“A trace of megalomania is certainly part of founding a magazine at the height of the economic crisis. Especially if you have no idea about the publishing business and are quitting a secure job for your dream. But my two friends and I were convinced that young women in Germany need a magazine in which they can find themselves and their emancipated attitude in stories about musicians, filmmakers and activists who are saving the world. We were unashamedly sure that we could inspire readers with our favorite topics.
Although we didn’t have the money for an expensive market analysis. We submitted our magazine concept to a creative competition and promptly won first place and prize money of 25,000 euros – combined with the requirement that the money be invested in our project within the next ten months. Everything had to be done incredibly fast: found a company, rent an editorial office, find freelancers and fill the pages of the magazine with cool sections, columns and feminist topics. We didn’t have an emergency plan. If we drove our magazine against the wall, it would have broken our hearts. But it’s better to have three great issues than not to have tried at all.
We’ve been here for two years now, ‘Missy Magazine’ is still on newsstands, and we were able to increase the number of copies sold from 15,000 to 20,000. And best of all, we can now even make a living from it. Of course we don’t drive big carriages, but bikes, and live in student digs and not in lofts on the Elbe. But it was also clear to us from the start that it would be an idealistic project that would not make us rich. We are happy that we took the risk and were able to position ourselves in the highly competitive magazine market.”
