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Graduate college. Get job. Start work. Have career. It all seemed clear for the founders of Pretty Young Professional. Entrenched in the world of management consulting in New York, these young women had it all going on. But as they began to navigate the waters of corporate life, they found themselves encountering challenges they hadn’t quite anticipated. The result of their experiences is Pretty Young Professional (or PYP, for short), an online resource whose mission is “to provide guidance, support and encouragement to young professional women.”
“I think all of us could talk about how many times we’ve helped a friend edit a cover letter or a resume; or been the ones that people seemed to turn to when something happens at work or they’re trying to find a job,” says cofounder Amanda Pouchot. “We realized we could do a lot of good and help a lot of people by starting a resource where these questions could be answered on a larger scale.”
“It was was surprising to me how many lessons I learned in my first years in the corporate world came from peers or women slightly older, rather than directly through the workplace,” relates cofounder Kathryn Minshew. She tells the story of finding an “email doctor” in her peer network who would help re-write emails to ensure the right tone and positioning. It’s this kind of core service and advice, they realized, that was hugely important for success in the corporate world, and yet seemed to be missing from the public dialogue.
It became clear to Pouchot and Minshew that they weren’t alone in facing these challenges. They starting talking last spring about what a resource for young female professionals might look like, at one point even considering a print publication. They quickly decided an online resource was a better idea. After an initial beta phrase, the site launched officially on November 1. The name of site has generated some attention, and the founders have responded to inquiry with an article that clarifies their stance and explains the rhetoric behind the moniker. In short, the name “is a play on society’s entrenched perspective of young women as more ‘pretty and young’ than ambitious professionals.”
Thirty days after its launch, the content portal is going strong. Boasting more than forty contributors, some writing for PYP only and others syndicating their articles there, the site has developed a strong base of content to drive reader loyalty and engender the respect of its target community. “It’s a total wave of excitement, nerves, and passion for trying to make this happen that I haven’t felt before,” says Pouchot. “Just having been an entrepreneur for three months, the people we’ve met, the support we’ve had, and even some of the early successes has been amazing and just the coolest thing. For lack of a more sophisticated term, it’s just cool.”
PYP articles cover everything from explicit career advice and tips for dealing with stress, to style guides and book reviews. The basic idea, says Minshew, is to provide young women with resources they’d be hard pressed to find elsewhere. “As a 25 year old woman, you can find 200 sites that can tell you what shoes to buy or how to do your makeup. But if you want to know how to ask for a raise, the list shrinks a lot,” says Minshew. The founders also emphasized the importance of their career profiles section, which features anonymous descriptions of a specific profession. Aimed to inform job-seeking college juniors and seniors as well as those looking to make a career switch, the profiles are informative and sometimes brutally honest. “We’ve had a great response to those, and we’ve had a lot of people write in and ask up to cover different careers,” said Pouchot.
While the founders say they haven’t pinned down the specifics of their target demographic yet, the primary focus will be on young women emerging from college and entering the workforce. [demo quote]. While they acknowledge that their intended readership represents an extremely attractive demographic for advertisers, they founders seem intent on serving their community first. With an eye toward alternative revenue sources like workshops and events, it’s good business. “We’re looking at hosting a monthly brunch in a few key cities, hopefully starting in the next couple of months,” says Minshew.
Pouchot and Minshew have lofty goals for PYP and indicate the initial feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. “Broadly, our goal is to be the go to resource for young women seeking career and professional advice,” says Minshew. With a boatload of confidence, a great head start, and a first-hand sense of what kind of content will resonate with their audience, the women of PYP seem poised to achieve anything they set their minds to.
For the original article, check out BostInnovation.com.
