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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The Daily's Cook: Subscribers Wanted!

Christine Cook, head of sales and advertising at The Daily, used a panel discussion at Internet Week to hawk subscriptions—making one wonder just how much the outsized attention News Corp. is getting for its daring iPad-based newspaper experiment is translating into paid circulation. When... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2011-06-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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B-to-B Publishers Say E-Media, Sales Expenses To Increase the Most in 2011

Spending on e-media infrastructure increased for both large and small b-to-b publishers in 2010 and will again in 2011, according to respondents to the 2011 FOLIO B-to-B CEO Survey. Larger publishers expect operating expenses to jump 6 percent in e-media, while smaller publishers expect a 5... Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2011-05-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Brightcove Strikes Video Syndication Deal with AOL’s 5min Media

Brightcove, an online video platform, and 5min Media, a Web video syndication platform and division of the newly-formed AOL Advertising.com Group, have expanded their partnership. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2011-05-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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John Malone Explains Barnes & Noble Bid

John Malone, the chairman of Liberty Media, explained why his company made a buyout bid for Barnes & Noble valuing it at $1 billion. The decision came down to Liberty's bid for Sirius and his outlook for Nook, he said. “You might look at the experience we've had with Sirius XM,” Malone told... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2011-05-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #future success #amazons kindle #e-reader platform #third-party devices #existing properties #coming months


Conde Nast Targets Non-Media Budgets with Ideactive Unit

Conde Nast has launched a new marketing services division called the Ideactive Unit, which is taking aim at the non-media budgets of current Conde Nast advertisers, as well as new clients. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2011-05-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Liberty Media Bids for Barnes & Noble [Voices]

Barnes & Noble Inc. said that Liberty Media Corp. has offered to buy the bookseller in a deal valuing it at about $1 billion. Barnes & Noble shares were up 20 percent in after-hours trading Thursday on the news, matching the $17-a-share offer price from John Malone's media empire. Continue reading at AllThingsD

[ AllThingsD | 2011-05-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #barnes noble #deal valuing #$1 billion #john malone #media empire


Liberty Media Bids for Barnes & Noble

Barnes & Noble Inc. said that Liberty Media Corp. has offered to buy the bookseller in a deal valuing it at about $1 billion. Barnes & Noble shares were up 20 percent in after-hours trading Thursday on the news, matching the $17-a-share offer price from John Malone's media empire. Continue reading at AllThingsD

[ AllThingsD | 2011-05-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #barnes noble #deal valuing #$1 billion #john malone #media empire


Liberty Media makes offer for Barnes & Noble

Written By: Philip Jones Publication Date: Fri, 20/05/2011 - 10:11 US bookseller Barnes & Noble has received an offer for the company from Liberty Media, a private investment group. The deal values the business at about $1bn, but Liberty said it expected to spend $500m on the acquisition... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Food News Media Launches Mobile Magazine, Restaurant Management

Durham, North Carolina-based Food News Media, a b-to-b publisher serving the food and restaurant industry, has introduced Restaurant Management, a mobile magazine targeting full-service restaurateurs and executives. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2011-05-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Myers wants joined-up thinking over book events

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Wed, 18/05/2011 - 09:33 Dominic Myers has called on the book industry to collaborate in creating more nation-wide events like World Book Night in order to enhance the dialogue around books. The Waterstone's m.d told the Book Industry Conference forum... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Booksellers "crucial" to media promotion - BIC

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Mon, 16/05/2011 - 15:30 Booksellers need to be treated as a crucial partner in the process of promoting books through the media or risk looking "irrelevant", the Book Industry Conference (BIC) has been told. Waterstone's bookseller Cathy Rentzenbrink... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Jane Pratt Named Editor/Creative Director, Style, With SAY Media

Jane Pratt, former editor-in-chief of Sassy and Jane magazines, has been named editor and creative director of style with SAY Media. In this new role, she will be acting as editor-in-chief for xoJane.com, a new women’s-interest site owned by SAY. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2011-05-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Australia's Fairfax Media to Cut 82 Fulltime Jobs

The company is pushing ahead with plans to outsource sub-editor and designer positions, despite stop-work meetings held by staffers. Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2011-05-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Media Decoder: Is the iPad Just a New Way to Give Away Magazines?

American publishers have always given away their work in hopes of building up huge audiences that they can sell advertising against. Are they making a mistake in replicating that model on the iPad and other tablets? Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2011-05-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Media Equation: Now to Sell Advertisers on Tablets

Magazine publishers are making plans to be part of, rather than run over by, the digital revolution. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2011-05-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Demand Media Sees Q1 Growth, Ups Content Standards

Demand Media released financial results for the first quarter of 2011 Thursday; the company saw gains in revenue and losses from operations in comparison to the same quarter last year. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2011-05-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Media Decoder: Plaintiffs Drop Suit Over Jimmy Carter Book

A $5 million lawsuit against Simon & Schuster over a book by former President Jimmy Carter was dropped by the plaintiffs on Thursday, three months after it was filed. The plaintiffs in the class-action suit had argued that Mr. Carter's "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid," about the Arab-Israeli... Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2011-05-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #media decoder #simon schuster #class-action suit


Media Decoder: Random House Buys Digital Agency

Random House has acquired Smashing Ideas, a digital media agency, in an effort to strengthen its digital publishing side, the publisher said on Thursday. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2011-05-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Media Decoder: Confusion Over a Book About Harper Lee

The author of a forthcoming book about the ever-private Harper Lee, author of "To Kill a Mockingbird," insisted on Friday that she had the cooperation of Ms. Lee, two days after Ms. Lee released a statement through her lawyer denying that she had cooperated. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2011-04-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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How Traditional Media Companies Should Reshape for the Digital Age

In a white paper titled “The Media Company of the Future: The Revolution Goes On”, consulting firm AMR International Consulting Inc. outlines the steps it says traditional companies must take to incorporate technological advances into their business model and stay competitive against “New world”... Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2011-04-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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