Q. Glam Media started at a time (2003) when the markets in general were skeptical of the web itself. How did this start and were you as confident then as well?
The founding team had an incredible vision that people will be the filters for content and commerce online in the era of social media. We recognised that there was a massive black hole in the communication between consumers, brands and publishers. With that in mind, we envisioned an eco-system that connected the world’s top brand advertisers with targeted and passionate online audiences.

Yes, the market at the time was skeptical of the web itself, and wondered if there would be any online advertising other than search. Glam pioneered the idea that the web will be a medium like magazines and TV, with high quality content and engaging brand advertising packaged carefully together. At the start, the vision was clear, but there was a lot of skepticism if the idea would work on the web – and it did.

Q. What was the model you followed for Glam then? Has it changed now, what with the rapid changes in the way the web is consumed today?
Our original focus was on the emotional and aspirational feel of print magazines and their rich heritage. We wanted to bring the magic of vertical content by journalists and editors packaged contextually with brand advertising and concentrate on women, fashion, and luxury brands. Glam grew to encompass a series of a highly-curated media channels from entertainment to living to wellness that reach targeted communities with content flowing in multiple directions between brand advertisers, curators, influencers and a targeted online audience. Today, Glam Media has more than 4,500 premium content creators organised across multiple verticals online, including Glam.com for style, entertainment & home; Brash.com for men, Bliss.com for health & wellness, Foodie for food and Tend for parenting.

With the acquisition of Ning in 2011, Glam Media launched its next-generation social media platform that is built on the premise that the relationships between people who share similar passions in life drive consumer engagement.

Q. In a world that’s traditionally followed the print and broadcast media for their glamour dose, what, according to you made Glam work for lifestyle consumers?
Glam took the emotion of print and the interactivity of TV and incorporated it into an online environment. Glam fit the needs of many consumers looking to engage online without sacrificing quality content.

In addition, timing helped as more and more consumers were turning to digital on their computers, iPhones and iPads as the primary medium to get their lifestyle content. Being purely digital is what made it work, and as a result, Glam is now number one in lifestyle, reaching over 230 million consumers a month.

Q. How did Glam expand in other markets? Each market must have had its own unique characteristics, preferences and behaviours. How did you go about expansion?
We usually enter a new market with our style verticals – fashion, beauty and luxury – and then from there expand to others. Because every market is unique and different, we do look at opportunities by region. In Japan, we launched as a joint venture, in other markets, including Germany and the UK, we bought local companies to help us establish the right foothold. We have a vast global presence – Japan, Germany, the UK, the US and Canada, and recently launched in France, South Korea and Singapore/ South East Asia.

Q. Lifestyle and glamour became synonymous with Glam. How did Foodie and Tend happen? Are they getting similar response that Glam did?
Glam Media successfully expanded into new verticals over the past few years, including health and wellness. So we know our model scales across verticals. The launch of Foodie and Tend is an exciting time for Glam Media as they present a new model for Glam – that is more integrated with social circles and networks than ever before. Foodie reaches more than 10 million unique users a month right now, putting it in the top three in food, following AllRecipes and The Food Network. Tend will reach 22 million uniques in the first month, making it Top 5 in Family after Disney and Nickelodeon as tracked and reported by comScore. We’re still in Beta with both sites and are laser focused on rolling out new features and fine-tuning the engagement model.

Q. What brings you to India?
We purchased a technology company in India in 2009 and I am here to visit the incredible Glam India team in Pune and Mumbai. We have had tremendous growth in our India offices and expect that to continue. It’s hard to believe that we started out with less than 18 people in 2009 and are now at 150 employees. Our goal is to invest and grow to be one of the top teams in vertical social media technology in India.

Q. What are your plans for India? Where does India stand in your scheme of things?
Our first focus is to create a strong technology and design center in India. This is by no means an outsource model, rather it is a prime hub for engineering and design. We are now starting to evaluate entering the Indian market in lifestyle media.

Q. Are you on the lookout for Indian partners? Who and what kind of partners are you planning to join hands with?
India is an important market for us in the next stage of growth for Glam. We are currently looking at the market to determine the right launch strategy directly and/ or with partners. Every country is different, and we want to take the time to understand the market and the best approach.

In other regions, we have partnered with the top magazine print, newspapers, TV networks, media agencies and technology partners. We have not decided what our strategy will be in India and which partners we will launch with.

Q. Any plans for involving Indian experts on to your platforms?
Yes, of course. In particular with Foodie and Tend, we are focused on getting food critics, influencers, chefs, authors, and contributors involved from every region that resonates with our international audiences. Expect to see Indian food and culture represented as a vibrant category on Foodie.