Bee, a new magazine for women, debuts in Dallas

By Sarah McClellan-Brandt - September 26, 2005

As a new SMU graduate working as a money manager and financial analyst , Celine Gumbiner looked for a woman's magazine that covered issues young professionals cared about: finance, money management, politics, foreign affairs.

"I started looking for a magazine that spoke to women like me and there was nothing out there," Gumbiner said.

So, Gumbiner, 24, who has worked for Deloitte & Touche and The Hallwood Group Incorporated, decided to start a magazine of her own that covers those issues and also offers information about fashion, beauty and travel. Bee , a magazine named for the insect society in which females are leaders, was launched in Dallas on Sept. 29 and is expected to be on the shelves at Borders and Barnes & Noble by Oct. 1.

"The whole idea about it is to reach women in terms that are easy to understand," she said. "We don't speak down to them; we initiate conversation."

She said it took about a year and a half for the Dallas-based magazine to get off the ground, starting with a circulation of 100,000. Gumbiner said she hopes circulation will grow to 250,000 within four years and that the quarterly publication will become a monthly by 2007. Gumbiner's co-publisher is Erik Velez , formerly vice president of strategic marketing for New York-based Family Publications.

For more information, visit www.bee mag.com.