He is also investing in Ms. Huffington’s new venture.
“When we started, there was no Facebook,there was no video, no social. It was tech 101, but Arianna saw the possibilities,” said Mr. Lerer. “Without her marketing genius, her editing, and her contacts, none of this would have happened.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcYHd9BS9lY
About Her Latest Venture
She has named her venture Thrive Global. It has the same name as Huffington’s first self-help book (Thrive: The Third Metric to Redefining Success and Creating a Life of Well-Being, Wisdom, and Wonder). The book originally was based on helping people regulate their sleep patterns.
Her new startup’ Thrive Global’ focuses on similar perspectives. It will rely on seminars, coaching and other methods to provide users reach overall peace of mind in small steps.
“Thrive Global’s mission is to change the way we work and live by ending the collective delusion that burnout is a necessary price for success,” she stated in a press release.
Thrive will launch in November. Its turnout is expected to surpass Huffington Post. The site has failed to turn profits despite hitting 100 million users a month.
In 2011, the National Writers Union and the News Guild also boycotted the website. They argued that the website wasn’t concerned with paying its contributors.
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