Dr. Frankie Bashan's Success Story

Founder of Little Gay Book

Growing up on New York City’s Upper West Side, Dr. Frankie Bashan grew up learning first-hand what it meant to be an entrepreneur, having witnessed both of her parents in that role. Her father, who emigrated from Israel, came to America with only $500 in his pocket and a dream. After selling Levis on Bleecker Street to make ends meet, he joined with his wife, a Jewish American from Long Island, to open a small women’s contemporary clothing store in the 1970s. By the 80s, they had opened three stores. And by the 90s, Bashan’s father opened Isabel Ardee, a brand similar to Theory and Tahari, both of whom were his direct competitors. In the early 2000s, he decided to shift his talent to designing high end homes in Greenwich, CT., where he resides today.

Frankie watched both of her parents become success stories through their determination, hard work and drive, which instilled in her the confidence and street smarts, and also ignited the passion in herself.

Frankie was very independent, even from an early age. In fact, she would even walk to school on her own in first grade. Her parents divorced when she was two years old, but they lived only nine blocks from each other. Because of their absences, Frankie grew up very quickly and soon learned she had a gift for connecting with others. She greatly enjoyed being around other people and vice-versa. Funnily enough, at seven years old, her father made the mistake of leaving her unattended at the Tel Aviv Hilton pool, and was quite shocked to find a $1,000 bill waiting for him, which included many rounds of food and drinks for other hotel guests. Needless to say, he never left Frankie alone again!

The Bay Area gal with a gift of gab has always been appreciative of the fact that she has the ability to understand human behavior and connecting with people. Even at a young age, she says, she preferred spending time with those significantly older than herself, even adults. “I never felt intimidated and I actually preferred them to my peers.”

As a child, Bashan dreamed of becoming a television producer or a fashion designer. In fact, she even worked as a PA on Montel Williams, Inside Edition and American Journal. But later on, life steered her in another direction – that of psychologist, coaching and matchmaking.

After dealing with a string of knocks to her self-esteem, including the realization that she had several learning deficits like ADHD and dyslexia, which severely impacted her ability to concentrate and comprehend what she was being taught in the classroom, she began to take to the streets and hang with the wrong people. That is why when she reached seventh grade, her parents sent her away to boarding school in Massachusetts. Following that, she attended the Hun School of Princeton in Princeton, N. J., and soon after, went on to attend college at Northeastern University, a school that appealed to Bashan because she could attend school and build her resume simultaneously.

Bashan found her calling of helping others early on while she was in court-mandated therapy, on and off throughout her early childhood, due to her parents’ divorce.

“From an early age, I found therapy to be supportive, encouraging and validating,” she says. “When everything around me was crumbling, I had a consistent person whom I could trust. She reminded me that I wasn’t going insane and that in time I would have control of the things happening around me.”

Seeing how powerful and significant her therapist was in her life, she soon realized the incredible value and need that existed for a psychologist’s services. She was inevitably drawn to the field of psychology given her early interest in human behavior and her innate love for relating to and connecting with others.

Bashan received her Master’s and PsyD in Clinical Psychology after studying at the Wright Institute in Berkeley, Calif. She worked with children, couples, and families, straight and gay, for roughly ten years. While working within the LGBT community, she realized there was an exceptional need in the area of dating, relationships, intimacy and sex, which she was immediately drawn to.

“I feel passionate about helping people in the LGBT community to live fuller and healthier lives,” she says. “Aside from the need within the LGBT community, I also noticed how much I truly enjoyed working within the community.”

Shortly after, her entrepreneurial spirit kicked in and she founded Little Gay Book, a matchmaking service for the LGBT community. However, Bashan was always an entrepreneur at heart. When she was six years old, she and her best friend would gather their books and toys together and hold sidewalk sales to make pocket money. Once, a famous author walked by and saw that she was selling one of her books. The author was so excited to see it that Bashan told her that if she signed it, she wouldn’t sell it. Even from an early age, Frankie started fine-tuning the art of negotiation and compromise.

With her first-ever official business, Little Gay Book, Frankie is helping the LGBT community by populating it with “healthier, happier individuals, couples and one day families.” She is bringing the full force of her life experience, which includes the lessons she learned in childhood, her failed relationships, thriving marriage, and motherhood. In addition, she incorporates her education, clinical experience, training and research along the way. This is what she feels separates her company from that of an ordinary matchmaking service, and what elevates her coaching practice.

For Bashan, success means living a life filled with adventure, love, and challenge, but her intention isn’t to simply become rich. She’s driven by providing a unique and valuable service, matching her clients with other wonderful women, and helping people to lead healthier, fuller lives.

Where does she hope to take Little Gay Book in the future?

“I’m more about quality control, than reaching vast quantities of women. I want to make sure that we don’t lose what is so special – the human connection that drives the top-notch service.

I think the sky is the limit though, so with the right staff in place, I hope to one day reach out to cities that aren’t known for having supportive gay communities. There are so many women out there that I want to reach!”