Mar 30, 2023, 3:00 AM ETInterview, Fireside Chat, Webinar

Alex Cooper: The Truth I Never Planned to Share...

Alex Cooper's earliest career inspiration stemmed from observing her father, a sports television producer, passionately producing live sporting events, instilling in her the desire to turn passion into purpose.
Her mother, a psychologist, emphasized emotional intelligence (EQ) over grades, creating a household dynamic focused on emotional awareness despite Cooper's initial teenage resentment toward it.
Cooper experienced severe bullying throughout elementary and middle school focused on her appearance, which led to intense self-hatred, body image issues, and thoughts of suicide as a means to make her bullies realize the impact of their actions.
She developed a compartmentalization strategy, hiding her school struggles from her parents to protect the safety and happiness of her home environment.
Creating video content in her basement using a family camera became her primary coping mechanism, allowing her to adopt confident personas and escape her feelings of isolation.
Cooper admits she was not honest with her mother about her bullying struggles during her youth due to a desire to appear successful and a fear of disappointing her parents.

Call Her Daddy has become the most listened-to female podcast in the world, with hundreds of millions of downloads every month on Spotify.
The show initially went viral with its first episodes, ranking number two globally on the podcast charts under Joe Rogan within its first weeks.
Cooper's success is attributed to a unique, trust-based relationship with her audience ("the Daddy Gang"), fostered by discussing taboo topics like sex and vulnerability.
The podcast operates on a "black box" model exclusive to Spotify, where Cooper maintains creative control to prioritize audience connection over traditional public-facing accolades.
Cooper notes that the industry rewards increasing levels of chaos and "wild" content, creating a difficult moral pressure to constantly one-up previous episodes to maintain engagement.

Cooper describes her previous business partnership with a co-host as a "codependent relationship" that crumbled behind the scenes despite the public perception of a close friendship.
She struggled with people-pleasing tendencies, managing her partner's drug and alcohol issues and trying to be a "fixer" at the expense of her own mental health and morality.
The partnership required Cooper to compromise her values and mental well-being, leading to a period where she felt like the "villain" in the public fallout while trying to protect the brand.
She admits to being "over her skis" in the early days, lacking the business acumen to foresee the scale of success or secure proper contracts and IP ownership.
Cooper highlights the high personal cost of the show, including sacrificing family events, enduring physical and psychological tolls, and the inability to take time off due to the unforgiving nature of the content calendar.
She reveals that she has never deleted a published episode, though she has recorded over 100 solo episodes that were never released.
Cooper acknowledges that her people-pleasing nature made it difficult to fire underperforming employees for fear of negative public backlash.

Cooper sought professional therapy in New York City after being advised by her mother to address struggles arising from the co-host dynamic and her inability to be honest with herself.
A pivotal therapy session involved her therapist challenging her facade of perfection, leading Cooper to finally open up about her true struggles to both her therapist and her audience.
She transitioned the show from solo episodes to interviews to combat creative burnout and the psychological toll of constantly generating content weekly.
Cooper states she is currently in her "healthiest relationship" of her life, attributing this stability to having a partner who is also successful in his own right and respects her drive.
She emphasizes that her current partner supports her career fully, allowing her to be more effective professionally because she feels secure and supported at home.
Cooper reveals that her career success scares her, citing the fear of public judgment, the unnatural feeling of performing daily, and the uncertainty of her long-term happiness in such a public role.
She has recently ended a toxic friendship after struggling with maintaining boundaries, noting that while setting boundaries is easy for her, maintaining them is her ongoing challenge.

Cooper secured a deal with Spotify reported to be worth $60 million, though she states the money has not drastically altered her daily lifestyle or grounded her in her identity.
She plans to launch a new media company, "Alex Cooper Studios," within the next month to expand the Call Her Daddy brand into producing and directing films and TV.
Cooper identifies her primary goal as returning to her roots in production and directing, rather than remaining solely in front of the camera.
She advises aspiring entrepreneurs to "fake it to make it" regarding confidence, urging them to demand what they deserve and articulate their vision even when unsure of the details.
Her advice for business growth includes having a directional "compass" of what one wants while remaining open to feedback and collaboration from others to refine the plan.
Cooper intends to launch products that stay true to her brand's values, avoiding "selling out" to mass-market consumer goods.
She encourages creators to be transparent about the struggles of success, aiming to provide balance and reality to the often glamorized narrative of entrepreneurship.