GoKawiilKey Takeaways Kara Swisher spent three decades working for The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal.
She realized that she could create something herself and launched the technology news site Recode in 2014.
Swisher said that she was more comfortable with uncertainty than many of the journalists around her when she chose to build her own business.
After spending about 30 years covering Silicon Valley for The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal, Kara Swisher decided that she could build something bigger on her own.
“I thought I could do better,” Swisher told Business Insider’s Dan DeFrancesco during a recent talk with the outlet’s staff.
Swisher went on to launch Recode, the influential technology news site, in 2014. But before becoming a media entrepreneur, she had already built an established reporting career. For example, she helped produce and co-host a conference series for the Journal that became the predecessor to the Code Conference.
Swisher now co-hosts the Pivot podcast with NYU Stern professor Scott Galloway. She published Burn Book, a 320-page memoir about her encounters with founders and executives in the tech industry, in 2024. She has also amassed two million followers across social media channels.
Swisher told Business Insider staff that she was more comfortable with uncertainty than many of the journalists around her when she chose to build her own business. “I was like, what’s the worst thing? I have to come back? I’m a good reporter. That’s always saleable,” she said.
Her advice to workers looking to branch out and start their own business is to take an honest look at the downsides before leaving. Deciding to quit can hinge on factors like financial responsibilities and children to support.
The key to going independent
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