By Bianca Mendez
On Monday, Ed caught up with his pals over at POPSUGAR to swap career advice and learn what it’s like working there. Editors and Whippersnappers alike gathered to connect and talk business. At the event, Ed spoke with Alessandra Foresto and Hedy Philips to get on the scoop on what it’s like being a part of the POPSUGAR Sam. Here’s what he learned.
POPSUGAR started as an entertainment blog.
When you think of POPSUGAR, you think of this massive website with news, beauty lifestyle and even a Latina section. It’s hard to believe that POPSUGAR was the brainchild of Lisa Sugar and started as a small blog to fulfill her love for celebrity gossip. “She was doing a full-time job and she liked writing about celebrities, and then it kept growing,” says Hedy Philips lifestyle editor and copy editor. And Lisa isn’t one of those bosses that’s MIA. She still has a huge say of what goes on. “She still in the office, working with the team,” continues Philips. “Every time she speaks to our team we can feel how much she still loves it. She has her hand in everything.”
Half of their team isn’t even in New York.
Some of POPSUGAR editorial staff is based in San Francisco. In fact, the Bay Area is also where POPSUGAR founder, Lisa Sugar resides.
The team LIVES for their coffee machine.
“We feel very strongly about coffee,” says Alessandra Foresto senior editor for POPSUGAR Moms and Latina. “I’m obsessed with our coffee because we have donut shop. I’m caffeinated all the time, she jokes.
It’s a fun office atmosphere!
The POPSUGAR team is a work hard/play hard environment. “We laugh at the office a lot,” says Philips. “I think it’s a positive environment,” adds Alessandra Foresto senior editor for POPSUGAR Moms and Latina. “Everyone who works there is every friendly and embodies the POPSUGAR life which is about empowering women, but also having fun.”
But they work very hard.
If you’ve ever been on POPSUGAR, you know that these writers and editors crank out a lot of content. “We come up with pre-viral trends that appeal to the millennial woman,” says Foresto. “I’m splitting my time, coming up with higher-level strategy and understanding what the readers want, while the editorial assistants are getting that content to go viral.” “We write a lot of great, smart content,” says Philips. “I feel like it’s very relatable for such a large group of people.”
And one more piece of advice that the editors had: “Be a hard worker but also have fun with what you do,” says Foresto.
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