Exclusive: Fast Company launches private WhatsApp for working moms
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Stock: Getty Images
Fast Company is launching a private community on WhatsApp for women balancing senior-level careers and motherhood, the company exclusively tells Axios.
Why it matters: Publishers are looking to build deeper relationships with readers through communities as traditional sources of traffic become less reliable.
How it works: Called M-Suite, the new community and content series will include a private WhatsApp group, exclusive weekly newsletter, editorial coverage and events.
- The community initially will be limited to U.S.-based mothers who are director-level or above as well as founders who have left the traditional workforce. Membership is included with a Fast Company subscription.
- Events will be a mix of member-only virtual and in-person gatherings and programming open to broader audiences, including potential M-Suite panels at conferences like SXSW.
- M-Suite has 48 members following several beta launches, plus a waiting list. Fast Company expects the community to reach roughly 100 to 200 members by the end of the year.
Between the lines: Fast Company executive digital director Maia McCann says they chose WhatsApp in part because many working mothers already use the app to communicate with other parents.
- "It's meeting people where they are and being able to tap into the conversation quickly without having to build a platform of our own was paramount to me," McCann says.
- WhatsApp also allows Fast Company to eventually create subgroups based on members' interests or locations.
Context: The idea grew out of a LinkedIn post from Fast Company staff editor Shalene Gupta asking senior-level mothers how they were managing work and parenting. The responses became a May feature, "Corporate America is crushing senior-level mothers. Here's how they're coping."
- Fast Company continued the conversation at its Innovation Festival earlier this month. Two clips from a related panel were the company's highest-performing social content from the festival, generating about half a million views and more than 700 new followers, McCann says.
The big picture: Publishers have been trying to convert audiences they reach through search and social into direct relationships.
- Wired this month launched a new app aimed at its most loyal readers with community features including live question-and-answer forums with its journalists and experts.
- McCann says the M-Suite community is a way to increase the value of a Fast Company subscription and keep people engaged. The company is also open to sponsorships around M-Suite content and events.
What's next: Fast Company is surveying its M-Suite members about how and where they want to gather in 2027.
- McCann says Fast Company could apply the model to other parts of its audience such as freelance designers.
