At just 29 years old, Daniella Pierson has done more than most media founders ever dream of. After building The Newsette—a newsletter-first media company—into a thriving, multi-platform brand with millions of readers and an 8-figure revenue stream, Pierson is now executing her boldest move yet: the launch of CHASM, a $40 million venture fund and content studio designed to bridge the gap between underestimated founders and underleveraged capital.
From once being labeled “uninvestable” due to her background, mental health disclosures, and refusal to fit Silicon Valley norms, Pierson has transformed herself into a power player, now writing the checks, telling the stories, and reshaping the very system that tried to exclude her.
And she’s doing it all on her own terms.
From Newsletter to New Power Network
Pierson launched The Newsette in her dorm room at Boston University in 2015. What started as a daily email for ambitious young women quickly evolved into a media business known for sharp editorial voice, diverse storytelling, and lucrative brand partnerships with the likes of Amazon, L’Oréal, and Bumble.
Unlike most startups that chase VC funding early, Pierson remained bootstrapped for years, scaling profitably and independently. That resilience and savvy allowed her to retain full ownership of Newsette Media—an increasingly rare feat in an industry full of buyouts and burnouts.
By 2023, The Newsette was generating over $40 million in annual revenue, reaching more than 20 million readers monthly through newsletters, social, podcasts, and brand content. The company had also launched Newsette Studios, which produced branded storytelling campaigns for Fortune 500 companies.
Still, despite the numbers, Pierson found herself dismissed by traditional VC circles, often told that her model was “too niche” or “not scalable enough.” The message was clear: successful, Latina, and neurodivergent wasn’t the formula venture capital was looking for.
Enter CHASM: The Fund That Should’ve Funded Her
CHASM, Pierson’s newly unveiled $40M initiative, stands for Creating Holistic Access, Storytelling, and Money. It’s part venture fund, part media incubator, and part movement.
Its goal? To invest in the founders who feel like she once did—brilliant, overlooked, and underestimated by traditional power brokers.
CHASM’s Core Pillars:
- Capital: Investing $250K–$2M checks in early-stage companies led by women, BIPOC, LGBTQ+, disabled, and neurodivergent founders across media, wellness, tech, and consumer products.
- Content: Using Newsette Media to tell the stories of its portfolio founders—turning investment into visibility, and visibility into momentum.
- Community: Building a closed founder network with peer coaching, pitch support, mental health resources, and curated partnerships with brands aligned with CHASM’s mission.
Pierson will serve as Managing Partner alongside a lean team of operators, creators, and advisors from the worlds of media, VC, and inclusive design.
“Being Overlooked Was My Advantage.”
For Pierson, CHASM isn’t just a business decision—it’s a personal rebuke of the systems that gatekeep innovation. Diagnosed with OCD in her late teens, she’s been open about how her mental health shaped her work ethic, her product sensibilities, and her obsessive commitment to execution.
Still, she was often advised to hide her diagnosis to be taken seriously by investors. She refused.
Now, with CHASM, she’s betting that transparency, intersectionality, and radical inclusion are not risks—they’re moats.
“Being told I was uninvestable taught me how to build something no one could ignore,” she said at CHASM’s launch event in New York. “Now I want to be the investor that would’ve said yes to me.”
The Business Model Behind the Movement
CHASM is structured as a hybrid firm with media IP ownership at its core. Rather than only taking equity in startups, CHASM also enters revenue-sharing and brand amplification partnerships, allowing its portfolio to grow through both capital and storytelling.
For example, a wellness brand might receive funding and also be featured in Newsette’s curated email campaigns, podcast episodes, or TikTok series—giving it a head start on traction in exchange for content rights or upside.
This blend of content and capital sets CHASM apart from traditional VCs—and aligns more with how today’s consumers discover and trust brands.
Early partners in CHASM include influential names like Serena Ventures, Glowbar’s Rachel Liverman, and brand strategist Bozoma Saint John, all of whom are supporting the fund’s mission as LPs, advisors, or media collaborators.
What CHASM Has Already Funded
Though still in its first months, CHASM has made five initial investments, including:
- Dose Diary – A mental health journaling platform co-founded by a neurodivergent Latina therapist and a former product lead from Calm.
- Thriftia – A Gen Z social commerce app for secondhand clothing that gamifies sustainability.
- HerRooted – A CPG wellness line rooted in Indigenous traditions and botanical science.
- Reverie Audio – An immersive podcast platform prioritizing non-Western and queer storytelling formats.
- Founders Circle Live – A real-time networking and pitch platform built by and for Black female founders.
Each investment comes with a media moment—whether it’s a Newsette deep-dive, a founder story docuseries, or a curated digital event that creates real traction.