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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‘Dr. Sleep’ Wakes Up Social Media

Stephen King’s follow-up to his 1977 novel The Shining was the most buzzed-about book on social media for the month of September. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-09-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Next Issue Media Expands into Canada

Next Issue Media, the multi-title subscription service backed by Condé Nast, Hearst, Meredith, News Corp. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2013-09-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Next Issue Media, the Hulu for iPad Magazines, Expands to Canada, Adds New Investor

Next Issue Media, the publishing industry's attempt to create a Hulu-style joint venture for digital magazines, is expanding to Canada and taking on a new investor. The JV, whose members include Time Inc., Hearst and Conde Nast, will add Rogers Communications' Roger Media unit as an equity... Continue reading at AllThingsD

[ AllThingsD | 2013-09-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Oswald wins Warwick Prize for Writing

Poet Alice Oswald has won the third £25,000 Warwick Prize for Writing. It is the first time... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-09-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Tweet This: Survey Finds Advertisers Most Bullish on Social Media

More than half of marketer and agency professionals surveyed by Advertiser Perceptions predicted they would increase ad spending in digital media during the next 12 months, far more than the share predicting the same for traditional channels such as cable TV (31%), broadcast TV (20%), magazines... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2013-09-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Want To Open A Pop–Up Shop? The Storefront Transformer Box Has Everything You Need

New York community organization Made in the Lower East Side (miLES) demonstrated just how great the appetite is for temporary storefront space in lower Manhattan this past spring. Its call for applicants to creatively use a neighborhood storefront brought in more than 100 proposals, including 10... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2013-09-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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J.K. Rowling wants to help poor single moms — she was one, too

Rowling wrote her book, "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone," when she was a single mother, receiving government benefits. She's now asking the government to step up support for Britain's poor.Without help from the British government, there might never have been a Harry Potter. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2013-09-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Darden Media Group buys Maxim magazine

Alpha Media has sold Maxim magazine to an affiliate of Darden Media Group that is planning to distribute Maxim's content across TV, radio and music platforms, the company said Thursday evening. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.Calls to Darden Media Group were not immediately returned... Continue reading at Crains New York

[ Crains New York | 2013-09-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Asia Media Awards Presented in Gala Ceremony

Singapore Press Holdings (Singapore), ABP (India), and Al Nisr Publishing (UAE) were among the winners of the 12th annual Asian Media Awards presented in a gala ceremony in Bangalore (India) by the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2013-09-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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J.K. Rowling will write new movie set in 'Potter' universe (+video)

J.K. Rowling will write the screenplay for a film adaptation of the Potter book 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them' and the movie will center on the adventures of textbook author Newt Scamander. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-09-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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J.K. Rowling will write new movie set in 'Potter' universe

J.K. Rowling will write the screenplay for a film adaptation of the Potter book 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them' and the movie will center on the adventures of textbook author Newt Scamander. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-09-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #movie set #potter book #film adaptation #fantastic beasts


Lucky Editor Eva Chen Wants To Build A Magazine You Can Talk To

"I love Times Square." Those might not be the words you would expect to hear out of the mouth of a fashion magazine editor, but this kind of statement is typical of Eva Chen, the new editor–in–chief of Lucky Magazine. Since her arrival in June, now with two issues under her belt, she has been... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2013-09-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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J K Rowling to write film

J K Rowling will write a new film based on Beasts and Where to Find Them, one of her Comic Relief... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-09-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Facebook Marketing Tactics for Book and Media Businesses

Facebook marketing specialists Qwaya offer tips on making the most of marketing and advertising for publishers on the ubiquitous social media platform. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-09-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Starry media launch for Books Are My Bag

Model Lily Cole, journalist Jon Snow and "Britain's Got Talent" judge Amanda Holden... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-09-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Livefyre Acquires Storify to Expand Its Social-Media Curation Platform

Livefyre, a provider of comment-hosting tools for online publishers that has been expanding into other areas of social content, has agreed to acquire Storify — a service that allows users to curate conversations from Twitter, ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2013-09-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Wells Media Launches Print Counterpart to CarrierManagement.com

San Diego-based b-to-b publisher Wells Media, true to plan, has followed the February launch of its CarrierMangement.com site with a Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2013-09-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sophie Hannah to write new Agatha Christie novel

Crime author Sophie Hannah is to write a new Agatha Christie novel, featuring the author's... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-09-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Ka-ching! Amazon explains benefits from ebook price-fixing settlement

The direct results of the ebook price fixing scandal between Apple and the five major U.S. book publishers are one-step closer to turning into real money for millions of Amazon customers. The online retailer recently began sending out e-mail notifications to Kindle ebook buyers telling... Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2013-09-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Humble Comedy Bundle lets you pay what you want for laughs, big spenders get Louis CK

The Humble business model can apply to anything. Now, you can pay what you want for stand-up comedy in addition to ebooks, music and video games. For the next two weeks, you can get comedy specials from Maria Bamford, Tig Notaro, Hannibal Buress and Jim Norton for as little or as much as you... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2013-08-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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