Our PRIVATE VIEW(S) podcast is back for another episode, this time featuring 1440 CEO Tim Huelskamp – who’s built a rapidly growing media brand with big ambitions to become a major knowledge hub for the “intellectually curious reader”.
The 1440 Daily News digest launched in 2017 with just 78 subscribers. Seven years later it’s read by almost 4 million people every day, with another 250k signing up each month – many of them drawn to 1440’s promise of unbiased news. It’s a notable success in a time when building and growing a media business has, arguably, never been more challenging.
Having helped 1440 find their brand agency, we caught up with co-founder and CEO Tim as he reflects on growing the business, staying close to the product and the balancing act of investing in brand at the right time.
Scroll down for some soundbites from the episode, and listen to the whole thing on SPOTIFY, SOUNDCLOUD and APPLE PODCASTS.
On building a product people love
“We’re trying to fascinate ourselves and our audience at the same time. So we just pour our heart and soul into the product, and I think you can feel the love in it. And a lot of our readers feel that love. That’s why we have, I think, one of the highest open rates in the space at around 60%, which is off the charts. You see that in our retention data too. People stick around for multiple years because we add value in their lives.”
On the importance of creative
“Having a world-class, design-focused website and social allows you to punch above your weight class a little bit. We’re trying to partner with Fortune 50 companies, and the biggest bank and technology companies in the world. And they understand the importance of design and brand and creative.”
On differentiation
“The big thing I learned was that you can have one of the best products in the world, but in a world of world-class brands, how do you differentiate yourself? How do we take what we’re doing and communicate it in a world of unlimited choices?”
On finding a wider purpose
“We’re trying to stay focused and not do too many things – that’s one of our core principles. But we are trying to lean into this larger knowledge ecosystem. We think there’s something bigger out there, and we’ve been developing a new product that leans into what we do well – which is curate a bunch of information, summarise it for our readers, and provide links where they can go further if they want to go down the rabbit hole.”
On keeping good people happy
“We try to hire the smartest people in the world and get out of their way. As we’ve scaled we’ve brought on people from the best journalism schools in the world ... you put them in an environment where they love what they do and are passionate about what they do. When you have really talented people, a lot of magic happens.”
On levelling up
“I’m trying to level up the business and focus on the most important thing that can create the most value every quarter. On a personal level, that’s the most fascinating thing about being a CEO – what I did six years ago or four years ago or two years ago is completely different than what I’m doing now. The first time it was like, how do we get 78 people to love our email? Then it was, how do we grow to a thousand subscribers? Then it was, how do we get one brand to pay us $200 in revenue? Every time it’s a different challenge.”
On staying involved
“If you reply to any 1440 email, they still come to me. A lot of people say that’s not a good use of my time, and actually I disagree. I spend about half an hour on that every day, but I know exactly what my audience is thinking. I know exactly how they view the world. And they give us wonderful feedback that helps shape the product.”
Listen to the full episode on SPOTIFY, SOUNDCLOUD and APPLE PODCASTS.
