Carly Zakin

If you haven’t checked out theSkimm, I encourage you to take a look. I recently wrote about the daily email newsletter in my blog post, What’s in your Fall 2014 Communications Toolkit?”  For me, theSkimm is an essential resource. For those of you who are curious about theSkimm and how the newsletter came to life, here’s a Q&A with theSkimm co-founders, Carly Zakin and Danielle Weisberg. Carly and Danielle took a few moments out of their busy day to share more about the Daily Skimm, which I read and enjoy every weekday.

Q. News is so important for communication professionals today, what is the TheSkimm’s approach to news sharing and keeping PR pros in the know?

A. We want people to walk into a room feeling confident they can talk to anyone they may come across — no matter that person’s profession. theSkimm breaks down headlines across industries, subjects and party lines and makes it easy and fun every morning. Whether it’s a client meeting, interview, or family dinner, our readers are ready to jump into conversation.

Q. How did TheSkimm founders come up with the name?

A. We came up with a bunch of insider names and nothing made sense or conveyed that we wanted to be an easy way for people to stay on top of what is going on in the world. Once we thought of ‘theSkimm’ it stuck and made total sense.

Q. What do you think is different about TheSkimm vs. other daily email newsletters?

A. What sets theSkimm apart is first, our voice – meant to sound like your friend sitting next to you, telling you what you need to know for your day – and second, the community that has grown around theSkimm — who help us grow every day.

Q. How are you using social media to promote your Skimm’bassadors program?

A. Social media is how we keep a pulse on feedback from our readers and interact with them regularly. For the Skimm’bassador program, we want to show how they are living and spreading the #SkimmLife across the country.

Q. What do you like the most about working for a start up culture?

A. Every day is different and brings a new challenge, it keeps things interesting. This year we expanded our team, moved into an office and have created a culture built around collaboration, creativity and getting sh*t done.

Here’s a little more background on theSkimm founders:

Carly Zakin and Danielle Weisberg, co-founders of theSkimm. Carly grew up in New York City and went to University of Pennsylvania – Danielle grew up in Chicago and went to Tufts. They met studying abroad in Rome and then reconnected after college while both working at NBC producing news programs. They became roommates and in July 2012 left their jobs and sent out the first Daily Skimm from their couch!