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

Nicole, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Alright, so you had your idea and then what happened? Can you walk us through the story of how you went from just an idea to executing on the idea

I graduated with a music history & music business degree from UCLA in 2014. I had dreamed of pursuing a career in the music industry and specifically was interested in A&R. I had always been the friend who knew of cool new artists before they popped off. I loved music discovery and given my background as an Artist myself I dreamed of supporting a new Artist break through the noise. I moved to Nashville three weeks after I graduated without a job and began the grueling job interview process. No one prepares you for how difficult that period is post graduation. You have left everything that made you feel secure behind to pursue a dream that you hope and pray is possible to achieve. Since I landed my first position at Big Machine in 2014 I have learned many hard lessons and they have absolutely been a part of God’s plan to prepare me for my current position today as a business owner and talent manager. I met my business partner Paige at a small music management & publishing company in 2018. Paige was my intern and she was elevated to Director of Marketing due to her incredible natural talent for marketing. We loved working with music artists and were fascinated by the creator economy. We started working with influencers in 2020 by paying them to promote our Artists’ music. Paige and I were curious if our skillsets as Artist managers would translate to creator management. We started managing influencers on the side for supplemental income and quickly fell in love with managing social media talent. We spent weeks crafting our business plan and seeking mentorships from those successful in the business already. We hired an attorney with expertise in the influencer space as well as brought on an amazing business manager, Adrien Good, whom we trusted and worked with in the music industry. One of the best moves we have made was bringing on Adrien. She has been instrumental in the success of our company. We launched Odyssey officially in February of 2021 and have grown to a staff of 6 people and 40 talent. We represent talent in a wide variety of niches – music, comedy, dance, moms, makeup, finance and more. No day is the same. We are privileged to be able to work with talent we believe in and whom are great human beings. We have hired some incredible women and there is nothing more fulfilling than watching them grow to become future leaders in this industry. The best decision I have ever made was betting on myself and choosing a business partner who makes me want to be the best version of myself.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

The heart of Odyssey is to manifest movements not moments through achieving one creative’s dream at a time. Odyssey Entertainment Group is a boutique, women-run company whose main goal is to spearhead influencer management and artist management, in conjunction with cutting-edge branding and creative marketing services.

We believe hard work and dedicated passion can yield the most seemingly impossible outcomes. We are a results-driven team that stands by integrity and innovation of creative industries. Odyssey empowers our roster and team by being with them through the peaks and the valleys. We embrace each creator’s individuality and want to prove that you can be successful and make a positive impact no matter your family or economic background, talent niche, sexual orientation, etc. Our mission is to give every creator a voice and turn their dreams into reality.

The #1 thing we offer is Outstanding Communication. If you sign with our talent management company, you are not only getting a manager – you’re gaining a group of friends.

Our talent receive a hands-on 360° management experience across all areas including:

Brand Partnerships & Campaign Management
Billing & Payment Distribution
Social Media & Branding Strategy
Product Development
PR & Events Management
Music Management
Film/TV Agency Relations
Dance Agency Relations
Literary Agency Relations
Digital Partner Relationship Building

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

I highly recommend the four agreements as well as How to Win Friends and Influence People. I think everyone should read these two books regardless of your position in your organization. They will impact you both personally and professionally. The Four agreements include 1) Always Do your Best 2) Don’t take things personally 3) Don’t Make Assumptions and 4) Be impeccable with your word.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I was fired from my first job which I thought was my dream job. I absolutely adored my first boss and was so grateful to him for helping me get my start in the entertainment industry. He took a chance on me when no one else did. As many people do, I came to the realization after 2 years in my position that there was no room for growth. I went to my boss and shared this concern with him and gave him a heads up I felt it was time for me to look for a new job. I wanted him to hear this from me and not through someone else. He told me he supported me and I had a job as long as I wanted it. Then he went to the head of the company and got me fired. I was absolutely devastated. I wanted to quit the music industry and move home. It turns out that this was exactly what I needed to happen for me to not only learn humility but also to push through a new door. I was given the great privilege to care for a handicapped man for 2 months while I looked for a new entertainment position. This gave me a whole new perspective on life and the hard truth that I am no better than anyone else regardless of my job title. I think it is very easy to get wrapped up into the small bubble that is the entertainment industry. At the end of the day we can all love what we do but we are no better than anyone else. We aren’t curing cancer. This experience taught me who my true friends were when I had nothing to offer them professionally at the time. It also taught me how to become the boss that I want to be. I am so grateful I was fired.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.odysseyentgroup.com
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicole-dovolis-kasper-43447448/

Image Credits
myself