Latest news with #TheNewsette
New York Post
11-08-2025
- Business
- New York Post
Mogul featured in Forbes' ‘30 Under 30′ denied bonuses to workers while flaunting $5K Chanel rollerblades: report
A millennial mogul denied bonuses to her employees as her business imploded — even while she spent lavishly on items that included $5,000 Chanel rollerblades, according to a report. Daniella Pierson, who turned 30 last Monday, rose to prominence with a women-focused lifestyle newsletter, The Newsette, that she launched while attending Boston University in 2015. Her entrepreneurial hustle landed her on Forbes' '30 under 30' list of notable media figures in 2020 — helping her rub shoulders with A-lister Selena Gomez, pop singer Jewel and designer Diane Von Furstenberg, according to Forbes. 5 Daniella Pierson, once hailed by Forbes as one of America's richest self-made women, is facing claims she exaggerated her business success and lavishly spent on luxuries while denying employee bonuses. Getty Images The next year, investor Peter Rahal took a 1.25% stake in her budding media company at a valuation of $200 million. But Pierson's self-made image has become bruised by constant exaggerations that call into question her business acumen, according to more than a dozen sources who spoke to Forbes. She has admitted to using fake email accounts to make her one-woman startup look bigger, inflating subscriptions by double-counting readers and boasting that brands like Nike spent 'tens of millions' a year with her when no deal ever topped $1 million, the outlet reported. The report described Pierson as an effective self-promoter — earning a reputation as a rising star in women's entrepreneurship by cultivating celebrity friendships, landing magazine covers and touting her companies as booming successes. Behind the scenes, however, former colleagues and business records cited by Forbes suggest a pattern of overstatement, misrepresentation, and high-profile ventures that have either faltered or collapsed. Multiple ex-employees told Forbes that Pierson denied staff their annual bonuses and, minutes later, posted Instagram Stories flaunting new Chanel rollerblades and a marble kitchen remodel for her apartment in Soho— a jarring look for someone branding herself as a champion of women. 5 Pierson built a high-profile brand through celebrity connections and aggressive self-promotion. She is seen left with singer Jewel. Getty Images Former staff told Forbes that The Newsette's workforce is down to roughly a quarter of its peak, and revenue has dropped from the $40 million she claimed in 2021 to under $4 million in recent years. Pierson had followed the success of Newsette with the launch of Wondermind, a mental health startup she co-founded Gomez and the singer's mother, Mandy Teefey, in 2021. She was forced out of Wondermind last year after clashing with her co-CEO, according to the Forbes report. Pierson's own account of The Newsette's origins includes embellishment, Forbes reported. In a Stanford Graduate School of Business talk, she described creating fake email accounts to give the impression of a bigger staff and posing as an intern to recruit subscribers. Pierson also managed to leverage her personal ties with Furstenberg, her 'fairy godmother,' who introduced her to several connections at Amazon, including company founder Jeff Bezos. 'I have known Daniella for years. Her drive is impressive and I am fond of her. My relationship with her is more personal than business,' von Furstenberg told The Post. Pierson was able to parlay her newfound ties to Amazon into a marketing campaign in which the e-commerce giant featured female founders on its homepage to mark International Women's Day. 5 A screenshot of The Newsette's homepage, the women-focused lifestyle newsletter Pierson launched in 2015 that Forbes says inflated subscriber counts and brand deal values. Amazon also became one of the first and largest clients of Newland, Pierson's marketing agency, a partnership which earned The Newsette Media Group tens of millions in sales. By 2021, company sales totaled $34 million, according to internal documents — less than Pierson's repeated public claims but still the most it had ever made. That year, she secured investment from Rahal, founder of RXBar, who took a stake in her company without reportedly looking at its finances. The $200 million valuation translated into an estimated personal stake for Pierson worth nearly $170 million. When combined with her Wondermind shares and other assets, Forbes listed her as worth $220 million in 2021. Shortly after the deal, the company's main revenue source — Newland's marketing work for Amazon and Mattel — began to crumble. Both clients ended their relationships, and by the end of 2023, Newland had been shut down, though Pierson continued to present it as active, according to Forbes. Former staff told the publication that she also misrepresented the scale of brand deals, telling clients companies like Nike and Ulta Beauty were spending tens of millions of dollars annually when no single contract topped $1 million. Internal records from 2022 cited by Forbes show she overstated subscriber numbers as well. Last year, she claimed 1.3 million subscribers across three newsletters, without clarifying that many were duplicates. Media valuation expert Kevin Kamen reviewed The Newsette's latest figures and social reach for Forbes and estimated it is now worth 'no more than $12.2 million.' 5 Pierson, photographed during her rise as a media entrepreneur, allegedly overstated The Newsette's size and client spending to bolster her image. Getty Images At Wondermind, Pierson's co-leadership lasted about a year before she was pushed out, according to former staff. Two-thirds of the 15-person team were later laid off, Forbes reported. Ex-employees from both companies describe her management style as volatile, with frequent outbursts, micromanaging and public criticism of staff work, according to the Forbes report. Several recalled her denying annual bonuses shortly before posting on Instagram about luxury purchases. The Post has sought comment from Pierson, Gomez and Teefey. An Amazon spokesperson declined to comment. In 2023, Pierson nearly became part of an even bigger headline — the potential sale of Forbes Media. Luminar Technologies CEO Austin Russell led a bid to acquire the outlet, and Pierson was slated to join the board, according to Forbes. Investor calls during fundraising drew mixed reactions, with some participants questioning her involvement. 5 Pierson, 30, is reported to have denied bonuses before showcasing a $5,000 pair of Chanel rollerblades and a marble kitchen on Instagram. Getty Images She took charge of public relations, issuing a press release that announced an 'oversubscribed' deal and included a composite group photo positioning her at the center. The acquisition collapsed two months later, but Pierson continued to list herself online as a Forbes board member until her agency removed the claim this month, according to the report. As Forbes prepared to publish its investigation over the weekend, Pierson posted on Instagram accusing unnamed parties of a 'smear campaign' against her and her companies, vowing to continue investing 'millions of my own dollars into helping women.' Rahal now interacts with her ventures only sparingly. Earlier this year, he responded to one of her LinkedIn announcements with a single clown emoji.
Newsweek
15-07-2025
- Business
- Newsweek
Could Female Entrepreneurship Close the Gender Gap? Daniella Pierson Thinks So
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. 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.
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
A 29-year-old entrepreneur's side hustle brought in $40 million in a year. Now she wants to help other 'uninvestable' women.
Daniella Pierson is launching CHASM to help women secure venture capital funding. Pierson said she was laughed out of meetings with VCs when pitching her newsletter called The Newsette. She built a multimillion-dollar business anyway, and wants to help other women do the same. Before building her multimillion-dollar business, Daniella Pierson said she was "the poster child" for "do not invest in." Now, she aims to help other "uninvestable" women secure financing for their ideas with her new organization, CHASM, where she wants to help close the gender gap in VC funding. "I had zero investment, not because I didn't want it. I wanted it very badly," Pierson told Business Insider. "I went to dozens of VCs, and I was rejected, rejected, rejected, laughed out of every room." One "household name" told Pierson she spoke too much and too quickly, and didn't know what she was talking about: "I cried the whole Uber home." Despite the setbacks, Pierson made a name for herself with her newsletter, The Newsette, which she founded in 2015 during her sophomore year at Boston University. Until graduation, she would write the entire newsletter between 6 and 10 a.m., covering the latest news in beauty, fashion, and business, before rushing to classes. Then she'd work on it in the evenings and weekends too. "Even after we made a million dollars, I still wrote it," Pierson said. "I didn't have fancy VC money to fall back on." In 2021, The Newsette had a team of 14 and brought in revenues of $40 million in one year and made a profit in the tens of millions. The following year Pierson launched another newsletter, Wondermind, cofounded with Selena Gomez and the actor's mother, Mandy Teefey. That year, Forbes named Pierson the world's youngest, wealthiest self-made woman of color. It took Pierson more than five years of hard work to become successful beyond her "wildest dreams." Pierson said she grew up as "the dumb twin — that's not a nickname I gave to myself. That's something my lovely teachers and peers called me in public to my face." She faced numerous barriers and challenges as a female entrepreneur. She failed her business project at college and was almost kicked out a semester before graduation. She was diagnosed with OCD when she was 14, and also lives with ADHD, depression, and anxiety. Pierson doesn't want it to be this hard for other women like her. The amount of funding all-women teams receive is low. In 2022, they accounted for 2.1% ($5.1 billion), BI previously reported. In 2023, it dropped to 1.8% ($3.1 billion). "That made me really mad," Pierson said. "So I was like, what am I going to do? I'm going to close the gender gap." CHASM, which launched on May 20, has a "mentor-to-many" business model. Fifty high-profile entrepreneurs and investors, both men and women, pay a $25,000 membership fee to help aspiring female entrepreneurs from pitch to exit, offering insights, networking opportunities, and grants. Pierson said she wanted to provide women the tools, knowledge, and connections they need to thrive as entrepreneurs without facing the same roadblocks that she did. Pierson said women start out "50 feet below the playing field" when launching a business. She believes men are part of the solution. "The gap has opened wider because we're isolating men," Pierson said."That could be a controversial statement, but I don't think it is, because guess what? If 99.999% of the money, power, wealth, all of that belongs to men, we need some of them on our side." Pierson said she doesn't want to "just throw money at the problem." "I'd rather teach a woman how to fish than just give her a fish," she said. "I want to put them in the best position for success by giving them the ultimate Bible of everything." Some members already signed up for CHASM include Sara Blakely, the founder of Spanx and Sneex; singer Lionel Richie; Fidji Simo, the CEO and chair of Instacart who is joining OpenAI later this year; and Tony Robbins, a motivational speaker and coach. "This is putting my heart and soul, and my time, where my values are, and I hope people really use this to become the most successful versions of themselves, no matter what industry they're in," Pierson said. "If I can do it, anyone can." Read the original article on Business Insider Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
A 29-year-old entrepreneur's side hustle brought in $40 million in a year. Now she wants to help other 'uninvestable' women.
Daniella Pierson is launching CHASM to help women secure venture capital funding. Pierson said she was laughed out of meetings with VCs when pitching her newsletter called The Newsette. She built a multimillion-dollar business anyway, and wants to help other women do the same. Before building her multimillion-dollar business, Daniella Pierson said she was "the poster child" for "do not invest in." Now, she aims to help other "uninvestable" women secure financing for their ideas with her new organization, CHASM, where she wants to help close the gender gap in VC funding. "I had zero investment, not because I didn't want it. I wanted it very badly," Pierson told Business Insider. "I went to dozens of VCs, and I was rejected, rejected, rejected, laughed out of every room." One "household name" told Pierson she spoke too much and too quickly, and didn't know what she was talking about: "I cried the whole Uber home." Despite the setbacks, Pierson made a name for herself with her newsletter, The Newsette, which she founded in 2015 during her sophomore year at Boston University. Until graduation, she would write the entire newsletter between 6 and 10 a.m., covering the latest news in beauty, fashion, and business, before rushing to classes. Then she'd work on it in the evenings and weekends too. "Even after we made a million dollars, I still wrote it," Pierson said. "I didn't have fancy VC money to fall back on." In 2021, The Newsette had a team of 14 and brought in revenues of $40 million in one year and made a profit in the tens of millions. The following year Pierson launched another newsletter, Wondermind, cofounded with Selena Gomez and the actor's mother, Mandy Teefey. That year, Forbes named Pierson the world's youngest, wealthiest self-made woman of color. It took Pierson more than five years of hard work to become successful beyond her "wildest dreams." Pierson said she grew up as "the dumb twin — that's not a nickname I gave to myself. That's something my lovely teachers and peers called me in public to my face." She faced numerous barriers and challenges as a female entrepreneur. She failed her business project at college and was almost kicked out a semester before graduation. She was diagnosed with OCD when she was 14, and also lives with ADHD, depression, and anxiety. Pierson doesn't want it to be this hard for other women like her. The amount of funding all-women teams receive is low. In 2022, they accounted for 2.1% ($5.1 billion), BI previously reported. In 2023, it dropped to 1.8% ($3.1 billion). "That made me really mad," Pierson said. "So I was like, what am I going to do? I'm going to close the gender gap." CHASM, which launched on May 20, has a "mentor-to-many" business model. Fifty high-profile entrepreneurs and investors, both men and women, pay a $25,000 membership fee to help aspiring female entrepreneurs from pitch to exit, offering insights, networking opportunities, and grants. Pierson said she wanted to provide women the tools, knowledge, and connections they need to thrive as entrepreneurs without facing the same roadblocks that she did. Pierson said women start out "50 feet below the playing field" when launching a business. She believes men are part of the solution. "The gap has opened wider because we're isolating men," Pierson said."That could be a controversial statement, but I don't think it is, because guess what? If 99.999% of the money, power, wealth, all of that belongs to men, we need some of them on our side." Pierson said she doesn't want to "just throw money at the problem." "I'd rather teach a woman how to fish than just give her a fish," she said. "I want to put them in the best position for success by giving them the ultimate Bible of everything." Some members already signed up for CHASM include Sara Blakely, the founder of Spanx and Sneex; singer Lionel Richie; Fidji Simo, the CEO and chair of Instacart who is joining OpenAI later this year; and Tony Robbins, a motivational speaker and coach. "This is putting my heart and soul, and my time, where my values are, and I hope people really use this to become the most successful versions of themselves, no matter what industry they're in," Pierson said. "If I can do it, anyone can." Read the original article on Business Insider Sign in to access your portfolio
Business Insider
25-05-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
A 29-year-old entrepreneur's side hustle brought in $40 million in a year. Now she wants to help other 'uninvestable' women.
Before building her multimillion-dollar business, Daniella Pierson said she was "the poster child" for "do not invest in." Now, she aims to help other "uninvestable" women secure financing for their ideas with her new organization, CHASM, where she wants to help close the gender gap in VC funding. "I had zero investment, not because I didn't want it. I wanted it very badly," Pierson told Business Insider. "I went to dozens of VCs, and I was rejected, rejected, rejected, laughed out of every room." One "household name" told Pierson she spoke too much and too quickly, and didn't know what she was talking about: "I cried the whole Uber home." Despite the setbacks, Pierson made a name for herself with her newsletter, The Newsette, which she founded in 2015 during her sophomore year at Boston University. Until graduation, she would write the entire newsletter between 6 and 10 a.m., covering the latest news in beauty, fashion, and business, before rushing to classes. Then she'd work on it in the evenings and weekends too. "Even after we made a million dollars, I still wrote it," Pierson said. "I didn't have fancy VC money to fall back on." In 2021, The Newsette had a team of 14 and brought in revenues of $40 million in one year and made a profit in the tens of millions. The following year Pierson launched another newsletter, Wondermind, cofounded with Selena Gomez and the actor's mother, Mandy Teefey. That year, Forbes named Pierson the world's youngest, wealthiest self-made woman of color. Numerous barriers It took Pierson more than five years of hard work to become successful beyond her "wildest dreams." Pierson said she grew up as "the dumb twin — that's not a nickname I gave to myself. That's something my lovely teachers and peers called me in public to my face." She faced numerous barriers and challenges as a female entrepreneur. She failed her business project at college and was almost kicked out a semester before graduation. She was diagnosed with OCD when she was 14, and also lives with ADHD, depression, and anxiety. Pierson doesn't want it to be this hard for other women like her. The amount of funding all-women teams receive is low. In 2022, they accounted for 2.1% ($5.1 billion), BI previously reported. In 2023, it dropped to 1.8% ($3.1 billion). "That made me really mad," Pierson said. "So I was like, what am I going to do? I'm going to close the gender gap." CHASM, which launched on May 20, has a "mentor-to-many" business model. Fifty high-profile entrepreneurs and investors, both men and women, pay a $25,000 membership fee to help aspiring female entrepreneurs from pitch to exit, offering insights, networking opportunities, and grants. Pierson said she wanted to provide women the tools, knowledge, and connections they need to thrive as entrepreneurs without facing the same roadblocks that she did. Wider gap Pierson said women start out "50 feet below the playing field" when launching a business. She believes men are part of the solution. "The gap has opened wider because we're isolating men," Pierson said."That could be a controversial statement, but I don't think it is, because guess what? If 99.999% of the money, power, wealth, all of that belongs to men, we need some of them on our side." Pierson said she doesn't want to "just throw money at the problem." "I'd rather teach a woman how to fish than just give her a fish," she said. "I want to put them in the best position for success by giving them the ultimate Bible of everything." Some members already signed up for CHASM include Sara Blakely, the founder of Spanx and Sneex; singer Lionel Richie; Fidji Simo, the CEO and chair of Instacart who is joining OpenAI later this year; and Tony Robbins, a motivational speaker and coach. "This is putting my heart and soul, and my time, where my values are, and I hope people really use this to become the most successful versions of themselves, no matter what industry they're in," Pierson said. "If I can do it, anyone can."
