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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Pearson buys a small stake in Nook Media, wants a fast track for digital education

Publishers often want to work closely with ebook outlets -- possibly a little too closely -- but it's rare that they involve themselves directly. Pearson is taking that uncommon step by making a 5 percent, $89.5 million investment in Nook Media, the joint venture between Barnes & Noble and... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2012-12-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Media Decoder Blog: Blind Chinese Rights Activist Is Writing a Memoir

Chen Guangcheng, whose nighttime escape and conflict with the Chinese government led to a diplomatic crisis for the United States last spring, is writing a memoir to be published next year. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2012-07-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Media Decoder: Sheila Bair to Write Book on Financial Crisis

Sheila C. Bair, who ended a tumultuous five-year term as chairwoman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation this month, has landed a book deal to give her inside account of the financial crisis. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2011-07-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Vox Media and Group Nine Media Announce Merger, Bringing Further Media Consolidation

Digital media companies Vox Media and Group Nine Media are planning a merger, people familiar with the matter tell Adweek. The combined company would instantly become one of the largest digital media publishers in the U.S., helping it compete more effectively against the scale of social... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2021-12-13 22:11:18 UTC ]
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I Don’t Have To Choose Between Writing About Myself And Writing About The World

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[ Electric Literature | 2024-03-27 11:05:00 UTC ]
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Most Parents Rank Librarians as Trustworthy in New Parental Perceptions of Librarians Survey

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[ Book Riot | 2023-11-28 15:08:22 UTC ]
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Media Briefing: Digiday Publishing Summit is approaching and media execs are ready to talk shop

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[ Digiday | 2023-09-14 04:01:00 UTC ]
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Alight Media takes top digital media outreach spot from Global

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[ Media Week | 2023-07-12 08:53:16 UTC ]
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Vice Media files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the latest in a string of digital media setbacks

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[ ABC News | 2023-05-15 11:47:06 UTC ]
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Kelly Link Can’t Write Narrative Before 3pm: And Other Tips For Purposeful Writing

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[ Literrary Hub | 2023-03-28 08:54:06 UTC ]
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Don’t write what you know, write what you feel: bestselling authors offer tips on World Book Day

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[ The Guardian | 2023-03-02 15:43:52 UTC ]
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Media Briefing: What Axios’ sale says about the valuation of digital media companies

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[ Digiday | 2022-08-11 04:01:00 UTC ]
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Media Briefing: A snapshot of the digital media economy at the start of earnings season

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Media Buying Briefing: Sustainability once again takes center stage across digital media

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Guardian wins Amnesty media award for best use of digital media

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[ The Guardian | 2022-05-06 10:11:30 UTC ]
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Jane Smiley on Her Writing Process, Beloved Pets, and Writing in Paris

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[ Literrary Hub | 2021-12-23 09:51:41 UTC ]
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Books in the Media: My Body by Emily Ratajkowski dominated the media this week

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[ Literrary Hub | 2021-09-20 16:39:44 UTC ]
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