Starting a business is a feat in itself — but building one that lasts is even harder.
Kara Swisher built her reputation as a reporter covering Silicon Valley and investigating billionaires at The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal before launching the media brand Recode, and writing “Burn Book,” a memoir and chronicle of powerful tech leaders.
Venturing out on her own was a natural fit for the media mogul.
“I hate being an employee,” Swisher told Business Insider’s Dan DeFrancesco in a conversation with newsroom staff. “I’m like, ‘You’re an idiot.’ And I say it, and then it gets me into trouble.”
Swisher said that entrepreneurship may come more naturally to some people, but most can learn it. However, any successful business needs three elements to thrive, regardless of size, she said.
Brands may be able to survive with just one of the three components, but in order to be “hugely successful,” they need all three, Swisher said.
First: They must have a product people genuinely find useful. In media, that can mean delivering great reporting, scoops, or tips, she said. Swisher said the challenge is cutting through the noise with an offering that people actually find helpful.
“People have time constraints,” Swisher said. “Be useful.”
When she struck out on her own, she said she was “constantly thinking of the audience” and believed she could give them something better than what was already available.
“What do they want? What do they need? What do they not know they need?” Swisher said she asked herself.
The second essential ingredient is being “interesting,” which she said is a broad term she uses to describe products that feel fresh and authentic. She said being funny tends to work for her. That same formula guides everything she makes, including the “Pivot” podcast she hosts with Scott Galloway, she said.
The third critical factor is creating “a must-have,” or something you can’t get anywhere else. She said back in the day, NBC, for example, literally dubbed shows like “Friends” and “Seinfeld” as “must-see TV.” Swisher said that people may try to replicate the true must-haves, but their attempts often fail.
“You can’t bottle chemistry,” Swisher said about her own show.
Swisher said that entrepreneurs should ask themselves what they’re doing that people can’t get elsewhere.
“If you can’t answer that question, you’re fucked,” Swisher said. “You really are, truly.”
