CANDID
RANDI
Simplifying
Dot Complicated
BY MAE MAÑACAP-JOHNSON
andi Zuckerberg, founder and CEO of Zuckerberg Media,
knows the pains and joys of building a startup company. “It’s difficult to live in Silicon Valley and not want to have your own
startup. When you’re surrounded by so many passionate people
solving difficult problems to change the world, every single day,
you can’t help but feel inspired to flex your own entrepreneurial muscles,” says the editor-in-chief of digital lifestyle
destination, Dot Complicated.
Zuckerberg says the rewarding aspects of launching a startup can
far outweigh the challenges if one stays focused and persevere
ISPA
NCE through the hard times. “When you take baby business steps and
CONFERE
work through obstacles, you can celebrate those small victories
KEYNOTE
that add up to a greater whole. It’s an amazing feeling,” she says.
ER
SPEAK
19
OCT.
In this candid interview, Zuckerberg offers a glimpse into the
MONDAY,
lessons she learned, the tech trends she’s keeping an eye on, and
why she gives her self a permission to be imperfect.
PHOTO CREDIT: DELBARR MORADI
Pulse: Can you share some
lessons that can help new companies survive and thrive,
especially during the critical
first few years of business?
Zuckerberg: The odds of succeeding
as a startup have been said to be one
out of every 10 and, according to the
U.S. Census and Bureau of Labor
Statistics, only about half of small businesses fail in the first five years. But
failure doesn’t necessarily mean that
your business won’t turn a profit. You
have to get accustomed to failure.
Wayne Gretzky was the highest scorer
38 PULSE
■
October 2015
in the NHL but he also missed the most
shots. You have to take risks and have
confidence in yourself taking those risks.
How someone else ran his or her own
company may not be the best way for
you to run yours. Make sure to stay educated on your industry. See what else is
out there. Listen to podcasts, read
books, stay in the game and stay relevant. And never, never, never give
up—just reassess and keep on keeping
on. Just like a GPS in your car, if you
make a wrong turn, you have to recalibrate. Ask questions, get business
mentors and believe in yourself.
P: How did your previous work
at Facebook influence the way
you lead, manage and operate
your own business today?
Z: At Facebook, I noticed a lot of the
innovation in online content had been by
men for men and I wanted to change
that. At Zuckerberg Media, I wanted to
target more “wired women”—an emerging demographic of everyone, from young
working women to grandmothers, who
spend two to three hours a day online. I’d
been taking notes from the women I’ve
worked with along the way: Diane Sawyer,
Tina Brown, advertising legend Shelly