Bella French
Bella French
Occupation: Co-founder and CEO of ManyVids.com
Location: Montréal, Québec, Canada
The Sex In My Business: ManyVids is a platform where sex workers can monetize content and engage with their audience. We are a model-centric website because we understand the struggles of creators. We don't produce any adult content ourselves; instead, we offer a platform for online sex workers to become successful independent entrepreneurs. All of our time is spent creating cutting-edge tools to help our content creators communicate with their fans more easily and generate passive income.
A Typical Day: Every day is completely different and brings its unique challenges. I spend most days in and out of meetings and constantly answering emails. I typically work about 12 hours a day, nine or 10 of which are at the office, and a couple extra hours at home. Weekends are my favorite time to work because I can focus on long-term strategies and new ideas without the distraction of emails.
The Best Part: My favorite part of my job is the opportunity it gives me to be creative and come up with new ways to help move the adult industry in the right direction. It is always exciting to be the first to do something new. ManyVids is the most inclusive platform on the web and we are extremely proud of that. I also love being able to come up with solutions to complex problems. Achieving difficult goals with the MV Team is one of my favorite things.
The Worst Part: Even though I love my job, at times being a CEO can be very onerous. There is little margin for error and if ever I make a mistake, I have to acknowledge it and pivot as quickly as possible. I feel responsible for everything, and if something bad happens, I always blame myself. This sense of responsibility makes it very hard to disconnect. As a woman without children, this company is my baby. Like any baby, it keeps me up at night, it makes me worry constantly, and I always wish I could do better.
How I Got Here: After studying fashion design and graduating from business school, I opened two stores in my hometown of Montréal, the first when I was 21 and the second at 27. One summer morning, I arrived at my second store to find it was completely flooded. The apartments above it on the second floor had a water tank that broke during the night. I was not well insured, and lost $200,000 overnight. I had to find money fast to pay my bills, and that was when I came across webcamming. I became a camgirl by pure desperation and it ended up being the best thing that ever happened in my life. While I was camming, I realized that there was very little in the way of support or infrastructure for people like me in the adult industry. I saw an opportunity to create a website that would make things easier for me and eventually for all online sex workers.
What Society Thinks: As a woman and proud sex-worker CEO, nothing is easy and that is why it’s so much fun. A large part of my job is educating society about who sex workers are. They are smart, beautiful, and kind people in control of their lives. Let's just say in today’s climate, we have many years of hard work ahead of us. My boyfriend Sed is also one of the co-founders and the COO of ManyVids. He has always been extremely supportive; I would not be where I am today without him. During the early years building ManyVids, he was always the first to believe in my ideas and on many occasions fought to convince our team to trust my vision. I lead a rather private life, so when it comes to family members, my work is a very sensitive subject. You could say that they do not fully agree with what I do. But, at the end of the day, what matters to me is helping sex workers — with or without people's approval. I understand firsthand the stigma and hurt of being shamed by loved ones. Because of that, I am relentless in my pursuit of providing a safe and inclusive space for our content creators to thrive independently.
When I’m Not At Work: There is no such thing as “not working” in my life. In this extremely competitive industry, and in managing a rapidly growing company, the only way to be the best is by devoting my life to work. I am completely obsessed with helping my team and all the MV Stars, so that I consistently spend virtually all waking hours working. When I do take some time to step away, one of the things that helps me focus is physical exercise, which I do in many forms from running to boxing. I also love to read business books or famous entrepreneurs' biographies.
Published in Issue V: Taboos