Were you aware that the Toast is in fact, a business? A business that is in the habit of making money? That Nicole and I are not just a pair of gals who decided to start a fun, free club in our spare time, but in fact Women of Business who self-funded our own media network? Rebecca Greenfield at Fast Company knows:
If The Toast were a typical Silicon Valley startup, and not a feminist website that analyzes the lesbian undertones in Grease and imagines texting convos with literary giants, it might position its growth story as something like this: millions of users in one year, massive engagement, and profits. And this week, The Toast announced its first major expansion, hiring Bad Feminist author Roxane Gay to lead its spin-off site, The Butter.
But because The Toast is not a typical Silicon Valley startup–it has no office and its three founders, two of whom are female, reside in three distinct cities–founder and star writer Mallory Ortberg sells her site’s success story with a Twitter joke:
*I wander the landscape of media journalism carrying a cup* anyone want to hear the tale of two women who bootstrapped a profitable business
— Mallory Ortberg (@mallelis) September 10, 2014
Feminist commentary wrapped in jokes is Ortberg’s signature style, and what draws over a million unique visitors (per Quantcast) to The Toast each month. Only a little over a year old, the site was profitable just after three months. And, as Ortberg and her cofounder Nicole Cliffe (formerly of The Hairpin) like to point out, unlike so many of the high-profile media startups today–Vox, 538, First Look–they succeeded without any financial commitment from men.
Look, go read the whole thing. It was lovely, to see The Toast taken seriously as a business instead of a Free Joke Factory, and I highly recommend more people do it.
Tags: fast company, interviews, meta, rebecca greenfield, THE MEDIA, the toast
Related Posts
Writing, Trans Identity, Race, and All the Poetry: An Interview With Meredith Talusan
A Chat With Paul Morrill About Building Games And Making Money
The Hollywood Reporter‘s Liz Smith Interview, Annotated
Toast Points for the Week of March 13th
Toast Points for the Week of February 27th
Toast Points for the Week of April 24th
“If The Toast were a typical Silicon Valley startup, and not a feminist website that analyzes the lesbian undertones in Grease and imagines texting convos with literary giants,”
There’s so much wrong with that. Why can’t a feminist website also be a typical Silicon Valley startup? What do you mean there aren’t other typical Silicon Valley startups that imagines texting convos with literary giants? None that I go to, that’s for sure.
Because typical Silicon Valley startups aren’t about making nice things, they’re about making rich investors richer.
(I may have been reading too much about startups lately.)
I work at a startup, albeit not in Silicon Valley, and even hearing the word “investor” causes full-body shudders.
Man, I disagree entirely. I see that framing as being a subtle criticism of the business and business journalism worlds. The Toast isn’t a typical Silicon Valley startup because it’s not tech and it’s not a boys’ club; therefore it does not get the Serious Coverage such businesses do. The article’s existence is pushback against that, and the framing acknowledges said pushback, and then Mallory’s and Nicole’s presentation in the article–the way they phrased their comments and articulated their priorities–also push back against the whole system of it because they are not Performing Business. I think it’s awesome.
Also, the “typical Silicon Valley startup” is burning through millions in VC funding and hasn’t yet released a viable product. Hey-o!
OOOOOP
Yeah, I remember when all any news outlet could talk about was that stupid Yo app and I would argue that what The Toast is and provides is infinitely more valuable, so suck it, Tech Bros!
I am so proud and impressed with you both. I love The Toast so much. Congratulations and well done and thank you for this place of wonder you’ve created.
Not that anyone needs my validation or confirmation but I couldn’t agree more with this.
Thirded!
1) You two are great and I look forward to the day when you roam the media landscape on an iron chariot crafted from the wreckage of your competitors.
2) This reminds me of how I’m waiting for media journalists to notice how a little website by the name of PostBourgie helped spawn the media careers of so many internet favorites.
“When you roam the media landscape on an iron chariot crafted from the wreckage of your competitors” YES
I am thinking about what piece of the chariot various dull man-run media startups would be. Obviously a throne wrought from Bleacher Report.
The wheels are Gawker. The front shield is Nate Silver’s forehead.
The footrest is Bustle
The seat is Buzzfeed
I’m really confused about how to feel about Buzzfeed. They have Anne Helen Petersen!
This website and everyone who helps to make it every day are all amazing. Every one of you. I will even allow Nick Pavich in on this even though he is A Man, he can’t help that.
I’m so impressed and proud of your success and I hope your meteoric rise continues forever.
I also want to point out the Male Led Media: Look, this is what happens when you don’t ignore a potential market that’s desperate for content, when you don;t give them the same boring regurgitated crap that you assume is ‘women’s interest’. This. 15 months to profit and expansion.
Right? Like, whaaat, there was a market for smart lady media all along? INCONCEIVABLE
TURNS OUT: Women are complex individuals with many interests who like to be treated like they can understand difficult things!
A woman can like pretty clothes AND good books AND have in-depth, thoughtful discussions.
And if you provide a place that enjoys a glorious poly marriage of humour, feminism, intriguing articles etc, you get success.
I even sometimes buy things from the ads, which I display, because Nicole asked us all nicely that one time.
As Mallory pointed out (and I paraphrase, because I’m entirely too drunk (local bar is doing beer steins with accompanying beer to usher in Oktoberfest) to wade through links rn), “we didn’t create a community; there was a community of women, and we found it.”
Turns out that providing awesome content which assumes women are people interested in quality writing works really well.
*sniffle* I’m so proud of you all. Thanks for refusing to believe one couldn’t maintain a kind, feminist, editorial voice and still stay in business.
millions of users in one year
Okay so is anyone else now developing performance anxiety in regards to comments here? Just me? Okay.
you/your comments are perfect. never change.
Upon hearing the news that Roxane Gay was coming over, my initial thought was, “Yes this is amazing!!!” Not a millisecond later, my second thought was, “Oh no, I’m fucked!”
My decision to use a fake email and pick an alias via selecting a noun at random is now 100% justified.
I have the same online identity everywhere and I am beginning to question the wisdom of that.
I would bother to veil my identity more but my obnoxious opinions shine like a lantern wheresoever I bear them so what is the use. the few people who know me will recognize me, nothing to be done about it.
Pretty sure the same can be said of me, so…yeah.
Was just thinking I might as well dox myself and be done with it.
I have the same online identity everywhere else–an online identity I’ve had since 2001–and I deeeefinitely don’t want that identity anywhere near my work computer.
I could, of course, just not comment on The Toast at work, but what fun would that be?
I would do if my normal internet name hadn’t been already taken when I made my account here. So I sensibly used my real first name (well,the abbreviation of it that everyone calls me) and my horse’s name instead. Bollocks to anonymity I say.
DITTO. eeeeeeeeeeeeee
All day, every day. However, your comments and gif curation are on-point. ;D
As I think about this more, I have been noticing a significant up-tick in “thumbs-ups” of my comments, and the only way it can be really justified is over thousands of people are seeing my comments and….
…
no, can’t compute, will just assume it’s bots doing it.
thousands of people are seeing my comments and….
Ahahaha, perfection. Your gif skills/library is unparalleled!
You know, I noticed when I first got here that almost every single comment got at least one thumbs-up, and I just assumed that was because this was such a friendly community. Not because when the number of viewers rises, the odds that at least one person thinks a post is worthy of a thumbs up increases. I think I’m going to keep telling myself that.
It’s also because if you have an IntenseDebate account, then you automatically thumbs up your own comments.
Ohhhhhhhhhhh
A comment I made yesterday got A HUNDRED THUMBSINGS UP and that blew my mind
Ahhhhhh see this is why we all love you and you must comment forever.
*raises hand*
I almost never comment on anything on the internet. But I comment on The Toast because it is friendly and wonderful and well moderated. And seems smaller than it is. But that’s a lot of people!
It’s like performing on stage and not knowing how many people are in the audience until the lights come up and then you’re all
I regularly tell people ‘…and you can actually read the comments and comment on things without it turning into a giant clusterfuck!’
And it’s Worth your time commenting (even if you are aware of saying very stupid things in poor English and you keep comparing yourself to all-knowing librarians); you get answers and dialogue that is valuable, not only people stating their opinions and not reading anyone else’s.
Was my point here comprehendible? No, probably not. *crawls back under rock*
I’m choosing to continue to believe that the only people who read TheHyphenToast are those who comment. Not anyone I know in real life. Definitely not.
This is a Very Wise Mentality which I shall now immediately adopt. Thank you.
Last week a friend sent out a Toast link (for an article I had commented on) to myself and a bunch of friends, and it took all my nerve not to immediately reply-all ‘DON’T READ THE COMMENTS’.
You should be fine as long as you don’t comment under your real name.
not just you
now my fails at funny are being judged by millions.
I knowwwwww – now if something only gets a few thumbs up I know that millions of people think I’m SUPER LAME 🙁
Very valid point. Ahrg.
I am now SO GLAD I did not post in the Mistakes at Work post yesterday
FOR. REAL.
Oh my God and mine was super specific. Like anyone who has worked with me knows that story, and knows those very specific people entailed therein. Oh Jesus.
YES OH GOD. Even more than before, it was still pretty high (and the number of comments I start writing and then delete is still shocking) but now I’m all “oh god I can never comment again.”
But I choose to believe that most casual readers don’t read the comments, believing they are like the cesspool of comments elsewhere on the Internet, and enjoy my delusion.
YES PLEASE keep operating under that delusion because I think your comments are faboo.
You are very kind!
I am right here, sharing that delusion with you!
I’ve been reading for months and only just signed up to comment in the last week because y’all are just. so. SMART and FUNNY and NICE and how the fuck could I even stack up? NEWP. but! bravery!
And now, the terror. Oh yes.
I feel like I need to step up my portmanteau/pun game even though it’s pretty much the only thing I’m good at D:
Right? I realize that my Gif game is strong, but I feel like now there’s just SO MUCH PRESSURE.
I had this fear before I knew this factoid. So, no. You are not alone.
I now sincerely regret confessing to serious intoxication in the comment above this one. I keep pretending we’re just a small, close-knit community of, like, 100 people. OH GOD.
I am so happy the Toast is here, and that is is profitable and that it is a light upon this earth, rather than the useless stain that many of the other big new media sites are. And I am endlessly happy that Mallory and Nicole are here to spread their genius.
I hope they make enough to heap into a big pile and roll around on. Then, make even more.
I will fistfight anyone who says Mallory isn’t the best writer on the internet today, and I will equally engage in fisticuffs with anyone who disagrees with the fact that Nicole is the best and savviest website editor out there. I shall fight them on the beaches, I shall fight them on the landing grounds, I shall fight them in the fields and in the streets, I shall fight them in the hills.
I got your back! (Insert GIF of 40’s era Looney Tunes cat dancing around with paws curled into adorable but lethal fists, saying “c’mon, lemme at ’em!”).
& my axe
& my bow!
Hell, I’d fight them just for fun.
“they succeeded without any financial commitment from men.” <3
though, this does confuse me in regards to Nick
Nick did not fund us, he just worked for free.
(which is a financial contribution too! but he wanted us to correct the perception that he was the Money Man to our Content Ladies)
Working for FREE is a traditional womanly activity. He is thus an honorary woman
In addition to the obviously OH WOWness of Roxane Gay, this is precisely why I was so excited by yesterday’s news. My brain immediately added up dollar signs: hiring Nicole Callahan? Starting a vertical? You must be doin’ ooooookay. Well-deserved congratulations to you all!
Thank you for not only the out of the ballpark content but also for ruling the comments with fists of iron and fire. It’s a goddamn joy the read the comments on this site – and to actually comment as well. That’s something I rarely ever do on the sites I read even religiously.
YES. I routinely remark on my unparalleled ability and enjoyment at reading the comments here to my non-toast friends. Why they then remain non-toast friends is a great mystery of life.
I honestly wonder if that isn’t a pretty good part of the reason why this site gets so many readers. Who doesn’t hate the normally-horrible comments section of every other website? Who wouldn’t happily read a website where the comments are as fun to read as the article itself? On point comment moderation is so much of why this is a great place to be on the internet, and someone needs to give props to our ladies for being savvy businesswomen who know that. People skate right over those decisions as if they don’t matter, and they do.
Deleting terrible comments is an incredibly valuable job in the digital age.
the toast should and could and hopefully will revolutionize online media, and it will be a glorious day. like the ninth-best thing about it is that it proves it is possible to silence douchepenguins. may one day this oasis of non-suckitude force other websites to not-suck just to stay afloat.
YAY THE TOAST, MEDIA DISRUPTORS 4 LIFE
I am actually super happy you guys didn’t share any revenue figures or any of that boring bullshit with Fast Company, because 99% of these stupid “people start something, something happens, money!!!!” profiles are way too focused on the “money” part of the equation. I work in marketing but it’s for tiny little fun places because I couldn’t stand the type of soulless garbage companies present as their corporate image.
As someone who reads too much Fast Company web content, I am always struck by the breathless, cargo cult air of those profiles. It seems that they believe that if people just say ‘disruptor,’ and ‘brand storytelling’ enough while solving problems that are only problems in Silicon Valley, they too will get a profitable IPO.
Wait. All I have to do is “support the Toast” (button over there, right?) and you get more profitable?
Not that I ever thought of you as a free joke factory, but… I can still get jokes for free here, right?
wait a minute does this mean that all of my jokes and likes and such have been supporting capitalism!?!?!?
Because The Toast is the best place on the internet!!
No, seriously though, I went and checked out the Quantcast numbers when there was that article in Adweek a while ago and The Toast is like CORNERING the “women between 25 and 34 with no kids and a graduate degree” market
voila, for the curious… https://www.quantcast.com/the-toast.net#!summary
Wait, this isn’t a free joke factory? Ah, so that explains the collection calls. I was worried it was those old medical bills.
Anyway, I love this place, and am bonkers happy for you guys and your success. I look forward to many more years of Mallory and Nicole leading us in our unending mission to Kill All Men, etc.
I think I speak for the majority of The Toast readertariat when I say “Fuck Yeah.”
yes, yes you do (even if you are–presumably–a filthy, filthy man).
I am so Goddamned delighted to see the success of such cool smart funny people. May your reign be vast and terrible; I am ready.
i love every goddamn thing about this HUZZAH MY LADIES, HUZZAH
May the world bask in your brilliance!
May the haters step quickly and meekly to the left!
May male bloggers lay face down in the dirt as you step onto them and over them in lieu of mussing your shoes with the muck of the internet!
WELL DONE! WELL DONE INDEED!
I would also watch The Mallory Ortberg Show on a television. Toast TV!
Don’t forget cornering “the young librarian” market.
And the “bored underemployed professional woman” market. *raises hand*
I feel like the commentariat here is the most distilled, potent awesome on the Internet. Y’all are scary and intimidatingly smart and I luff all of you.
yeah, I may be a guy, but I’m in my late 20’s, a librarian, and occasionally bored at work.
I still want Toast merch, gdi. Shut up and take my money. Be an even more profitable business.
SERIOUSLY. There is no reason that I shouldn’t be able to buy a bumper sticker that says KILL ALL MEN. among other things.
me too me too me too me tooooooo! Even if for now it was just something little, like pinback buttons with the logo.
tote bags.
where are the tote bags for all my library books and knitting supplies and also art supplies. i need a lot of tote bags in my life is what i’m saying. (well, and what i’m saying is that if there were The Toast tote bags i would buy them SO FAST and for all my friends for presents, too. i’ve been saying it for at least a year, i remember making a comment about it a long time ago)
I am so, SO happy about all of these wonderful new developments for this site. It just continues to warm the cockles of my cold, cold heart. Also, if I could FIND THE DAMN THING, I would post a gif of Sam the Eagle saying “You will love BUSINESS”. But alas, it eludes me.
would you accept my favorite Sam quote for now, until you find it?
“You’re all weirdos!” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PB-wmOYelnM
Always! I love Sam.
(“Yes, ‘eadmasta.”)
You guys are badasses, and I love you (and this site, and this community) so very much.
I have a question about your business: does me using AdBlock affect your profitability? Is so, I will stop using it. (Sorry I’m so uninformed about internet things)
It does, negatively! We would very much appreciate it if you did not use it on our site. Thank you!
Well, as it turns out I can actually see ads on your site and also I don’t appear to have adblock downloaded as an extension (I think that’s what it is). Don’t tell your advertisers that I look so little at ads that I literally did not realize I had failed to successfully block them. Once I clicked on one of those Gap ones though, because it looked stylish.
I hope that you are enjoying, to whatever extent pleases you, that you run a profitable business that inspires such loyalty in its patrons that at least one of them spent time they were supposed to be using making profit for a DIFFERENT profitable business trying to figure out how to see more ads.
Is this where I should say that I tried downloading some firefox extensions the other day, only to find that they block ads on the Toast? Disconnect Me and Https Everywhere They aren’t supposed to block ads, but they appear to do so and I don’t know why. Does anyone know if there’s a workaround to allow ads on here, or do I just dump them?
You can disable it for individual sites! I disable it for any site I like and actually wish to see succeed, while leaving it up for the pits of the internet.
I just spent a few minutes trying to disable it for The Toast but couldn’t figure out how. Is there an easy way to explain it here? As robotneedslove said, sorry to be so uninformed about internet things. I would like to support The Toast.
Find the red ‘ABP’ button in the top right of your browser window (in Chrome, at least; not sure if it’s exactly the same in other browsers) and click it. You should get a dropdown menu that says “Enabled for this site” at the top – under that, choose ‘options’. This will open a new tab, and from there choose ‘whitelisted domains’. Add the-toast.net to your whitelist, close the tab, and come back to The Toast! The ABP button should now be grayed out, but you can also click it to confirm – if everything worked properly it should now say disabled.
But it IS going to be the Mallory Ortberg show forever, right?
The next site is a music site called The Jam, right????
You are a shining beacon of brilliance and joy and now that’s the thing I want most in life.
Oh please oh please.
I’m so happy the Toast exists and is successful and profitable. Y’all are one of like 3 sites on the Internet I don’t run adblock on.
I should add, that I do not actually know if this is how adblock works. Does it help if I have it turned off here?
Why DOESN’T The Toast have more of these articles written about it!?
I am always thrilled that this website exists, and even more so thrilled to know it’s successful (so quickly!)
I shall disable AdBlock posthaste for this site, as well – never thought about it until reading the comments!!
The Toast is not meant for me, and I’m OK with that. However, the Internet that I helped, in a very small way, to build was meant for you, and for everyone else. It was meant to support things exactly like The Toast, and I think it’s fantastic to see it working.
And may we all keep the pressure on for Network Neutrality.
Mallory and The Toast: the birthday dinner topic. . . tow birthdays, one dinner– BIRTHDAY DINNER TOPIC.
OH MY GOD YOU ARE THE ACTUAL BEST. Saaaaaammmmmm!!! 😀
This is great. I came in a few months late – and only started commenting very very recently – but this site become indispensable the moment I saw it. SO HAPPY FOR YOU.
I love this website and everyone on it, obviously. And I’m super down with the Mallory Ortberg Show. BUT IT’S ALSO THE NICOLE CLIFFE SHOW AND NICOLE, WE LOVE YOU VERY MUCH INDEED! YOU MUST NOT BE FORGOTTEN!
also I still really really really want Toast tote bags so let’s make that happen pleeeease
Are you on twitter?
Yes! I’m @lizbizfizz
Thank you for your excellent explanation! I had seen the “enabled for this site” and the “whitelisted domains” in my previous searching but didn’t know what those meant or how to apply it. Okey-doke, AdBlock has been disabled for The Toast.
I especially want to say, ladies, that I *really* appreciate that you are a Profitable Business that also PAYS ITS WRITERS OMG. I just read a Gawkr article recently that Lena Dunham was *initially* not going to pay the warm-up acts for her book-signing tour (and who has warm-up acts for a book-signing tour?) because something something exposure love of the arts blah blah blah. Ugh, look, writers love to write, right, but it’s still labor. I’m forgiving of all-volunteer-staffed journals and the like but not famous people who make tons of money off their books and tv shows and BOOK-SIGNING TOURS. So thanks, Mallory and Nicole and Nick for using thy profits to share the love.
I don’t comment often but I read The Toast everyday. It filled a hole in my internet browsing that I didn’t even know existed. Seriously what would I do all day while slacking off at work if not for coming here to read excellent articles and excellent comments?
MAZEL TOV. Such excellent news.
Mallory and Nicole – Titans of Industry!
Wonderful article and so GLAD to hear you guys are doing well financially. People who bring good things to the world SHOULD do well financially. I am happy to be sold potty training solutions (how do they KNOW?) and life insurance via ads on the site. I would even *pay* to read the Toast every day. You know, like a subscription.
Good on ya, women!
I’m so very pleased for you and grateful for this website. Yay smart women making money with their brains, doing stuff for people who aren’t rich white straight cis men! May this be the worldwide success narrative of the twenty-first century!
I'm so very pleased for you and grateful for this website. Yay smart women making money with their brains, doing stuff for people who aren't rich white straight cis men! May this be the worldwide success narrative of the twenty-first century!
I am 35 and going to have a baby in the next three weeks! Double outside the demographic!
I do like misandry though.
24 and just starting a graduate degree. So I'll be in the target demographic soon, but not yet. (Also, posted elsewhere today about how I'm finding misandry more and more appealing.)
I am so so happy about everything in toastlife.
I read in a different article that is not this one that you operate under Manderley, LLC, and I laughed at your endless brilliance.
Not that you would necessarily be interested in writing them but I would read the HELL out of some practical/detailed successful Ladies of the Internet business posts.
I am now aware, and I am in awe.
I am now aware, and I am in awe.