Refinery29 Co-founders Reflect on the Early Days of Digital Media
Executive Summary
The Refinery29 co-founders discuss moving from print into digital media and preserving a clear voice as the company grows. Their joint interview covers early experimentation, audience feedback, the tension between metrics and creative judgment, and hiring people who care about the work. Nathan Chan interviews Christene Barberich and Piera Gelardi. These notes use the public auto-captions through the closing questions and Foundr promotion, not invented timestamped chapters. The video was uploaded April 29, 2019; matching Foundr audio episode #253 was released June 4, 2019 in the official RSS feed. The displayed date follows this earlier video publication. Roles, audience numbers, company structure and platform practices reflect this historical interview, not the current company. Brief references to the women's movement, MeToo and wellness/sex editorial categories explain the publication's mission; the discussion is about running a media business, not political, medical or sexual advice. Quotes retain exact caption wording; names in prose are checked against publisher profiles.
Key Takeaways
Notice what the old format limits
Their print work offered creative freedom but little immediate audience response. Digital publishing offered a more direct conversation and space for independent fashion voices.
Recognize your value in a founding team
Both moved from informal consulting into partnership. They describe the importance of taking their own contribution seriously rather than remaining unpaid helpers indefinitely.
Use the low-pressure beginning to experiment
The first years had few comparable companies and less public scrutiny. They tested formats and expansion paths before the company had large traffic expectations.
Expand through audience response
A beauty newsletter and later subject experiments showed where the audience had appetite. New verticals emerged through tests rather than launching every idea at once.
Balance evidence with creative conviction
Traffic benchmarks can help prioritize work, but data can also discourage unusual ideas. The founders see part of their role as protecting thoughtful experimentation.
Scale through people who care
Hiring people who use the product and understand its mission can make difficult periods easier to handle. Skills, enthusiasm and the ability to advance a role all matter.
Define quality by purpose
They ask what a piece should do for a reader and what its headline promises. Clear intent helps keep the story useful rather than optimizing only for clicks.
The Conversation Breakdown
Notice what the old format limits
⏱ Untimed topicTheir print work offered creative freedom but little immediate audience response. Digital publishing offered a more direct conversation and space for independent fashion voices.
Recognize your value in a founding team
⏱ Untimed topicBoth moved from informal consulting into partnership. They describe the importance of taking their own contribution seriously rather than remaining unpaid helpers indefinitely.
Use the low-pressure beginning to experiment
⏱ Untimed topicThe first years had few comparable companies and less public scrutiny. They tested formats and expansion paths before the company had large traffic expectations.
Expand through audience response
⏱ Untimed topicA beauty newsletter and later subject experiments showed where the audience had appetite. New verticals emerged through tests rather than launching every idea at once.
Balance evidence with creative conviction
⏱ Untimed topicTraffic benchmarks can help prioritize work, but data can also discourage unusual ideas. The founders see part of their role as protecting thoughtful experimentation.
Scale through people who care
⏱ Untimed topicHiring people who use the product and understand its mission can make difficult periods easier to handle. Skills, enthusiasm and the ability to advance a role all matter.
Define quality by purpose
⏱ Untimed topicThey ask what a piece should do for a reader and what its headline promises. Clear intent helps keep the story useful rather than optimizing only for clicks.
Core Frameworks & Ideas
Test an adjacent subject
Use one newsletter or content experiment to see where readers have appetite before committing to a broad expansion.
Metrics with editorial judgment
Use traffic evidence to allocate resources, but leave room for ideas whose value is not obvious from previous benchmarks.
A headline as a purpose test
Write the promise a story or creative project makes before producing it, then check whether the finished work delivers that promise.
Actionable Next Steps
- ✓Before commissioning content, write the reader need and the promise of its headline.
- ✓Test one adjacent subject before expanding your entire content strategy.
- ✓Ask a candidate how they use the product and what they would improve, alongside checking the skills needed for the role.
Notable Quotes
“scale is all about the people that you're trusting to handle the scale”
“first nail it in the you know in the space that you're that you're in”
“you can't have a media company I don't think without having a really true understanding of what it is you want to leave behind someday”
The One Thing to Remember
Use audience data to learn without losing the point of view that made people care.