The Triibe
The TRiiBE is a Chicago-based digital media platform publishing original journalism, opinion, and cultural coverage for the Black Chicago community across news, culture, and people verticals via website, newsletters, video, social media, and live events, monetized through a freemium subscription model, advertising, and merchandise.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2017
- HeadquartersChicago, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What The Triibe does
The TRiiBE, Inc. is a privately held digital media company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, founded in 2016 and launched in February 2017 by co-founders Morgan Elise Johnson and Tiffany Walden, with David Elutilo as founding web developer. The platform, thetriibe.com, publishes original journalism, opinion, and cultural coverage targeted at the Black Chicago community across three primary verticals: news (community investment, politics and organizing, public safety and abolition, youth and education), culture (Black history, food, life and culture, sports), and people (opinions and letters, the revolutionary column). Content is produced by a four-person core team supplemented by freelancers and contributors, with original works reportedly reaching millions of readers across the U.S. and globally through the website, two email newsletters (a free Weekly and the $10/month RESHAPE premium), video, social media distribution (Facebook, Twitter/X, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok), an annual print magazine, and live events including the annual Rooted Out West summit.
The underlying technology is a content publishing platform with newsletter distribution, video hosting, and social media integration; there is no proprietary AI, API, SDK, or mobile app. Distribution channels are predominantly self-serve consumer-facing (website, email, social, e-commerce via Raygun Custom). The business operates on a freemium subscription model: free Weekly newsletter, $10/month RESHAPE paid tier with annual auto-renewal, plus advertising sales and branded merchandise. Additional revenue-adjacent activity includes The TRiiBE Guide, a special-edition publication sold through Haymarket Books. The company is bootstrapped, jointly owned 50/50 by the two co-founders with no outside investors, and in May 2025 announced a West Side Chicago studio expansion.
The Triibe firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- The Triibe
- Legal name
- The Triibe, Inc.
- Website
- https://thetriibe.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2017
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- The TRiiBE is a Chicago-based digital media platform publishing original journalism, opinion, and cultural coverage for the Black Chicago community across news, culture, and people verticals via website, newsletters, video, social media, and live events, monetized through a freemium subscription model, advertising, and merchandise.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
The Triibe industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Independent Digital Media
- NAICS
- Periodical Publishers (513120), Broadcasting and Content Providers (516)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Arts, Culture & Literary Magazines (MPAJAEAN)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- News, Politics & Current Affairs Magazines (MPAJAEAO), Politics, Current Affairs & Social Commentary Publishing (MPAJAAAM)
Keywords
Where The Triibe is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Chicago
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
The Triibe business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others
Revenue model
- Newsletter Subscriptions: The TRiiBE generates revenue through two newsletter tiers: a free Weekly newsletter delivering news and community events, and a premium RESHAPE newsletter at $10/month offering deeper political insights and behind-the-scenes content. Subscriptions auto-renew annually with advance billing.
- Advertising: The platform offers advertising opportunities to brands and organizations seeking to reach Black Chicago audiences through their website and newsletters.
- Merchandise Sales: The TRiiBE operates an online store selling branded merchandise including apparel through their partnership with Raygun Custom.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Monthly | Free newsletter delivering weekly news, calls to action, and community event curation to subscribers' inboxes. |
| Subscription | Annual | Premium newsletter providing deeper political analysis, trending topics insights, and exclusive behind-the-scenes perspectives from the team. |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels6 records
The Triibe product offering
Product offeringCore offering
The Triibe is a digital media platform that publishes original journalism, cultural commentary, and community-focused content covering Black Chicago. Its core offerings center on thetriibe.com, two email newsletters (a free Weekly and a paid RESHAPE premium newsletter at $10/month), an annual print magazine, video journalism, and branded merchandise.
Product overview
The TRiiBE operates as a unified digital media platform built around its core website thetriibe.com, supplemented by two newsletter products (a free Weekly Newsletter and a premium RESHAPE Newsletter at $10/month), an annual print magazine, video content, and a merchandise store. The company also publishes The TRiiBE Guide, a special edition on Chicago's Black and Indigenous history. The platform focuses on journalism, commentary, and cultural coverage specifically serving the Black Chicago community.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- The TRiiBE Weekly: Free weekly newsletter delivering impactful journalism, calls to action, and community event curation to subscribers' email inboxes.
- The TRiiBE RESHAPE
- The TRiiBE Guide
Quantifiable outcome
- Millions of readers reached across the U.S. and globally
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use The Triibe
Customer profileSegments3 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
The Triibe technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
The Triibe partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor.
- Haymarket BooksminorPartnership for publishing and distributing The TRiiBE Guide, a special edition publication diving into Chicago's Black and Indigenous history. The book is available for purchase through Haymarket Books' retail channels.
- Raygun CustomminorPartnership for merchandise production and sales. Raygun Custom produces and fulfills branded apparel and merchandise for The TRiiBE Store.
- Black Girl Wellness FestminorEditorial partnership for content co-creation. The TRiiBE published a story in partnership with the Black Girl Wellness Fest featuring co-founder Morgan Elise Johnson's journey with reproductive health, promoting the festival's Chicago event.
- WGN NewsminorMedia partnership providing The TRiiBE's publisher with a platform for live election night coverage. Morgan Elise Johnson appeared on WGN News election night panels during the 2023 Chicago mayoral election.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
The Triibe competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Capital B: Capital B is a nonprofit, Black-led local news startup expanding city-by-city with community-rooted journalism. It is directly comparable as a Black-focused, community-driven local news model with newsletter products and a similar mission-oriented editorial stance.
- Block Club Chicago: Block Club Chicago is a nonprofit, hyperlocal Chicago news outlet covering neighborhoods citywide. It is comparable as a Chicago-anchored, community-driven digital newsroom with a newsletter-led audience strategy, though it covers all Chicago communities rather than specifically Black Chicago.
- Scalawag Magazine: Scalawag is a progressive magazine covering the U.S. South with a strong racial-justice lens and reader-supported model. It is comparable as a small, mission-driven magazine with regional focus, multi-platform editorial, and reliance on member/subscription revenue.
- AFROPUNK: AFROPUNK is a global Black-culture platform combining editorial content with a major events business. It is comparable as a Black-culture media brand monetizing through editorial, events, and merchandise — the same multi-stream model The Triibe employs.
- Mother Jones: Mother Jones is a progressive, mission-driven investigative magazine funded largely by readers via memberships and donations. It is comparable to The Triibe as an independently owned, mission-driven outlet with a reader-supported revenue model and a strong newsletter product.
- The Chicago Reporter: The Chicago Reporter is a nonprofit investigative outlet covering race, poverty, and social justice in Chicago. It overlaps with The Triibe on Chicago focus, progressive editorial stance, and nonprofit/community-adjacent funding models.
- Blavity Inc. Blavity is a digital media company covering Black culture, news, and lifestyle. It is directly comparable to The Triibe as a Black-focused digital publisher with newsletters, events, and a multi-platform audience strategy, though Blavity operates nationally and is venture-backed.
- The Root: The Root is a long-running Black-focused digital news and opinion outlet covering politics, culture, and identity. It is comparable as a Black-American news and commentary destination with similar editorial mix and newsletter monetization, though at much larger national scale.
Broad incumbents
- Essence: Essence is an established Black-women-focused media brand spanning digital, print, and events. It overlaps with The Triibe on culture, lifestyle, and event-driven revenue, but is a broad incumbent with national reach and a much larger portfolio than the Chicago-anchored Triibe.
- Black Enterprise: Black Enterprise is a long-established Black-focused media brand covering business, investing, and entrepreneurship. It overlaps with The Triibe on Black-American audience and multi-platform editorial strategy, but sits in a different vertical (business) and operates at much broader national scale.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
The Triibe social profiles
Digital presenceThe Triibe financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
The Triibe leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
The Triibe funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
The Triibe M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about The Triibe
What does The Triibe do?
The Triibe is a digital media platform that publishes original journalism, cultural commentary, and community-focused content covering Black Chicago. Its core offerings center on thetriibe.com, two email newsletters (a free Weekly and a paid RESHAPE premium newsletter at $10/month), an annual print magazine, video journalism, and branded merchandise.
Is The Triibe a public or private company?
The Triibe is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was The Triibe founded?
The Triibe was founded in 2017. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is The Triibe based?
The Triibe is headquartered in Chicago, United States, in the North America region.
How does The Triibe make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Newsletter Subscriptions are the primary driver. The others are advertising and merchandise Sales.
Who are The Triibe's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Capital B, Block Club Chicago, Scalawag Magazine, AFROPUNK, Mother Jones, The Chicago Reporter, Blavity Inc. and The Root. Broad incumbents are Essence and Black Enterprise.
Does The Triibe have an API?
No public API is recorded for The Triibe.
What industry is The Triibe in?
The Triibe's product category is Independent Digital Media. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAJAEAN, Arts, Culture & Literary Magazines, with a secondary code of MPAJAEAO, News, Politics & Current Affairs Magazines. Its NAICS code is 513120.