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7 Questions with theSkimm’s Co-Founders, Carly Zakin and Danielle Weisberg
Co-Founders, Co-CEOs, and best friends Carly and Danielle tell us the worst career advice they ever received and more.
In our 7 Questions series, we ask successful women rapid-fire questions that give us a glimpse into their hearts, minds, and wardrobes. This week’s conversation features theSkimm’s co-founders and co-CEOs, Carly Zakin and Danielle Weisberg, who sat down for a chat with M.M.LaFleur’s founder and CEO, Sarah LaFleur.
theSkimm is a trusted digital media company that provides millions of women with the information they need to make confident decisions. Carly and Danielle founded theSkimm over a decade ago—but anyone who’s seen the way they finish each other’s sentences will be unsurprised to learn that they’ve been friends for even longer. In this conversation, they told Sarah about the best books they read last year, their favorite makeup products of the moment, their mutual outside-of-work obsession, and more.
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What’s the last text you sent?
Danielle: Probably something to Carly.
Carly: The last text I sent was to my mom. I sent her a picture of my hair and makeup, and she said, ‘What is this for?’ I told her that I was at my friend Sarah’s for our capsule photoshoot. She replied, ‘That’s nice.’
What’s your favorite thing to wear out to dinner?
Danielle: I like wearing dresses out to dinner—especially fun dresses. I like trying on a different personality, especially working from home and being home with my kids. When I go out to dinner, I want to emerge into the world.
Carly: I love wearing leather pants, and I love making a collared shirt sexy. So keeping it open, maybe letting my bra show a little bit—I like to play with that.
What’s the best book you read last year?
Carly: The Family by Naomi Krupitsky. Danielle actually recommended it to me. It was excellent.
Danielle: The best book I read in 2022, by far, was Fair Play by Eve Rodsky.
What’s the most underrated thing you’ve spent money on?
Danielle: That little beauty sponge thing—the Beautyblender! I know a lot of people love it, but it was a new purchase for me in 2022. I learned how to do makeup from my friend, and she was like, ‘Here’s how to make it look not streaky.’
Carly: Biotherm eye makeup remover. I used to be very, very bad about taking my makeup off, and I think I just never had the right one. It is really a game-changer.
What’s the worst career advice you’ve ever received?
Carly: Not to do theSkimm.
Danielle: At the place where Carly and I used to work, someone said to me, ‘Oh, I can just tell you’re a lifer.’ That’s not something you say to motivate a twenty-something. I’d been there for five years at that point, but we were already thinking about starting something.
What’s one topic you can talk about for 10 minutes straight?
Carly and Danielle: The royals.
Complete the sentence: When women succeed…
Carly: …the economy does better.
Danielle: …they didn’t do it alone.
