profile

WIA Profile: Val C.

How did you get into the business?

Well I was in the real estate business selling for developers for eight years but in 2008 when the market started to crash I re-evaluated what I was doing. My partner had been in the adult industry for about 9 years at that time and needed to hire someone to help him with his affiliate company Pimp Profits so we figured it would be a great partnership for us to work rather than continue on in real estate. It ended up being a great match for both of us and I have been working with him for the past 2.5 years now. At the beginning of this year we started a 3rd party app store called Adult App Mart and I have been focusing all my time on it since then.

I think one of the biggest issues that we face as an online industry in general is that we constantly have to adapt and respond to changes in technology quickly.

What in your background prepared you for what you are doing now?

Well real estate helped me with sales and marketing but also since I worked with developers I handled a lot of customer service issues as well. That experience helped me relate to the user and reminded me to always pay attention to their perspective. Since my background isn’t in the tech industry I am able to look at things as an outsider and figure out ways that the store is easier for our customers. I don’t look at the store trying to figure out how it would be programed I just know how people would actually use it and I have been able to team with our programmers to give my input to create a more user friendly interface for Adult App Mart.

What do you see as the challenges of working in the adult online business? How do you overcome them?

I think one of the biggest issues that we face as an online industry in general is that we constantly have to adapt and respond to changes in technology quickly. Mobile is a market that seems to change drastically every 6 months or sometimes even sooner and we need to stay up to date with all the types of phones, what platforms are popular and how consumers are using their phones. With approximately 500,000 new users on Android every day right now we need to constantly be thinking of how people are using their phones and to also educate those people that 3rd party app stores are a reality and it’s a new and exciting way to view porn.

Does your work life affect your personal life?

For the most part, no. The person I am in a relationship is also in the business so he understands the pressure and demand on my time that the industry can have. I have always been very open with my family and friends on what we do and they have always been pretty supportive I count some of the people in the industry as my best friends and we spend a considerable time with them in my free time.

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.

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