Who Owns 1440 News? The Truth Behind This Fast-Growing Newsletter

Tim Huelskamp, Andrew Steigerwald, and Pierre Lipton founded the 1440 News newsletter. Huelskamp serves as CEO while Steigerwald leads as editor-in-chief. The newsletter's original subscriber base consisted of just 78 people - friends and family of the co-founders. Today, it reaches over 4 million subscribers who consider themselves "intellectually curious."

The newsletter's growth story stands out remarkably. 1440 earned the top spot as Chicago's fastest-growing company in 2023. It ranked 79th on the Inc. 5000 list of America's fastest-growing private companies with a 5,500% growth rate. The company's reach has expanded significantly, sending more than 1 billion emails annually that readers open over 600 million times. 

Questions persist about 1440 Media's funding sources and operational model, despite knowing its paper ownership. In this piece, we'll dive into the newsletter's ownership structure, funding approach, and content practices in this ever-changing media landscape.

Who owns 1440 News?

1440 Media belongs to its co-founders and employees. The newsletter operates as an independent, employee-owned media business without a parent company or sole corporate owner. This structure helps the newsletter maintain editorial independence and grow its subscriber base.

Founders: Tim Huelskamp, Andrew Steigerwald, Pierre Lipton

Three visionaries joined forces in 2017 to create what became one of America's fastest-growing newsletters. CEO Tim Huelskamp brings his finance expertise from private equity. He spent about ten years at the $20 billion American Capital fund where he helped turn around struggling companies.

Editor-in-Chief Andrew Steigerwald (Drew) brings scientific expertise with his Ph.D. in physics. Drew writes about 85% of the daily newsletter content and excels at Science & Technology and Politics & World Affairs sections. His background includes translating scientific papers into plain English for the US House of Representatives, which explains the newsletter's clear style.

Chief Operating Officer Pierre Lipton completes the founding team. His previous role at Finimize (a newsletter that sold for over $100 million) prepared him to lead business operations and advertising at 1440. Forbes recognized his achievements by including him in their 30 Under 30 list in 2022.

Ownership structure and employee stakes

1440 Media uses a tiered ownership structure. The three co-founders hold the largest stakes as top shareholders. The company now includes about 25 editors, experts, and analysts as of December 2023.

The core team members with minority ownership stakes include:

• Head of Product and Design Aaron Enequist-Leiker

• Head of Social Lauren Routt

• Chief Growth Officer Mike Rome

• Director of Brand Partnerships Amanda Black

• Chief Content Officer Sony Kassam

• VP of Product and Growth Mitchell Kapoor

Is 1440 Media independent or backed by investors?

1440 proudly calls itself "independent and employee-owned", yet the company has received external funding. The company raised over $2.50 million from investors. Cannon Capital and MassChallenge serve as the main investors.

These investors maintain minority positions while employee-owners keep control of the company. This balanced ownership model lets 1440 grow faster without giving up editorial control to larger media companies. Huelskamp's private equity background shows in this approach, which emphasizes lean operations and growth metrics.

How 1440 News curates and delivers content

1440 News uses a team of editors to sum up news from multiple sources instead of writing their own stories. They follow what they call an "inch deep and mile wide" philosophy. Their goal? To give readers a detailed news roundup they can read in five minutes.

The editorial team and their process

1440 claims to have a team of "editors, experts, and analysts" who "scour hundreds of sources". Yet they don't share much about who's on this editorial team beyond the founders. Editor-in-Chief Andrew Steigerwald writes most of the daily newsletter content - about 85%. He focuses on the Science & Technology and Politics & World Affairs sections.

The team reads dozens of articles on each topic before making what they call a "subjective assessment" to pick which links to include. They look through 100+ sources each day and pick what they think matters most. Their priority? News that has "significant impact on people, places, or communities".

Use of third-party sources and summaries

The newsletter combines news from other publishers. Each edition links to about 40 stories with quick summaries that run from one sentence to one paragraph. Rather than writing their own stories, they boil down what other outlets publish and link back to those sources.

The newsletter has sections like "Need to Know," "In the Know" (with parts for Sports and Business), "In-Depth," and "ETCETERA". They say they link to trustworthy outlets from all sides of the political spectrum.

Does 1440 produce original reporting?

No, 1440 doesn't do its own reporting. One source puts it plainly: "It contains no original reporting". The newsletter only pulls content from other sources. This makes it different from regular news outlets where journalists dig up and report stories themselves.

This focus on gathering news has turned into a soaring win. 1440 has become the world's fifth largest news email. It shows that bringing together balanced news summaries can work well for readers.

Funding model and advertising practices

1440 Media makes money mainly through advertising, especially native ads and sponsorship slots in their daily email newsletter. The company has raised $2.5 million from investors.

Who funds 1440 Media?

MassChallenge and Cannon Capital are the two main investors in 1440 Media. Their investment helps the company get new readers at about $3 per subscriber. The company signs up around quarter million new readers monthly, which means they spend close to $1 million on marketing.

The company runs as a self-sustaining business beyond these investments. CEO Tim Huelskamp says it's "more of a private equity approach" that focuses on "unit economics".

Revenue from ads vs. reader donations

Advertising brings in over 95% of 1440's money, while reader donations make up less than 5%. The newsletter's business model works really well - each employee generates "over a million [dollars] in revenue," according to Huelskamp. The company knows exactly how they make money: "When someone opens an email, we make about a nickel," Huelskamp explains.

"We send 25 emails a month-ish. We have the highest open-rate in the space, 60%. So they're opening 15 emails a month. At five cents, [that adds up to] 70-ish cents per user per month".

How sponsored content is presented

The newsletter shows sponsored content in "primary" and "secondary" formats. Primary sponsors get better placement with three brand touchpoints and two clickable logos. Secondary sponsors receive two touchpoints with shorter messages. Each ad has small-font disclaimers that say "In partnership with" and "Please support our sponsors!".

Concerns about health-related ad claims

1440 says they don't allow "miracle products" and carefully check "potential brand partners". Critics have raised concerns about some health-related claims in their sponsored content. They point to ads claiming to "strengthen immunity," "slow aging," and provide "joint relief". Questions still exist about how transparent their ad review process is and how they decide if a sponsor has a "strong reputation for consistent quality".

Transparency and public trust

1440 News doesn't deal very well with transparency, even though they claim to value "transparency and accountability". Their practices reveal several problems that make us question their commitment to being open.

Lack of visible editorial team bios

1440 talks about their "team of editors, experts, and analysts" who select content. The website tells us nothing about these people's identities. We only know about the three founders, while the rest of the core team remains unknown. Nobody can review these decision-makers' qualifications or potential biases. This creates a trust problem for a platform that says it delivers unbiased news.

Editorial standards vs. actual practices

1440's published standards state they "don't waste your time with speculative or opinion-based stories" and "will never cover a news story based on what a person is thinking".

Their actual content often goes against these claims. Critics found many links to source stories full of opinions. A newsletter included an MSNBC opinion piece with subjective statements like "I have real doubts" and "it's not very convincing" – the opposite of what 1440 promises.

Use of university PR as news

1440 often presents university press releases as news without telling readers where they came from. Stories about cannabis research and algae development came from university communications staff, not journalists. These appeared as news items without proper context. Universities get free publicity while readers might not know the content's true nature.

How 1440 could improve transparency

1440 can take simple steps to improve transparency. They should identify their full editorial team and explain how they choose and verify stories. University PR materials need proper labels, and ads should be clearly separate from editorial content. A critic pointed out that these problems "could be addressed fairly easily by greater transparency". Until these changes happen, people will keep questioning who really shapes 1440's content.

Conclusion

Who owns 1440 News? Without doubt, the company operates with an employee-owned structure. The founders Tim Huelskamp, Andrew Steigerwald, and Pierre Lipton lead the company, while Cannon Capital and MassChallenge hold minority investments. This ownership model helped them grow explosively to over 4 million subscribers. The company's success earned them recognition as one of America's fastest-growing companies.

1440's business model has some interesting aspects. The company focuses on content curation instead of its coverage. Steigerwald writes 85% of the newsletter content himself. On top of that, it makes 95% of its money from advertising. Their calculated monetization strategy gets about 70 cents monthly from each user.

1440 claims to offer balanced, fact-based news curation, but transparency problems are systemic. We don't know much about who shapes the content beyond the founders since there's little information about the editorial team. Their actions sometimes don't match their stated editorial standards, especially when you have opinion pieces and university PR materials showing up as news.

1440's impressive growth shows readers want concise news summaries. Questions about editorial independence and transparency still need answers. Readers of the daily digest should understand these dynamics. The people who select your news and their funding sources matter just as much as the news itself. 1440 has definitely found a way to get more and thus encourages more participation, but keeping reader trust depends on how well they handle these transparency issues.

FAQs

Q1. Who founded 1440 News and how has it grown?

1440 News was founded by Tim Huelskamp, Andrew Steigerwald, and Pierre Lipton. Starting with just 78 subscribers, it has grown rapidly to reach over 4 million readers, becoming one of America's fastest-growing companies.

Q2. How does 1440 News protect user privacy?

1440 News is designed to deliver news without tracking personal data or overwhelming readers with advertisements, prioritizing user privacy and security in their service.

Q3. What is the significance of the name "1440"?

The name "1440" represents the number of minutes in a day. It serves as a reminder of the value of time and can be used to increase productivity and efficiency.

Q4. Where is 1440 Media based?

1440 Media is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.

Q5. How does 1440 News curate its content?

1440 News employs a team of editors who review approximately 100+ sources daily, summarizing news from multiple outlets rather than producing original reporting. They aim to deliver comprehensive news coverage in a quick five-minute read.