We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Tevaughn Small a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Tevaughn , appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

My journey into entertainment started completely by accident.

At the time, I was in university pursuing my accounting degree, working on our final year major project. For anyone who knew me back then, I was probably the last person you would have expected to end up in entertainment. I was the guy at the back of the class making jokes — the “class clown” for lack of a better term.

One day, my lecturer told me I should run for the position of Marketing Director for our major project committee. To this day, I’m still not sure if she genuinely saw something in me or if it was her way of punishing me for always disrupting the class.

Either way, I decided to run, well I had to, I had no choice.

My competitors came prepared. They had proper speeches, detailed plans, strategies — everything you would expect from serious candidates. Then there was me. I went up, gave them a few ideas, mixed in some jokes, made everyone laugh, and somehow the students voted for me.

I still laugh about it to this day because I had no idea that moment would change the entire direction of my life.

When I was appointed Marketing Director, I was around 20 or 21 years old. At that point, I had never really experienced the entertainment industry. I had never been to a party on or off campus, I didn’t drink, and I definitely was not your typical final year university student. When I tell people that today, they find it hard to believe.

As part of our final year activities, each major had to host events to raise funds for their final year seminar. This was a big deal because, whether people admitted it or not, all the business Majors were competing to see who could execute the best event.

So, we had to plan a party.

Remember, this was essentially my first real party experience, but something unexpected happened — the process felt natural.

The planning, the marketing, the coordination, figuring out the experience we wanted people to have — it felt like something I had been doing for years. Yes, we had guidance from previous students and lecturers, but for the most part, we had to plan, problem-solve, and execute on our own.

It was stressful. It was challenging. But strangely enough, I loved every part of it.

Then came February 4, 2017.

I don’t think I will ever forget that date.

When the crowd started coming through the gates and by midnight the venue was packed to the point where you could barely walk freely, I felt a level of pride I had never experienced before. Seeing something that started as just an idea become a real experience with hundreds of people enjoying themselves was an unbelievable feeling.

At that moment, nothing compared to it.

After the event, we completed the financial reports and realized we had generated over $1.1 million in profit. At the time, that was the most profit an event from our program had ever made. It became a historic staging.

Even after that success, I still thought, “Okay, that was amazing, but we did it and that’s that.”

Then about two weeks later, everything changed.

One of the Big Four accounting firms visited our university to speak about career opportunities. They shared the GPA requirements needed to join the firm — which I didn’t meet, by the way — and then they spoke about the compensation package. The starting salary was just over $1.25 million per year.

That moment stuck with me.

I remember thinking, “Wait… we just planned an event for two months and generated almost the same amount they’re offering for an entire year of work.”

That was when the light bulb went off.

I realized I had found something I genuinely loved, something I was naturally good at, and something that had real business potential.

From that point, my mindset changed. I decided entertainment was what I wanted to build, and my accounting career would become the vehicle to finance that dream.

The next step was strategic.

I applied for and was appointed Director of Entertainment and Cultural Activities for the university’s student body. That position placed me in charge of some of the university’s largest events and gave me access to industry leaders, resources, and networks that many people spend years trying to build.

Now, you may wonder — how was I in my final year but still serving on student government?

The truth is, once I realized entertainment was the direction I wanted to pursue, I intentionally delayed completing some of my final year modules and extended my time at university for an year, after that succesful year I was reappointed to I delayed some more modules and extended my university tenure by another year.

It was a calculated decision.

During that time, I had a very successful and impactful tenure and continued building my experience, reputation, and network.

Then came January 2019.

I remember my mother calling my father and telling him she felt I was wasting time at school keeping parties instead of graduating.

And honestly, I understood why she felt that way.

She didn’t see the vision yet. She didn’t understand the mission I was on.

That month, she sent my rent money and money for groceries and made it clear that would be it. After sorting out my expenses, I had only $10,000 left in my account.

I had to figure out not only how I would survive that month, but the rest of the semester.

And anyone who knows my mother knows that when she says she is going to do something, or stop doing something, believe her.

At the time, I had a relationship with someone who had strong connections in the dancehall industry. I reached out and said, “Let’s partner on an event.”

He agreed.

We booked Rygin King, who at the time was arguably the biggest name in dancehall.

With only $10,000 to my name, no clear idea how I would finance the rest of the event, and just two weeks to execute, I called my graphic designer at the time — who is now my business partner, Denzil — and said:

“Line up a flyer.”

A lot of people doubted us.

They said two weeks was not enough time. They said hosting a Saturday event on campus wouldn’t work. There were many reasons why it should have failed, But I had a will to succeed neither could I afford to allow fear and doubt to enter my consciousness.

With God, my team, and a lot of Faith, we executed.

On January 19, 2019, we delivered what became arguably one of the largest dancehall events on campus at the time.

And that night, Epique Group was born.

The proceeds from that event allowed me to finance the remainder of my university journey until I started working that summer at a Big Four accounting firm.

We continued hosting events successfully until COVID came and brought the entire entertainment industry to a standstill.

After COVID, I eventually landed an accounting role with one of the Caribbean’s largest owners and producers of music festivals and carnival experiences.

Being inside that environment changed my perspective again.

I started seeing the other side of the industry — not just events, but the infrastructure behind events. I saw what production companies were earning from execution, and I realized something important: production had less risk than owning events, strong margins, and more sustainability.

I told Denzil, “I think this is where we need to go.”

I was uniquely positioned. I understood events, I had built relationships, and I believed I could secure opportunities.

But I also noticed a bigger problem.

Even at the highest level, event producers had to coordinate dozens of different vendors just to execute one event. Lighting, staging, décor, Ticketing, Bar management — everything was fragmented.

So I started asking myself:

What if we could build a production company that brings all of these solutions together in one place?

That became the vision.

I reached out to the owner of a small production company, found his contact by searching the company’s Instagram followers until I found him. I didn’t know him personally, and he didn’t know me. I simply told him that I believed I was uniquely positioned, that I had the relationships, the skill set, and the vision to grow something meaningful.

He took a chance on me.

At that point, I honestly did not know if I could bring in a single dollar of business.

But my favourite Bible verse is Hebrews 11:1:

“Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

That is how I try to live my life.

Through faith in God, hard work, and the support of the people around me, within our first few months of operation we were able to deliver over $7 million in business.

What started as a university student accidentally running for Marketing Director became a journey of discovering my purpose, taking risks, and building a company focused on raising the standard of event experiences.

That is the story behind Epique.

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 am Tevaughn Small, an accountant by qualification, but at my core I am an entrepreneur and creative who found my purpose in building experiences.

My journey is a little unconventional because I did not grow up imagining I would be in the entertainment industry. I grew up in Seaview Gardens, one of Kingston’s toughest inner-city communities, an environment that taught me resilience, adaptability, and the importance of creating opportunities even when the odds may not always be in your favour.

Growing up there shaped a lot of who I am today. It gave me the ability to connect with people from all walks of life, think creatively, solve problems quickly, and remain determined regardless of circumstances — qualities that have become invaluable throughout my entrepreneurial journey.

I studied accounting, started my professional career in that field, and had the opportunity to work with two Big Four accounting firms. Those experiences gave me a strong foundation in business, financial discipline, processes, and understanding how successful organizations operate.

However, during university I accidentally discovered my passion for events and creating experiences. What started as a final year accounting project fundraiser became the beginning of a journey that changed my entire career path.

After successfully planning my first major event and realizing the impact that a well-executed experience could have, I became fascinated not just with the excitement of events, but with the business behind them — the planning, the operations, the creativity, the financial decisions, and the ability to turn an idea into something thousands of people can experience.

That passion eventually led to the creation of Epique Group.

Epique started in event promotion, producing our own entertainment experiences. However, after spending more time in the industry and later working professionally with one of the Caribbean’s largest owners and producers of music festivals and carnival experiences, I started noticing a major opportunity.

The most successful events were not only successful because of the concept or the entertainment. The execution behind the scenes was what truly separated average events from unforgettable ones.

I realized there was a need for companies that could provide reliable, creative, and professional event infrastructure solutions — companies that could understand the vision of a client and have the ability to bring that vision to life.

That realization led to the evolution of Epique Solutions.

Today, Epique Solutions is a live event infrastructure and production solutions company focused on helping brands, corporations, promoters, and individuals execute high-quality experiences.

We provide services including staging, trussing, lighting, event production, décor solutions, event execution, and overall experience design. Our goal is to remove the complexity clients face when trying to coordinate multiple vendors and instead provide a more complete solution under one brand.

The problem we solve is simple: clients often have incredible ideas but need the right partner, resources, and execution capabilities to transform those ideas into reality.

We bridge that gap.

What I believe sets Epique apart is our understanding of both sides of the industry.

We are not just a rental company providing equipment.

Before we were suppliers, we were event creators. We understand the pressure, uncertainty, and challenges that come with planning an event because we have been in those same positions ourselves. We understand what it feels like to invest everything into an idea and hope that the execution matches the vision.

That is why when a client chooses Epique Solutions, they are not just hiring a vendor — they are gaining a partner.

We approach every project with the mindset that your event’s success is our success. Whether it is a large festival, corporate event, or someone executing their first experience, we bring the same passion and commitment because we genuinely care about seeing ideas come to life.

We don’t just ask, “What equipment does this client need?”

We ask, “What experience are we trying to create, what problems are we solving, and how can we help make this event successful?”

Our creative understanding of entertainment, combined with the structure, financial discipline, and operational thinking from my accounting background, allows us to approach projects differently.

One of the things I am most proud of is the growth of the company and the trust we have been able to build in a relatively short period. What started as an idea and a leap of faith has allowed us to work on major events, corporate experiences, and build relationships with some of the biggest players in the industry.

But more than that, I am proud of what Epique represents.

It represents believing in a vision before everyone else can see it. It represents resilience, faith, taking risks, and using every experience — from growing up in Seaview Gardens, to corporate accounting, to entertainment — to build something meaningful.

For potential clients, partners, and anyone following our journey, I want them to know that Epique Solutions is built on one mission to deliver; event engineering solutions at industry standard

We believe Jamaica and the Caribbean produce world-class creativity, and our goal is to provide the infrastructure, innovation, and execution needed to match that talent.

We are not just building events.

We are building partnerships.

We are building trust.

We are building the moments and experiences that people remember.

How’d you meet your business partner?

I met my co-founder and business partner, Denzil, during my first term serving as Director of Entertainment and Cultural Activities on the university’s student body.

At the time, he was studying Computer Science and serving as Editor-in-Chief. He was also already known as a very talented graphic designer. Because of my role, I was responsible for some of the university’s largest events, and Denzil was the person designing the flyers and creative material for many of our student council events.

That was really where the relationship started.

When I decided to keep my first personal event outside of my student body responsibilities, naturally, Denzil was the person I reached out to for the flyer. But what stood out to me was that he never limited himself to just being “the graphic designer.”

He would always add value beyond what was asked of him.

He would share ideas, give feedback, help solve problems, and assist with things happening behind the scenes. At that point there was no company, no title, no formal partnership — just someone who genuinely cared about the outcome and wanted to contribute.

Over time, the relationship grew from working together on projects into a friendship and eventually into a business partnership.

The funny thing is, I always tell people that Denzil and I are completely different people — and I genuinely believe that is one of the reasons our partnership works so well.

Our personalities, skill sets, and ways of thinking are very different. I come from an accounting and business background, while Denzil comes from a technology and creative background. Those differences have created balance within our partnership.

We approach challenges differently and often see things from different perspectives, but that is where the value comes from. Where one person may have a blind spot, the other person brings a different viewpoint.

But the two things we have always shared are the things that matter most: integrity and the vision for what we want Epique to become.

Our partnership was not built because we were exactly alike. It was built because we respected what each person brought to the table, trusted each other’s intentions, and believed in the same mission.

Looking back, it is interesting to think that a relationship that started with him designing flyers for student events eventually became the foundation of a company we are building today.

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

Our funding story started the same way many entrepreneurial journeys start — with more belief than resources.

When I was preparing to execute my first event, I had only JMD $10,000 to my name. I had the vision, I believed in the opportunity, and I knew what I wanted to create, but the reality was that I did not have the capital needed to bring the idea to life.

At that time, I reached out to a service provider I had developed a good relationship with and asked him to take a chance on me. I explained the vision and asked if he would be willing to lend me JMD $80,000, with my commitment that I would repay him after the event.

Thankfully, he believed in me.

That support helped me get started, and after the event was successfully executed, I was able to repay him as promised. That experience taught me a valuable lesson very early — your reputation, relationships, and integrity can sometimes become your first source of capital.

From there, we took a very organic approach to growing the business.

Both Denzil and I continued working in our respective corporate careers while consistently reinvesting our own money back into Epique. We understood the long-term vision, so instead of trying to grow faster than we were ready for, we focused on building a foundation — developing relationships, improving our capabilities, and proving that the business model worked.

As the company has continued to grow, we have also started thinking more strategically about the future and what it will take to scale.

Recently, we brought on a new partner who is actually a childhood friend of mine — someone I grew up with and have known for many years. He built his career in investment banking, and bringing him into the business was a strategic decision.

Beyond our personal relationship, we knew his skill set, financial expertise, network, and knowledge of capital markets would be extremely valuable for the next phase of Epique’s growth.

Up until this point, Epique has been built on faith, relationships, reinvestment, and the belief that we could create something meaningful. Now, as we look toward the future, we are focused on combining that entrepreneurial drive with the right strategy, structure, and resources needed to scale.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: small_epique / epiquegroup / epiquesolutions

Image Credits

OH ZEEN Entertainment
Kikari Imagez Photogrpahy