Could Female Entrepreneurship Close the Gender Gap? Daniella Pierson Thinks So

Newsweek

15-07-2025

Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
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In Daniella Pierson's hometown of Jacksonville, Florida, dads were the breadwinners. They were the ones who went to work, who had financial freedom and who wielded power because of it. While other little girls were playing mommy to their baby dolls, Pierson "wanted to be the dad."
"I wanted to make my own decisions," she told Newsweek.
By the time she turned 25, Pierson had made over $10 million. By 26, her media company was bringing in more than $40 million in revenue. By 27, she was worth $220 million.
"A huge reason why I became successful was because I thought like a man," she said. "It's not advice I'd want to give a woman today."
When she founded The Newsette as a sophomore at Boston University, Pierson knew nothing about running a media company. At 19, she was struggling in school and convinced no one would hire her after graduation. Instead of waiting to confront that fate, she decided to hire herself. With no venture capital funding, she began writing a women-focused daily newsletter, where she served as editor-in-chief, publisher, reporter and everything in-between.
Women's Global Impact: Daniella Pierson
Women's Global Impact: Daniella Pierson
Newsweek Illustration/Canva
In its first year, The Newsette reached 14,000 subscribers. Her business was growing, but Pierson was still figuring out what a successful entrepreneur looked like. She started studying the strategies and behaviors of the wealthiest self-made Americans but found herself emulating the careers of men. Women were rarities on those lists.
"If 50 of [the 100 most powerful, self-made people in America] were women, I bet you no one would be telling us what to do with our bodies. I bet you we would probably not make less than men," she said. "It all starts at the top."
Now, at 29, Pierson is focused on closing that gender gap. Last month, she launched CHASM, an invite-only club that seeks to fund female entrepreneurs through a membership-based model.
The platform is built up of high-profile members—like singer Lionel Richie, Spanx founder Sara Blakely, OpenAI's incoming CEO of Applications Fidji Sumo, Drybar co-founder Alli Webb and motivational speaker Tony Robbins—who each pay $25,000 annually.
Twenty percent of the membership fee goes directly to CHASM grants, which are distributed monthly, while the majority of the membership fees, 80 percent, goes to CHASM resources. Those resources include lists of what the top VC firms are looking for and which investors to go after, crash courses on building a pitch deck and writing a job description, a glossary for funding terms and legal workshops that break down what entrepreneurs need to know about starting an Limited Liability Company (LLC)—things that can be a little "unsexy."
Female entrepreneurs can apply for these funds and access all online resources for free.
"As an entrepreneur, I want to know the unsexy things," Pierson said. "I want to know what manufacturing plan the brands I love use, I want to know how to contact them. I want to know what a prototype is."
"It took me so long just to even find those things, let alone get them for free," she said. "We want to provide the things that people don't find sexy and tell a woman with no business experience, 'We hear you and you're not an imposter. You just have never done this before. So, let's give you as much knowledge, content, resources, community as possible.'"
Pierson launched CHASM earlier this year in an effort to close the gender gap for female entrepreneurs.
Pierson launched CHASM earlier this year in an effort to close the gender gap for female entrepreneurs.
CHASM
This year, The Newsette will celebrate its 10-year anniversary.
Looking at Pierson, it's surprising to realize that she's already spent an entire decade spearheading three major business ventures (She also co-founded mental fitness startup Wondermind alongside actress Selena Gomez and Gomez's mom, Mandy Teefey.)
Pierson is petite and chatty, both of which are accentuated by the ginormous, beige couch she perched on and the acoustics of her lofty SoHo apartment. Much like the two mini poodles, Leo and Truffle, who run circles around her feet, Pierson gives off a cheerful energy. With the sleeves of her houndstooth blazer rolled up and her green-trimmed glasses sitting atop of her head, she feels like someone who is truly excited to see what the day will bring—an enthusiasm you wouldn't expect from someone who has spent the last 10 years waking up before the sun to run their media company alone.
But that's what The Newsette gave to Pierson.
Her first year at BU had been hard. She remembered feeling incredibly depressed, hating school and struggling to make friends.
"I was like a chameleon in the worst way," Pierson said. "I was kind of whoever people wanted me to be. That was my personality."
She never anticipated that The Newsette would grow into what it is today because her self-esteem led her to believe that she was incapable of creating something as big as it became. But in finding her newsletter and "wearing every single hat" at the company, something changed.
"Instead of hoping the day wouldn't come, I was jumping out of bed at 5 a.m.," Pierson said. "I felt more control of my future than I'd ever felt in my entire life."
Reflecting on the last decade, Pierson offered some advice for anyone who might be where she was 10 years ago.
"Hype yourself up," she said. "You have to have so much belief in yourself that no matter who is telling you you're crazy, it almost adds fuel to your fire."
Pierson will join Newsweek at this year's inaugural Women's Global Impact forum. The August 5 event, hosted at Newsweek's headquarters in New York City, will bring together some of the world's top female executives and connect them with rising stars across industries and job functions.
For more information on the event and entry guidelines, please visit the Women's Global Impact homepage.