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

Alright, Summer thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. The first dollar your business earns is always special and we’d love to hear how your brand made its first dollar of revenue.

Cold pitching! I joke all the time that at the beginning of Spark’s journey, I was a one-woman show behind a computer pretending like we were an established talent agency. Even to this day, our team does a ton of cold pitching. There is money out there to be made, but sometimes you have to really seek it.

My first client actually is still with me to this day – big hugs to Breshell West! Breshell took a chance on me during our day one stage and 3 years later we’re still a kickass team.

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?

Summer Lee is a visionary entrepreneur and influencer marketing expert, serving as the Founder & CEO of Spark Talent Group. As a leading influencer marketing and talent agency, Spark Talent Group represents top-tier digital creators, influencers, and tastemakers.

With extensive experience in creator strategy, brand partnerships, and talent management for national brands and digital celebrities, Summer brings a wealth of knowledge to her role. Her background as a creator strategist and influencer marketing lead for companies such as TikTok and other major agencies gives her a unique perspective on the industry.

A millennial entrepreneur and first-generation Asian American, Summer is a passionate advocate for diversity and authenticity in marketing. Since its start in 2020, Spark Talent Group’s roster has grown to over 50 managed talent with a combined reach of over 31 million. Summer has secured over $3 million in brand partnership deals, and executed global campaigns with top-tier brands such as Dior Beauty, Sephora, Walmart, Uber Eats, & many more.

Based in Dallas, Texas, Summer continues to drive growth and success for both Spark Talent Group and its clients.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

Since day 1, Spark Talent has been fully bootstrapped. I got lucky in the sense that my business plan had very little overhead. The only real startup costs for me were technology/software costs, which thankfully weren’t anything too crazy. That said, leaving a full-time consistent income into entrepreneurship was no easy feat from a personal finance standpoint. I worked a few freelance and consulting roles at first so I had enough cash to live off of, and eventually weaned off once I got to a place that I could work on Spark full-force.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

I can’t preach enough about word of mouth when it comes to drumming up new business. When you provide a stellar experience and value to your clients, most people will sing your praises. For the first year of business, so much of my daily workload was pitching new talent to sign onto the agency. Since the first year, a large majority of our clients have come to us after hearing a friend or colleague raving about their experience working with Spark.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.sparktalentgroup.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/summrlee
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/summer-lee/

Image Credits
Vanessa Christina Photography