Betches' Aleen Kuperman on explaining new media to immigrant parents—and not wanting to write about 'The Bachelor' again

Aleen Kuperman is co-founder and CEO at Betches Media. The company has grown from a blog created in a dorm room at Cornell in 2011 to a sprawling media network including nine podcasts, New York Times-bestselling books and millions of Instagram followers. In this episode of the “Ad Block” podcast, Kuperman talks about growing up as the child of Russian immigrants who escaped the Soviet Union in 1988, a year before the Berlin Wall fell. In particular, it was a struggle to explicate what “Betches” was to her parents, who had always had high expectations for her future. “I had to explain to my parents, ‘I’m not going to medical school next year,’” she says. “I was terrified to have that conversation. They were like, ‘What’s a blog? How are you making money? What are you talking about?’” As with many new media startups, the business model evolved quickly, and as soon as she had gotten her parents on board, things would change. “They had just figured out Facebook, now they have to go learn Instagram,” Kuperman says. Tangible successes helped, like the book deal the team landed while still in college. “To my parents, that’s legit. A book, they understand.” Kuperman grew up hearing the stories of the family’s journey out of Russia, living in Vienna and Italy off the personal possessions they could sell before eventually being allowed into the U.S. and settling on Long Island. “Only now, I think back to all the things they instilled,” like her strong work ethic, she says. “It... Continue reading at 'Advertising Age'

[ Advertising Age | 2019-10-18 09:01:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #instagram followers #soviet union #high expectations #medical school #making money #long island #book deal

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Seeking Engagement, Media Firms Toss Readers the Keys

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[ Editor & Publisher | 2014-06-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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You’d have to be crazy to start a media company, right?

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[ Digiday | 2014-06-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'There's only one IPC Media' - it's the magazine publisher's new song

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[ The Guardian | 2014-06-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Gulfshore Media Buys Venice Magazine

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[ Folio Magazine | 2014-06-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Richard Ackland parts ways with Fairfax after writing column for rival

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[ The Guardian | 2014-06-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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News Corp and Mail Online plagiarism spat goes to Cannes Lions festival | Media Monkey

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[ The Guardian | 2014-06-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Media Monkeys Diary: BBC traitors, the Sun, John Ryley and Robert Peston

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[ The Guardian | 2014-06-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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HC's digital festival fires social media

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[ The Bookseller | 2014-06-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Magazine publisher ShortList Media reports losses of almost £1m

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[ The Guardian | 2014-06-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ Editor & Publisher | 2014-06-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Clinton Wins The Vote on Social Media

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-05-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-05-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ The Guardian | 2014-05-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Trends Media’s Liu Jiang: Diversifying Beyond the ‘Print Mindset’

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[ Knowledge@Wharton | 2014-05-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ The Bookseller | 2014-05-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-05-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ Folio Magazine | 2014-05-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-05-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-05-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ The Bookseller | 2014-05-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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