Sugar and Posh Spice and Everything Nice

By Cate T. Corcoran
June 10, 2011

Sugar, Inc.

Lisa Sugar and Brian Sugar of Sugar Inc and their children

Not only is PopSugar among the nicest and most upbeat celebrity blogs on the web, but it's also run by two people who could easily sweep a contest for nicest and happiest couple in Silicon Valley, Lisa and Brian Sugar.

She was working in advertising and he was working in tech when Lisa stared the PopSugar blog in 2005 as a hobby at the urging of a friend, Om Malik, the well-known tech blogger behind GigaOm. They were all over at the Sugar house for an Oscar party, and Malik, who was thinking about starting his own media network, envisioned them creating an online version of Conde Nast in blog format.

Sugar, Inc.

PopSugar quickly became a real business when it took off faster than the ecommerce platforms for J. Crew or the Martha Stewart section on Kmart’s Bluelight.com, both of which Brian Sugar helped launch.

Since then, through savvy development and acquisitions, Sugar Inc. has grown into a profitable network of blogs, search, video, and other media that appeal to women. It has over 200 employees and $46 million in venture backing.

Sugar, Inc.

The Sugar Network sites

Brian and Lisa Sugar met in college when a high-school friend of Brian’s brought Lisa over for a visit. They played video games. Brian no longer remembers who won, but it was love at first sight. “Of course,” he said. “She’s damn cute and she can play video games. What else really mattered when you were 20?”

Currently, Brian Sugar serves as CEO and Publisher of Sugar, Inc. and Lisa Sugar serves as Editor-in-Chief. They have two girls, Katie, age 5, and Juliet, 20 months. Every member of the family, including dogs Jack and Lucy, has a photo blog.

The Inside Source: What’s your typical day like? We imagine Sugar Inc. to be the most glamorous company in the Bay Area?

Brian Sugar: I don’t think so. I think we’re the most fun company in the Bay Area.

The Inside Source: What’s it like working with your spouse on the PopSugar blog and other Sugar Inc. networks?

Brian Sugar: It’s great. I met Lisa in 1994, when she was 18 and I was 20, and now I’m 37 and she’s 34, so to watch Lisa go from a girl to a mom, and an exec at a media company, and to just share all that is a special thing for two people to go through. The respect level and love and deep relationship we have—we’re both really lucky to have that. She’s running the editorial and video departments; I’m more working on advertising, tech, and marketing. [They work on separate floors and text all day.] We see each other in the elevator and we meet in the lobby at the end of the day and we go home.

The Inside Source: You started with the PopSugar blog, and now you’re a multimedia empire. What is next? Any new projects you’re working on?

Brian Sugar: We continue to expand internationally. Canada and Brazil are up next, and we just launched Australia. We’re in Germany, France, the UK, and Japan. The other thing we launched is a national ecommerce business. We work with retailers who want to create unique offers to various verticals—beauty, fashion deals, fitness deals.

The biggest thing that’s coming next is extending our brand through TV, either through syndication or a cable show. We want multiple revenue streams, not just display advertising. We get paid by retailers for sending them traffic, and we get paid by consumers for products and services we aggregate or source ourselves. PopSugar is a mass market, Target-like brand. It does really well. One place we want expand into is higher-end, more aspirational, and Fashionologie [acquired last year] is the first step on that as we progress.

The Inside Source: What would you most like to get for Father’s Day?

Brian Sugar: [Pauses to think.] How about a taco prepared by the kids and mom? Ground turkey tacos with the taco seasoning mix. The big event this summer is we’re renting a really nice house for ten days in Sonoma over July 4, and we’re going to barbeque and go bike riding and swimming. In San Francisco, you don’t get summer in the city.

The Inside Source: I know Lisa collects handbags. Do you have anything like that you’re obsessed with?

Brian Sugar: I used to collect vintage Rolex watches. I have to have the latest gadget and upgrade to the latest software. I have a Macbook Pro 13 inch, but check out how I modded it: I took out the stock hard drive; it’s lightening fast. I have the iPad 2, the iPhone 4. Lisa and I are trying to get rid of stuff and just do fun things. My new thing is to collect experiences, so instead of spending money on things, I spend money on doing things, such as last year’s Giants series, a U2 concert... I bought four tickets in the first row of a Britney Spears concert for Lisa and three girlfriends.

A Spoonful of Sugar: Shop eBay for Brian Sugar's Favorite Gifts and Gadgets

Roll over items for details

Twins vs. San Francisco Giants Tickets, 6/22

(buy it now price, $29.99)

U2 Tickets, Anaheim, CA

(buy it now price, $700)

MacBook Pro 13"

(buy it now price, $1,379)

iPad 2

(starting bid, $575)

iPhone 4

(buy it now price, $450)

Sega Genesis FIFA Soccer Game

(buy it now price, $1.99)

1950 Gold Rolex

(buy it now price, $2,695)

Stainless Steel 20-Piece BBQ Set

(buy it now price, $77.40)

Sugar and Posh Spice and Everything Nice

San Francisco Giants Tickets: "My new thing is to collect experiences, so instead of spending money on things, I spend money on doing things," says Sugar, who has purchased San Francisco Giants tickets on Stubhub, an eBay-owned site.

U2 Tickets: One of Brian Sugar's favorite "experiences" has been a U2 concert. The band is playing in Anaheim, CA on Father's Day weekend. Perhaps a trip is in order for Brian and Lisa...

MacBook Pro 13": "I have a Macbook Pro 13 inch, but check out how I modded it: I took out the stock hard drive; it’s lightening fast," says Sugar.

iPad 2: "I have to have the latest gadget and upgrade to the latest software," says Sugar, who owns an iPad 2 and an iPhone 4.

iPhone 4: Brian and Lisa Sugar work on separate floors, but he texts her from his iPhone 4 throughout the day.

Vintage Rolex: "I used to collect vintage Rolex watches," says Brian Sugar.

Sega FIFA Soccer Game: When Brian Sugar first met his now-wife back in the mid-nineties, they were playing FIFA soccer on a Sega. “She’s damn cute and she can play video games. What else really mattered when you were 20?”

BBQ Set: The big event this summer is we’re renting a really nice house for ten days in Sonoma over July 4, and we’re going to barbeque and go bike riding and swimming," says Brian Sugar.

Tags: