We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Denver McQuaid. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Denver below.

Hi Denver, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear from you about what you think Corporate America gets wrong in your industry and why it matters.

The biggest financial waste in Corporate America is marketing—and it’s entirely self-inflicted. But there’s a simple fix.

Brands invest millions into hiring specialized marketing teams for e-commerce, social media, and out-of-home advertising, yet they often ignore or second-guess the very experts they hired. The result? Forgettable campaigns, wasted budgets, and poor ROI.

Here’s the problem: Decision-makers, especially in publicly traded companies, see overhauls as a power move—proof of leadership. Instead of refining existing strategies, they censor, shut down, or completely rework campaigns, leading to inefficiency and lost momentum. But respectfully, marketing isn’t their job. They’ve already hired experts they should trust.

I can promise you there is not a single marketer in the world trying to get less people to see their brand. Marketers spend their entire careers studying human behavior, psychology, and buying patterns to create content that resonates. Every campaign is a calculated risk, backed by experience—not just a shot in the dark.

Take our team at Digital Magician Studios. When we helped launch brands like PopSockets, Amazon Alexa, and Ralph Lauren on TikTok, we knew the key to success wasn’t polished, ad-like content. Instead, we crafted content that felt raw, authentic, and native to platforms like TikTok, YouTube Shorts, and Instagram Reels.

Successful social media marketing isn’t about high-budget production. It’s about feeling like a FaceTime call from a friend you haven’t met yet—relaxed, natural, and mostly unbranded. There are always exceptions but typically consumers engage with content that feels real, not scripted.

Key Takeaway for Brands: Trust the experts you hire. In 2025, the brands that win online won’t be the ones with the biggest budgets—but the biggest balls to be memorable.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

For the last four years, I’ve led an incredible team at Digital Magician Studios, producing high-impact social media campaigns for brands and celebrities like PopSockets, Amazon Alexa, Ralph Lauren, Tiësto, Perplexity Ai, Dr. Squatch, Sony, and many more.

My journey started young—I bought my first MacBook at 13 using money I saved from umpiring Little League games and mowing lawns. What began as a passion for making funny Photoshop edits of my family evolved into VFX animation, After Effects editing, and thousands of viral social media videos—amassing over 280 million views across platforms.

From Vine to TikTok, YouTube Shorts, and Instagram Reels, I’ve spent years mastering what makes content engaging, shareable, and memorable to hundreds of millions. Every video is built with a deep understanding of audience psychology, platform trends, and creative storytelling.

We bridge the gap between entertainment and marketing. Social media isn’t about ads—it’s about culture, and we help brands tap into that in an authentic way. We’ve been in the game since social media’s early days evolving alongside the platforms, adapting to new trends and algorithms before they become mainstream.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

I am entirely self funded which has it’s pros and cons. No daddy’s credit card to rely on like many others.
I’m entirely self-funded, which comes with its pros and cons. No daddy’s credit card—just years of grinding in the gig economy.

Since I was 13, I’ve worked a variety of jobs—DJ’ing, retail, umpiring, graphic design, video editing, and marketing—each building financial stability, connections, and experience over the last 15 years. Every skill I’ve developed has contributed to launching and sustaining Digital Magician Studios without outside funding.

The Pros of Self-Funding
– My money, my rules, my profits. No investors dictating creative direction or business decisions.
– Agility and independence. I can pivot quickly, experiment freely, and build based on passion rather than pressure.
– Full ownership of success with the team. Every partnership, campaign, and milestone is built from our hard work and belief in the vision.

The Cons of Self-Funding
– My expenses, my risk, my sanity. When money is tight, I take the hit so the team gets paid. As it should always be!
– Limited access to growth capital. No outside investors means scaling is slower and requires more strategic reinvestment.
– Fewer mentors and co-founders. Without a built-in network of experienced investors, I’ve had to navigate challenges solo.

Despite the challenges, self-funding has made me a sharper entrepreneur—forcing me to be resourceful, build strong partnerships, and create value-driven campaigns that generate real revenue. Every dollar earned and reinvested has been a direct result of hard work, creativity, and persistence.

Would I take on funding in the future? Maybe. But for now, I’m focused on scaling Digital Magician Studios the way I started it—on my terms.

What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?

My side hustle in social media content became my full-time career when I got a call from Tiësto’s manager in December 2020.

Before that, I was working as a freelance video editor in Los Angeles, creating content for brands like Snapchat and Call of Duty. The work was solid, but I felt stagnant. I wanted to expand beyond just editing—I wanted to create, strategize, and build something bigger.

That’s when a random connection from a social media creator meetup in 2017 led to the opportunity with Tiësto. After several calls, proposals, and planning sessions, I became Tiësto’s personal social media strategist and producer. That moment kickstarted my agency, Digital Magician Studios.

I left my role at Call of Duty in February 2021 to run the agency full-time. Within six months, I had tripled my previous salary and started hiring a team to help with content production and admin work. Things were growing fast.

But with every high comes a low.

For a variety of reasons—both in and out of my control—things slowed down. I lost my creative drive, got too caught up in business operations, and watched macroeconomic shifts impact the industry. It was my first major setback in business, and it hit hard.

Still, setbacks don’t define the journey—they shape it. Today, Digital Magician Studios continues to partner with brands on global influencer campaigns, viral social media campaigns, and on-camera hosting for Perplexity Ai.

The hustle never stops, but neither does the growth. Personal and professional. How it should be.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://denvermcquaid.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/denvermcquaid/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/denvermcquaid/