Arianna Huffington Leaving Huffington Post for Her Thrive Global Startup
Media mogul Arianna Huffington is stepping down as editor-in-chief of The Huffington Post to join her startup company, Thrive Global.
Huffington announced the news via Twitter. Her startup company, Thrive Global, recently completed its Series A funding round. The company’s mission, according to an official statement released by Arianna announcing the company, “is to change the way we work and live by ending the collective delusion that burnout is a necessary price for success.”
The company describes itself as “a corporate and consumer well-being and productivity platform”. It will provide trainings, seminars, online courses, coaching, and ongoing support that distributes the latest scientific findings from experts in the fields of neuroscience, psychology, exercise, and sleep.
In a follow-up tweet, Huffington claims she is “filled with gratitude to all the colleagues and friends” she made while running The Huffington Post.
Thrive Global isn’t some big secret. News about the company first started to emerge back in June of this year.
Huffington reportedly believed she could build a startup and work as editor-in-chief of The Huffington Post simultaneously. However, she soon realized that was “an illusion”, according to her statement.
If you’ve ever read Huffington’s book, The Sleep Revolution, then you know she attributes her success to successful sleep patterns. She specifically referenced this fact in her press release, stating that leading the two companies was leading to burn out and involved working around the clock. It was a “betrayal” of the principles of Thrive Global she’s been writing and speaking about.
Huffington launched The Huffington Post in 2005. In 2011, it was acquired by AOL for $315 million. Verizon purchased AOL in June 2015 for $4.4 billion.
Thrive Global Will Launch Later This Year
Thrive Global recently completed its Series A funding round led by Lerer Hippeau Ventures. Notable names involved with the project include Sean Parker, of Facebook and Spotify fame, as well as Ray Dalio (Bridgewater Associates). NBA All Star Andre Iguodala is also involved.
Huffington reportedly developed the idea for the company after writing The Sleep Revolution and witnessing its success. She claims that stress and burnout are “a global pandemic” that cost businesses billions of dollars per year. Thrive Global has the over-arching goal of optimizing the perfect balance between a well-rounded life and high performance at the workplace.
Thrive Global is reportedly planning to launch after the US election in November.
Where Does The Huffington Post Go From Here?
It’s unlikely that The Huffington Post will see any major changes – aside from the obvious appointment of a new EIC.
Tim Armstrong, Chief Executive Officer of AOL, said in a statement that “AOL and Verizon are committed to continuing its growth and the groundbreaking work Arianna pioneered.”
He added that they were confident that their “strong editorial leadership team will maintain the exacting standards and high-quality journalism of our Pulitzer Prize-winning newsroom.”
The Huffington Post attracts 178 million visitors to its various websites every day.
Stay tuned for more information about Arianna’s exciting new Thrive Global startup as we move forward! And don’t get this confused with another health and wellness brand, Le-Vel’s Thrive and their lineup of DFT patches.
