Lake Bell and Cindy Gallop on Financial Success, Spreading Happiness, and Promoting Individuality
by Hannah Terao
Two fierce and fearless women share their keys to success, from designing a business model to creating content that positively impacts their audiences
Cindy Gallop and Lake Bell joined us at #BlogHer20 Creators Summit to talk about how women creators can make their voices heard in today’s society.
Cindy Gallop’s goal for female creators? Make an “absolute goddamn-fucking-shit ton of money.”
During the 2020 #BlogHer Creators Summit, the CEO of MakeLoveNotPorn explained that women deserve to be rewarded with financial success because they want to improve the world. She argues that designing one’s business model is necessary to incorporate these values into a website.
Her co-panelist, Lake Bell, a successful writer, filmmaker, and actress, agrees with this creative philosophy. She views the current COVID-19 pandemic as a “reset button” that will allow women to demand a new normal in the business world and beyond.
Bell’s mantra, while writing, is, “What do you want to see next.” She ends that mantra with a period instead of a question mark, and makes content that promotes “kindness and a generosity of spirit.” She aims to prevent the “trickle” effect (where someone’s bad day projects negativity into the lives of others) by giving her audience something positive to think about.
Gallop argues that this caring philosophy is why women deserve to be successful. “It is precisely the people who care who should be making a ton of money,” she says, explaining how Make Love Not Porn gives half its income to the site’s contributors. This business model has helped many individuals weather unemployment during the pandemic.
Another piece of advice the duo has for creators is to be true to themselves. “Follow the path that is wholly you,” Bell says, and Gallop echoes this sentiment: “Be yourself!” she exclaims, explaining that too many creators make the mistake of caring what other people think. “You will never own the future if you care what other people think.”
“Your business model can be anything you want it to be.”
Both women are following their own advice. Bell currently stars as Poison Ivy on DC’s animated series Harley Quinn, while Gallop hints at an upcoming podcast on Make Love Not Porn, which will discuss “real world sex and the social sex revolution.” We are so excited to see what these two fearless women have in store for us in the future!
Watch Lake Bell and Cindy Gallop’s full discussion below
About Lake Bell
Director, writer and actress Lake Bell is an unabashed creative force. After executive producing, directing and starring in two seasons of her show Bless This Mess on ABC, Bell is developing a slate of television series under a deal with 20th Century Fox. In 2013, the actress made waves at the Sundance film festival when she premiered her debut feature, In a World... in which she wrote, directed, and acted. The film received rave reviews and Bell won a myriad of awards including the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award at Sundance. The film was named one of the Top 10 Independent Films of 2013. In 2017, Bell directed her second feature film, I Do…Until I Don’t, which she also wrote and starred in opposite Ed Helms, Mary Steenburgen, Paul Reiser, Amber Heard, Wyatt Cenac, and Dolly Wells.
Other film credits include No Escape, Man Up, It’s Complicated, What Happens in Vegas, Home Again, Black Rock, Pride and Glory, and Million Dollar Arm. Bell currently stars as Poison Ivy in DC Universe’s Harley Quinn, and serves as an active board member of Women In Film, a non-profit organization whose mission is to promote advocacy and special programs to support the success of female peers in the entertainment industry.
About Cindy Gallop
Cindy Gallop is the founder & CEO of MakeLoveNotPorn -‘Pro-sex. Pro-porn. Pro-knowing the difference.’ MakeLoveNotPorn is the world’s first user-generated, human-curated #realworldsex videosharingplatform, socializing sex to make it easier for everyone to talk about, to promote consent, communication, good sexual values and good sexual behavior. With MakeLoveNotPorn’s revenue-sharing business model, members pay to subscribe, rent and stream socialsex videos, and 50% of the income goes to the contributors, who are called MakeLoveNotPornstars. MakeLoveNotPorn is spearheading the Social Sex Revolution; the revolutionary part isn’t the sex, but the social.
About Hannah Terao
Born and raised in southern California, Hannah Terao is currently pursuing a degree in Creative Writing at Hamilton College in New York. When not writing, she enjoys baking, crocheting, and spending time with her two cats.