Over a decade after birthing one of the Internet’s most popular and wide-reaching news outlets, Arianna Huffington is looking to try her hands at a new venture. In this presentation, Larry Scheinfeld focuses on Huffington's new startup and how she plans for future growth.

1. ARIANNA HUFFINGTON TO LAUNCH
NEW STARTUP: THRIVE
By Larry Scheinfeld

2. OVER A DECADE AFTER
BIRTHING ONE OF THE
INTERNET’S MOST
POPULAR AND WIDE-
REACHING NEWS
OUTLETS, ARIANNA
HUFFINGTON IS LOOKING
TO TRY HER HANDS AT A
NEW VENTURE.

3. BLOOMBERG
REPORTS
HUFFINGTON IS
PREPARING TO
LAUNCH A NEW
COMPANY KNOWN
AS THRIVE.

4. THE STARTUP WILL
FOCUS ON HEALTH AND
WELLNESS, AND WILL
DERIVE THE MAJORITY
OF ITS CONTENT FROM
CELEBRITY
CONTRIBUTORS AND
BLOGGERS.
Photo source: www.oprah.com

5. IT WILL ALSO LOOK TO
PROVIDE OTHER
COMPANIES WITH
CONSULTATION
SERVICES AND
EDUCATIONAL
WORKSHOPS AND
EMPLOYEE WELL-
BEING.
Photo source: mindvalleyacademy.com

6. THRIVE BUSINESS MODEL

7. ACCORDING TO BLOOMBERG’S
ANONYMOUS SOURCES,
HUFFINGTON IS CONSIDERING
VARIOUS BUSINESS MODELS
FOR THE STARTUP, INCLUDING
ADVERTISING AND
CONFERENCES, AS WELL AS A
POSSIBLE SUBSCRIPTION-
BASED PROGRAM FOR
COMPANIES.
Photo source: www.wnyc.org

8. “One source said, “Thrive will
look to arrange classes for
corporate clients to improve their
employees’ well-being and
productivity, while helping them
retain talent.”

9. THE HUFFINGTON POST

10. HUFFINGTON HAS
ENJOYED ENORMOUS
SUCCESS FROM HER
LEFT-LEANING
MEDIA COMPANY,
THE HUFFINGTON
POST.
Photo source: thedianerehmshow.org

11. THE BRAND WAS
SOLD TO AOL IN 2011
FOR $315 MILLION,
THOUGH HUFFINGTON
HAS REMAINED
PRESIDENT AND
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF.

12. SOURCES SAID VERIZON
COMMUNICATIONS INC.,
WHO ACQUIRED AOL IN
2011, HAS GRANTED
HUFFINGTON PERMISSION
TO LAUNCH THRIVE WHILE
MAINTAINING HER TITLE
AT THE HUFFINGTON POST.
Photo source: www.zimbio.com

13. HUFFINGTON HAS
STATED THAT THE NEW
COMPANY WILL BE RUN
BY A SEPARATE
MANAGEMENT TEAM,
AND WILL NOT DISTRACT
FROM HER CURRENT
ROLE AT THE POST.
Photo source: adexchanger.com

14. “
Thrive is “not a media venture. The goal will be
to provide workshops, e-courses and
certification programs to companies around the
world. The workshops will be tailored for
businesses to drive organizational success,
built on the latest scientific findings which
prove that the health and well-being of
employees and the health of the bottom line
are strongly connected.”
-Ariana Huffington, Business Insider

15. INSPIRING PUBLICATIONS

16. THE STARTUP IS INSPIRED
BY HUFFINGTON’S 2014
PUBLISHED TITLE, “THRIVE:
THE THIRD METRIC TO
REDEFINING SUCCESS AND
CREATING A LIFE OF WELL-
BEING, WISDOM, AND
WONDER,” AS WELL AS ITS
FOLLOW-UP, “THE SLEEP
REVOLUTION.”

17. IN THE BOOKS,
HUFFINGTON STRESSES
THE IMPORTANCE OF
BALANCING WORK WITH
REST AND THE ESSENTIAL
ENJOYMENTS THAT LIFE
HAS TO OFFER. SHE ALSO
SEEKS TO REDEFINE THE
MEANING OF SUCCESS IN
TODAY’S SOCIETY.

18. THE IMPORTANCE THAT
HUFFINGTON PLACES ON
EMPLOYEE HEALTH AND
RECUPERATION IS SUCH THAT
SHE HELPED INTRODUCED
“NAP ROOMS” TO THE WORK
OFFICES AT THE HUFFINGTON
POST AND AOL AND HAS
EVEN OFFERED HER OWN BED
FOR RESTING AS A PART OF
AN AIRBNB CONTEST.
Photo source: www.dailymail.co.uk

19. ““There is this kind of founder myth
that if you are a founder you can’t
afford to get enough sleep.”
-Huffington in an interview with
TechCrunch

20. ““The truth is three-quarters of
startups fail and if founders got more
sleep they’d have a better chance of
succeeding.”
- Huffington in an interview with
TechCrunch

21. VENTURE CAPITAL

22. THRIVE WILL BE BACKED
BY VENTURE CAPITAL
FIRM LERER HIPPEAU,
WHOSE MANAGING
DIRECTOR KEN LERER
CO-FOUNDED THE
HUFFINGTON POST IN
2005.
Photo: Eric Hippeau, partner at Lerer Ventures
and former chief executive officer of The
Huffington Post (Source: lererhippeau.com)

23. LERER IS ALSO A CO-
FOUNDER AND CEO OF
THRILLIST MEDIA
GROUP AND HAS
INVESTED IN
SUCCESSFUL
COMPANIES SUCH AS
WARBY PARKER AND
BUZZFEED INC.
Image source: www.crainsnewyork.com

24. LAST YEAR, THE WALL
STREET JOURNAL
REPORTED THAT LERER
HIPPEAU WAS HEAVILY
INTERESTED IN
“SOFTWARE-AS-A-
SERVICE COMPANIES,”
PARTICULARLY THOSE
FOCUSED ON HR AND
HEALTH-CARE.
Half of the firm’s investments
are devoted to such ventures.

25. JACK MA, CO-FOUNDER
OF THE CHINESE
ONLINE SHOPPING
GIANT ALIBABA, HAS
ALSO AGREED TO
INVEST IN
HUFFINGTON’S
STARTUP.

26. MA’S E-COMMERCE
SITE SURPASSED
WALMART AS THE
WORLD’S LARGEST
RETAILER EARLIER
THIS YEAR.
Photo source: www.forbes.com

27. THRIVE IS SET TO LAUNCH
WITHIN A FEW MONTHS.
Photo source: www.more.com

28. “I became an evangelist for sleep 7 years ago when I collapses after my own wake up call
from exhaustion and sleep deprivation. That’s when I started reimagining my life and
the first habit that I changed was how much sleep I got.” - Arianna Huffington

29. IF YOU LIKED THIS PIECE, VISIT:
WWW.LARRYSCHEINFELD.BLOGSPOT.COM
➤ Larry Scheinfeld, co-founder and
partner at Zelkova Ventures,
concentrates most of his time
working with current portfolio
companies deciding strategic
funding and customer
acquisition plans. Currently, he
serves on the Board of Directors
for Starlight Foundation, an
organization offering quality of
life programs for seriously and
terminally ill children. In his free
time, Larry takes pleasure in the
Arts, golfing, and fitness
training. He lives with his family
in Palm Beach, Florida.