Betches is a digital media company started by Aleen Kuperman, Jordana Abraham, and Samantha Fishbein. Originally started as a website, the company now includes a webpage, social media accounts, a podcast, a national comedy tour, merchandise, and two best-selling books, I Had A Nice Time And Other Lies... and Nice Is Just A Place In France.
History
The Betches Love This website began in February 2011 and was authored by Aleen Kuperman, Jordana Abraham, and Samantha Fishbein. It is modeled after Bros Like This Site, which was founded in 2009. Each of the three women invested $1,500 into the company. The three women chose the name "Betches" because they heard young women saying the word because they did not want to be called a Bitch. Betches Love This was shortened to "Betches" as the brand developed into a larger humor category discussing topics such as celebrities, health and fitness, politics, and TV and movie recaps. The Betches put forth multiple social media posts a week for their fans. The three women claim to "'say what people are thinking about the world, but no one's said out loud.'" Betches has been called the female counterpart to the bro fraternity culture by The New York Times. The three co-creators have been labeled as authors, entrepreneurs and humorists by Dan Rather. The three women behind Betches support the mantra of "not taking yourself too seriously and being confident in who you are." A 2015 Vogue article discussed the incredible impact a Betches reference has on a product or service as their following is "obsessive" and their page has been named as one of the top accounts to follow by Harper's Bazaar and Rolling Stone. In 2011, while seniors at Cornell University, Jordana Abraham, Samantha Fishbein, and Aleen Kuperman created Betches in the form of a WordPress blog. The three seniors targeted girls that were "'edgy, speak their minds, and unapologetic in regards to their beliefs and opinions'" The blog was first designed to counteract the male humor that was receiving a high level of attention from young men. The humor of the three women was targeted towards the "anti-alphamale", while also making jokes towards the "nice girl" via their discussions on celebrities, fashion, and relationship advice. Currently, Betches post on beauty, lifestyle, career, horoscope, and many others.
Education
The three women grew up in a New York suburb. The women attended Roslyn High School in Long Island. The three women graduated from Cornell University, where they roomed together their senior year.
Business
Abraham, Fishbein, and Kuperman all lacked backgrounds in business, but each had family connections to those who specialized in law or business to help their company blossom. After graduation, all three women still lived at their parents house, allowing them to meet with each other and work on their platform. The women reached their success with hard work and learning from their mistakes. The women hired an ad buyer who helped the women realize that their readers were more interested in their Instagram account, rather than their website. The women partnered with smaller jewelry and fashion companies to get their name out, but these attempts did not lead to the results the women strived for. In 2015, Betches and their experience with their dating columns, linked with Bumble. Bumble purchased a package of Instagram advertisements and sponsored the Betches' second book's launch party. Most recently, the Betches brand partnered with e-commerce site JustFab to launch an subscription-based clothing line that is affordable. Forbes has estimated that in 2017, their 3rd year of earning profit, the women behind Betches earned more than $5 million in revenue, 75% of which came from brand partnerships. The women still own the company fully and have not had to seek out investors.
Books
The Betches have published two New York Times Best Selling books. The books are categorized as "satire self help".
Nice Is Just a Place in France: How to Win at Basically Everything
This was the first book published by the Betches. The book provides readers with information regarding all aspects of life and focuses a lot on friend groups.
I Had a Nice Time And Other Lies...: How to Find Love & Sh*t Like That
This was the second book published by the Betches. The book provides readers with dating and relationship advice. The book teaches women how to act in order to be prepared to find love, and how to respond when a women does not like her engagement ring.
When's Happy Hour?: Work Hard So You Can Hardly Work
This was the third book published by the Betches. The book provides readers with professional life hacks so you can get ahead at your job and "basically be the Beyonce of anything you aspire to do."
Criticism
The women behind the Betches have faced a little bit of backlash in regards to their content. Readers have commented on how the authors speak about taking Adderall to stay focused and being anorexic to stay thin. In April 2012, Abraham wrote a post titled "How To: Get People To Accuse You of Having an Eating Disorder" in which the advice to not eating food when with a group was given. The post has been removed from the internet. The Betches received multiple comments in regard to the post. One reader came forward saying that her friend had not eaten in two weeks since reading the post. Despite reader's backlash on the topic of anorexia, the Betches have still discussed the topic on their platforms. A website named Digital America, claims that "betches are proud to be the girls that everyone hates because they view it as a reflection of their superiority". Digital America also explains that betches strive to dominate the social structures set forth today through their use of beauty, wealth, popularity, and their lack of compassion for others.
