Former Ohioan takes pride in LGBTQ+ e-commerce site
David Sperber has some ambitious goals for his young startup, ThePrideStore. David Sperber, a former Ohioan, has launched an online store for the LGBTQ+ and allied community, ThePrideStore.com. The site, which caters to the LBGTQ+ community, showcases products from businesses owned, operated or founded by members and boosters of the LGBT community. Sperbber was supported by equalpride, the group that publishes publications such as Out, The Advocate, Out Traveler and PLUS, and owns the new Advocate Channel. Many brands he carries are Jewish-owned, including Joe Coffee. Despite his past struggles with acting and working for various television shows, Sperib credits his passion for internet marketing.
Publié : Il y a 2 semaines par STEVE MARK dans
David Sperber has some ambitious goals for his young startup, ThePrideStore.com.
“The goal is to be the Amazon for the LGBTQ+ and allied community,” Sperber told the Cleveland Jewish News. “I’m thinking really, really big. It’s an idea that I’ve had for years. I just didn’t have the proper tools or, more importantly, the right partners to make this happen.”
Sperber, 54, a native Clevelander who graduated from Orange High School in Pepper Pike, was once an aspiring actor and singer before working in the entertainment publicity business.
Now, after what Sperber calls the latest “reinvention of myself,” he has landed in the field of e-commerce. Backed by equalpride, the group that publishes the likes of Out, The Advocate, Out Traveler and PLUS, and owns the new Advocate Channel, Sperber’s site that caters to the LBGTQ+ community has surpassed 10,000 unique visitors, he said.
“They (equalpride) are incredibly supportive,” Sperber, who is openly gay, said. “I don’t think there are better partners out there. I approached them at around the same time that they, themselves, were looking to create some kind of an online store.”
ThePrideStore.com specializes in showcasing products from businesses that are owned, operated or founded by members and boosters of the LBGTQ+ world.
“I can’t think of a category that we don’t have represented right now,” Sperber said. “It is all about embracing individuality and expression. And, this is inclusive, and always comes from a place of love.”
Sperber said he takes particular pride that many of the brands he carries are Jewish-owned, including Joe Coffee, founded by childhood friend Jon Rubinstein.
Sperber, who was a congregant of B’nai Jeshurun Congregation in Pepper Pike before leaving Cleveland, was unable to schedule participation in the Cleveland Pride held on June 1, but had a booth at the Miami Beach Pride in April and was met with promising feedback, he said.
“We chose Miami because it’s the very first big event of the Pride season,” Sperber said. “A woman walked by and saw our stuff. She said, ‘My favorite show in the world is “The Golden Girls.” Do you have anything that has to do with “The Golden Girls?”’ I looked at her and said, ‘Look behind me. We actually have “Golden Girls” merchandise.’ She couldn’t believe it.”
Sperber is convinced that all of his experiences have sharpened him for the world of internet marketing.
“I moved to L.A. right out of college to work in show business and I didn’t exactly know what that would look like,” he said. “I was hoping to be an actor-singer and quickly realized that I was more cut out to be behind the scenes. For 15 years, I enjoyed success in the entertainment publicity side of things working for various television shows on television studios and networks.
“Even with that, I’ve had many lean years of wondering what my next step is. I even worked for Uber and Lyft for a few years when I really thought I had no other options. Then my journey led me to ThePrideStore.”
Despite having long finished the pursuit of acting, Broadway still has its clutches on Sperber. The resident of Rancho Mirage, Calif., just finished a whirlwind watching five shows in five nights trip to New York to satisfy his theater fix. Those sort of breaks, though, are rare these days, due to the demands of a still young e-commerce site.
“Now, with the drive and the passion I have, some of the turbulence in my previous job experiences makes me extra appreciative of the fact that I get to do something that I’m absolutely in love with,” Sperber said. “To serve this community that is a big, good part of my life, is terrific.”
Les sujets: Social Issues, LGBTQ