If you have young kids (or even if you don’t), you’ve probably seen clips of Dr. Becky. Full name Becky Kennedy, she’s a psychologist by training who five years ago started sharing her signature parenting concepts—modeling emotional regulation, setting boundaries, and recognizing so-called deeply feeling kids—on Instagram. Today she has 3.4 million Instagram followers, a company called Good Inside, and more than 100,000 subscribers who pay about $25 a month.
My colleague Claire Zillman has an exclusive in Fortune on how Kennedy has turned parenting advice into a thriving business. She reports that Good Inside passed $34 million in revenue last year, growing more than 50% from the year prior. It’s raised $10.5 million in venture funding, including from Alexa von Tobel’s Inspired Capital.
Kennedy is in a way bringing the business of coaching to parenting. As Claire reports: “Today’s parents are seeking to improve their skills at home the same way they might hone their management skills at work. ‘Parenting,’ Kennedy explains, ‘is the ultimate form of leadership.'”
It’s a model that can attract critics. Is charging parents for advice a way of capitalizing on moms’ fears? Or is that view itself a form of misogyny? “I’ve never heard anyone say that executive coaches make CEOs anxious, right?” Kennedy says. “I don’t hear anyone saying money managers make people anxious with their finances, or basketball coaches or sports psychologists make athletes anxious in those fields.”
Read Claire’s full story here for more on that debate and the business of Dr. Becky.
Emma Hinchliffe
emma.hinchliffe@fortune.com
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PARTING WORDS
"Don’t say to me, 'You’re looking so good today.' I don’t want to hear it. Just help me up. That’s all."
— Christina Applegate on what she wishes people knew about MS. Her new memoir is You With the Sad Eyes
