Thanks to Dany Levy '94 and the DailyCandy Web site she founded six years ago, more than two million culture-savvy consumers are hipper and more informed than ever before.
Since Levy first launched it in 2000, DailyCandy has provided subscribers with daily lifestyle updates on "what's hot, new, and undiscovered," according to its Web site. And the best part? All these trendy tidbits arrive in your e-mail inbox.
DailyCandy provides subscribers with a daily dose of information about goings-on that range from grand openings of hot new bars and restaurants to can't-be-missed sales at vintage boutiques. Subscriptions are free, and newsletters are currently available for 12 cities. An "everywhere" edition dishes about products and trends available online for any subscribers, including those living in suburban and rural areas.
The site's subscribers have ballooned from an initial 700 people to 2.1 million today. As her business grew, Levy sold a controlling interest in the company to MTV mogul Bob Pittman for $3.5 million in 2003. But Pittman's purchase was a bargain - a private equity fund recently purchased a smaller interest in DailyCandy for a whopping $130 million, Levy told The Herald.
"It was kind of a 'pinch-me' moment," Levy said of the deal.
Levy conceived DailyCandy while still employed at Condè Nast, the publishing company that owns Lucky, Vogue and Vanity Fair magazines, among others.
"I had a nice, cushy, job," she said. "Working at Condè Nast - it's a very nice life."
But after working in print journalism for nearly six years, Levy found herself frustrated by the long deadlines of monthly magazines and fascinated by the immediacy of the Internet. Early in 2000, Levy left her publishing job to start her own company - DailyCandy - with the money she had been saving for business school.
Though Levy was far from an Internet expert at the time, after a little "poking around" she soon realized the opportunities for innovative journalism online. "It doesn't seem so novel now, but back in 2000 it was a whole new form of journalism: being able to publish something instantly," she said.
Even as Internet use escalated, Levy said worthwhile lifestyle and shopping hints still required consumers to wade through scores of useless information.
"If you wanted to know what the new restaurant is, what the new must-have jeans are, you had to read through everything to find it," Levy said. "We wanted (DailyCandy) to be easy on the eyes. In print journalism, we call that 'eye candy,' so that's why this is called DailyCandy."
When operations began, the small staff took on all duties to ensure that each day's "candy" got out. Levy now, however, has few opportunities to write and edit the newsletters, as the company has grown to a multi-million dollar enterprise. She said she freelances on occasion for the New York Times and Vanity Fair but still carefully monitors the DailyCandy content.
"The primary focus of my job is to be sure that as we grow, we are not sacrificing quality for quantity," she said. "I joke that my job is 'quality inspector number 65.' I make sure that every city's DailyCandy is top-notch."
But the one-woman mastermind and entrepreneur said she spent her junior and senior years at Brown a loner. Levy arrived at Brown as a sophomore transfer from Yale. She concentrated in English and completed the Honors Program in Creative Writing.
"I had this great apartment on Williams Street, and I just devoted myself entirely to writing and work," she said. "I went into hermit-mode."
Now, it's apparent that Levy has long left "hermit-mode" behind for the hectic life of a New York City entrepreneur.
"Brown is a self-starter school; it challenges you to make the decision of whether or not you're going to take advantage of what's around you," Levy said. "So when I had this idea (for DailyCandy), it was a gamble, but I went with it."
Next year, the company may expand into multiple international cities. There is already a DailyCandy for London, and the company is considering content for Sydney and Hong Kong, among other places.
So, is a DailyCandy for Providence on the horizon?
"We've thought about smaller markets," Levy said. "But is there really new stuff on a daily basis in Providence?"
