Satta Sarmah writes for Fast Company magazine about media start-ups, and she focuses part of her article on tech news site The Information and its founder, former Wall Street Journal reporter Jessica Lessin.
Sarmah writes, “‘It’s a major opportunity on par with building a big organization like the Wall Street Journal or the Financial Times,’ says Lessin, who has a staff of eight full-timers, many of whom are former colleagues.
“Lessin, 31, hopes to build The Information into a successful brand by relying on a model that traditional media has largely eschewed—subscriptions. It costs $399 a year to access The Information’s tech stories.
“‘Being a subscription business isn’t just about getting revenue on day one,’ she says. ‘It’s about finding a product that’s worth paying for and making all aspects of your organization focused on delivering that unique value.’
“Lessin has self-funded The Information, and other female media entrepreneurs also say they’ve bootstrapped their businesses. Lorek ran Silicon Hills News on a shoestring budget of $12,000 during her first year after getting funding from J-Lab, an incubator for news innovators that has given seed stage grants to female entrepreneurs.”
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