Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jake Rosen. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Jake , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Often outsiders look at a successful business and think it became a success overnight. Even media and especially movies love to gloss over nitty, gritty details that went into that middle phase of your business – after you started but before you got to where you are today. In our experience, overnight success is usually the result of years of hard work laying the foundation for success, but unfortunately, it’s exactly this part of the story that most of the media ignores. Can you talk to us about your scaling up story – what are some of the nitty, gritty details folks should know about?

I started my career working as a television producer, and ultimately made the change to working in Socialmedia. After working at ABC transition to working at People Magazine, helping run their Social department and helping their accounts grow. With the skills I learned on how to grow social accounts, I started working with Inflluencer/Creators on the side to help them grow their social media following as well. Something I learned very quickly was just because you have a following doesn’t mean you were actually making money or monetizing. I started helping Rather large Creators, who had never actually made a dime on social media figure out how to monetize their following. I hope these creators go from earning zero dollars a month to high 5 figures. As I begin working with this graders, they wanted me to take on a bigger role and help with branded partnerships as well. They asked me if I had ever done it before, although I had not, I said yes, because I knew I could figure it out.

Fast forward to today I now run to Talent agency, representing some of the largest creators across social media. What started out as a side hustle has grown into a full fledged, booming business, that has continue to grow year over year.

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.

I began my career in television production at ABC, where I discovered my passion for the entertainment industry. During my time there, I contributed to multiple linear shows and also ventured into managing social media for some programs. Following my tenure at ABC, I transitioned to overseeing social media strategies for prominent brands, most recently People Magazine. It was during this experience that I developed a deep love for social media and supporting accounts and creators in their growth.

While still at People Magazine, I started working with influencers and creators on the side helping them to optimize their social presence, and monetize their following. I went helping creators with millions of followers go from earning $0 on platforms to 5 figures pretty quickly. Before I knew it I was helping 10+ creators run their social media on a daily basis. That led to major success, and the ability for me to leave my full-time job and start my own agency.

Today, I am the CEO of JRE, an influencer talent agency known for our expertise in talent management, social media consulting, and securing brand deals. The talent that our agency represents continues to grow, featuring a diverse roster of creators whose audience reach ranges anywhere from 100,000 to upwards of 20 million followers, collectively resulting in over 500 million followers. JRE has facilitated over 13,000 successful brand collaborations at this time, with renowned companies such as Disney, McDonald’s, Netflix, CVS, Hulu, and many others.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

When I launched my agency and began collaborating with creators, my initial challenge was establishing connections with brands and agencies. While I had solid relationships with creators, securing brand deals required forging strong partnerships on the other side that I simply did not have. While still working full time, I committed 6-8 hours each day to reaching out to hundreds of brands, convinced that even a few positive responses would justify the effort. Many days passed with countless emails sent and no replies received, but I always told myself to not give up and keep going knowing that perseverance was crucial to our success.

Since those challenging early days, we’ve cultivated thousands of relationships with leading agencies and brands. The days of cold emailing thankfully are behind us.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

When I started our agency, Instagram was the main source of revenue for our talent through these branded partnerships. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the rising popularity of TikTok I saw partnerships quickly begin to shif to that platform. Recognizing this shift in consumer behavior, we anticipated that our talent might struggle to secure the same level of brand deals on Instagram as they could on TikTok. To adapt, we pivoted our strategy towards TikTok, strategically signing creators who had significant followings on that platform vs IG as we had done up to this point.. This strategic shift played a crucial role in sustaining our growth during this period of industry transformation.

I always like to pride myself on knowing the importance of agility in business. Influencer marketing is a rapidly evolving industries, and being proactive and adaptable is the only way to maintain success.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://jakerosenentertainment.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jakerosenentertainment/?hl=en
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/jake-rosen-entertainment