Each month, industry news media organization XBIZ spotlights the career accomplishments and outstanding contributions of Women in Adult. WIA profiles offer an intimate look at the professional lives of the industry's most influential female executives. Women like Angie Rowntree, who is the creator and owner of Sssh.com.
How did you get into the business?
I’ve always been an entrepreneur as I love the challenges that being a business owner presents. The opportunities to innovate, create and even the frustrations, all bring out the best in me.
Colin (Wasteland.com) loves to tell this story. Back in the early 1990s, Colin and I had a number of mail-order businesses. We weren’t in adult yet, but we definitely understood the “sex sells” axiom, so at some point we started offering leather lingerie and BDSM gear. What we found was there were more people interested in looking at pictures of the products (and the models wearing the products) than people interested in buying the products. So we combined the photos with our BBS and Wasteland was born a short time later. Five years after that, I developed and launched Sssh.com, a porn site bringing online erotic entertainment to women.
What in your background prepared you for what you are doing now?
I’ve always been an entrepreneur as I love the challenges that being a business owner presents. The opportunities to innovate, create and even the frustrations, all bring out the best in me. I thrive on it. Working on a shared vision is wonderful (Wasteland), but there’s something even more satisfying about running a business that is truly yours, and embodies your vision and expression.
What do you see as the challenges of working in the adult online business? How do you overcome them?
I always get asked this question; and honestly other then piquing the curiosity of other people and having some very entertaining dinner conversations, there is nothing different about operating a business within the adult area, then I have experienced in “mainstream,” as it were. Even as a women, I really haven’t encountered anything significant enough that it stands out in my mind.
Does your work life affect your personal life?
I consider myself fortunate that both Colin and I are adult entrepreneurs. We really “get” each other when it comes to work, and it creates a unique camaraderie in our relationship. Although working with your partner does have its challenges, for the most part, I feel we have an appreciation and understanding of each other’s goals and creative inspirations. Does it affect our personal life? Sure. We never really leave work behind, and for now, that’s OK.
