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

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


Advantage Business Media Buys "Continuity Insights" Portfolio

Advantage Business Media, a b-to-b publisher targeting the communications, manufacturing, design and science markets, has purchased the assets of Continuity Insights from Gardner Publications. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2011-04-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Media Cache: Playing Catch-Up in E-Books

Outside the United States, the digital book business is still in its infancy and has problems to resolve before taking off. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2011-04-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #media cache #playing catch-


Active Interest Media Acquires BoatQuest.com

Active Interest Media has acquired BoatQuest.com, adding the online classified page to its portfolio of properties, which includes Yachts Magazine and Show Management. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2011-03-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Media Decoder: Self-Publisher Signs Four-Book Deal With St. Martin's

Amanda Hocking, the 26-year-old author who shot to fame by selling more than a million copies of her self-published books, has signed a deal with St. Martin's Press. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2011-03-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #media decoder #amanda hocking #million copies #self-published books


Bloomberg L.P. Creates Bloomberg Media Group

Bloomberg announced today that it will launch the Bloomberg Media Group, a media group that pulls together all of Bloomberg’s consumer properties. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2011-03-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #media group


Forbes wins £50k Warwick Prize for Writing

Publication Date: Wed, 23/03/2011 - 07:50 Writer, journalist and editor Peter Forbes' exploration of mimicry and camouflage in nature, art and warfare has been awarded the £50,000 Warwick Prize for Writing. His Dazzled and Deceived (Yale University Press) was described by chair of judges... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Dorchester Media Puts Remaining Magazines on the Block

After putting select teen and romance titles up for sale last month, New York City-based Dorchester Media has decided to sell the rest of its magazine stable, offering up the eight magazines that comprise the Woman's Romance Group, such as 92-year-old, 250,000-circ. flagship True Story. The move... Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2011-03-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #romance titles #magazine business


Media Decoder: Noted Self-Publisher May Be Close to a Book Deal

Amanda Hocking, the darling of the self-publishing world who has sold more than 900,000 copies of nine books in the last year, has been shopping a four-book series to major publishers. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2011-03-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #media decoder #book deal #amanda hocking #four-book series #major publishers


Luke Johnson to write business advice for Portfolio

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Thu, 17/03/2011 - 15:57 Luke Johnson, best known in the book trade for his spell owning Borders, and fellow Financial Times journalist Mrs Moneypenny are writing business titles for Penguin's business imprint Portfolio. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #luke johnson #book trade


Media Decoder: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publisher Steps Down

Barry O'Callaghan, the chief executive of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, resigned on Tuesday after less than two years on the job. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2011-03-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #media decoder


HuffPo Media Group Expands Team

After AOL’s layoff of 900 staff last week (the U.S. division losing 300 members), the Huffington Post Media Group has begun hiring. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2011-03-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Zinio CEO Explains Newsstand Downtime

Zinio CEO Rich Maggiotto has posted an open letter apologizing for the digital newsstand being down for several days last week and attributing the problem to "misconfigured operational scripts that took down both core and redundant servers at Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2011-03-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #digital newsstand


Greenspun Media Group Launches Weekly Regional Business Magazine

Regional publisher Greenspun Media announced it will launch Vegas Inc., a weekly business magazine for the Las Vegas market, on April 4. Vegas Inc. staff includes Greenspun business editor Richard Pereze-Feria as editor-in-chief, Spencer Holladay as art director, Dave Mondt as designer asnd Erin... Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2011-03-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #art director #associate editor


Wanted: buyers for Borders

Administrators are trying to sell 103 Borders and Angus & Robertson bookshops, after the parent of the book chains crumbled under its debt burden. Continue reading at The Sydney Morning Herald

[ The Sydney Morning Herald | 2011-03-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #debt burden


HarperCollins Wants Libraries to Pay (and Pay...and Pay...) for e-Books

Back in 1984, I wrote a book that sold to a lot of libraries. It stayed on the shelves for over a decade. If it had been an ebook published today by HarperCollins, there's a good chance it would have been off those shelves within a year. Or sooner. Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2011-03-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #good chance


Waterstone's parent buys stake in 'social bookselling' website

Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Wed, 02/03/2011 - 08:44 HMV Group has "substantially" backed a social networking site called aNobii, which aims to help readers find buy and share books. The website, www.anobii.com, has existed since 2006 but was bought recently by internet... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #share books #hong kong


Media Decoder: Random House Adopts New Model for Selling E-Books

Beginning Tuesday, Random House will join other major book publishers in selling its ebooks using the so-called agency model, setting its own prices for ebooks while the retailer takes a commission. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2011-03-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #media decoder #random house


Media Decoder: A Limit on Lending E-Books

Beginning in March, ebooks from HarperCollins may be lent by public libraries only 26 times before the license expires. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2011-02-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #media decoder #public libraries


Hearst Magazines Digital Media Announces Staff Changes

Hearst Magazines Digital Media announced several changes to its roster today. Julie Hocheiser is now site director for Seventeen.com. Hocheiser served previously as the senior web editor for the Hearst Teen Network. Neha Gandhi also joined Seventeen.com as a web editor. Gandhi is the former... Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2011-02-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #seventeen magazine #site director #web editor


The Media Equation: 2 Platforms, With 2 Sets of Problems

Magazine publishers have a tough choice: an exclusive, pricey deal with the wildly popular Apple conduit, or Google’s open, less expensive and less trafficked vehicle. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2011-02-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #media equation #magazine publishers