Arianna Huffington leaves The Huff Post to focus on her startup

Having spent 11 years running The Huffington Post, the publishing entrepreneur is now stepping down to focus on a startup that will help tackle the stress epidemic

Arianna Huffington leaves The Huff Post to focus on her startup

Photo credit: drserg/Shutterstock.com

During her time at the Huffington Post, Arianna Huffington, co-founder and editor-in-chief, has taught us how to go on a digital detox, extolled the benefits of sleep and spoken regularly about the importance of achieving balance. And she has just revealed her intention to leave the publication she launched to dedicate all of her time to transforming the way we think about stress. She plans to do this through her latest venture Thrive Global: a wellbeing and productivity platform.

Huffington initially believed it would be possible to run the startup alongside her role at The Huffington Post. But she’s admitted that the initial plan was “an illusion” as the stress she would experience working two jobs would go against what the business was trying to achieve. “Thrive Global’s mission is to change the way we work and live by ending the collective delusion that burnout is a necessary price for success,” she explained. Huffington is now looking forward to focusing her energy entirely on her startup: “Building something from scratch doesn’t get easier just because you’ve done it before,” she said. “There is only one way to do it: with your full attention.”

The news comes as Thrive Global finished its Series A funding round, which was led by Lerer Hippeau Ventures. Other investors include Blue Pool Capital; Greycroft Partners; artist Isabella Huffington, who also happens to be the outgoing editor-in-chief’s daughter; Advancit Capital; Female Founders Fund; Zoë Baird, chairman at Berggruen Institute; Ray Dalio, founder of Bridgewater; and NBA player Andre Iguodala.

Although it won’t launch until after the US election in November, Thrive Global has already identified companies to team up with and has piloted training and workshops with professional services company Accenture.

Other partnerships will include the sports and training institute Altus, the meditation institute the Bob Roth and David Lynch Foundation, the sleep-enhancement tool manufacturer Sense by Hello and the online healthy food market Thrive Market.

While the world of business is highly competitive, Huffington’s impressive experience and entrepreneurial flair surely means that Thrive Global’s investors have nothing to stress about.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Eric Johansson
Eric Johansson
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