We had the good fortune of connecting with Molly Tracy and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Molly, what principle do you value most?
Kindness – it’s a value I seek in my personal relationships of course, but even more so in business. If you knew me, you wouldn’t be surprised to know that I’m a Cancer and that I feel most fulfilled when those closest to me feel heard, seen and validated; so when I founded I founded VRAI, it was important to me that we become known as an agency that is incredibly strategic in how we worked with brands against their KPI goals WHILE doing it from a place of kindness and intention. If I’ve learned anything in my professional career, it’s that people want to work with people they like so we really try and operate from that lens. It’s also the filter we use as we look at expanding our roster of clients. Of course we have specific industry benchmarks we look at when selecting new talent to represent, but most of it is a vibe check. I exclusively manage each talent myself on the roster so I work incredibly closely with our creators. Some of my gut check questions are, “What is her intention behind content creation?” “How does she add value to her community?” “Does she seem pleasant and courtesy”? My unspoken rule is ‘If I wouldn’t host you for dinner at my house, I probably can’t work with you on a day to day basis.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
VRAI is an influencer marketing and talent management agency for multicultural female content creators in the motherhood, wellness and lifestyle space. We’re a creative force of influencer matchmakers, talent builders and storytellers obsessed with expanding the digital footprint of our brand partners. On the talent side of the business, our team is responsible for helping our influencers and creators navigate the business side of the multi-media landscape, advising on growth strategy and securing brand partnerships to expand their portfolio. We also collaborate with female-centric CPG brands on strategic influencer marketing integrations that drive awareness, brand affinity and ROI.

I have been in the influencer marketing space for over 12 years, so almost the entirety of my professional career, and started the agency 5 years ago in April 2019. Influencer marketing was a space I fell in love with instantly being that it was an industry that was founded by women, for women. Women were pioneers in the blogging industry and it was female-lead brands that were early adopters to this marketing tool because we as women knew the power of digitized word of mouth marketing. The idea of being in an industry that supports women and is largely run by women from the creator/agency/talent side is still what lights a fire under me each day!

Was starting my business EASY? No. Is it for anyone? I had no real plan when I started VRAI. It was a concept born from burnout (prior to I was the director at another agency working 70 hour work weeks for 5 years so yeah, I was fading fast!) and I finally woke up and asked myself the question – “What am I killing myself for to build someone else’s business?” I had no business plan, I had no website, I had no clue how to register for an LLC, nothing. I never went to business school; but I had one piece of knowledge – I knew I was damn good at my job and that I could do the work and do it well. Everything else seems figureoutable to me. And guess what? It was.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I became a member of Women in Influencer Marketing (a networking group for you guessed it, women in the influencer marketing space!) shortly after I started my agency. Coming from managing a team of people and then stepping out as a solopreneur, I found myself not having a like-minded group of women that I could turn to for questions or to bounce ideas off of or to discuss industry trends with because it was all of a sudden just me. I found an incredible group of women in the network – some who were also starting out freelance careers in the talent management space so we could chat about things like “Who are you using for your business insurance?” to vets in the industry that I could lean on when discussing who their first hire was and at what point in their biz they brought them on. It’s a fantastic and supportive group of women!

Website: http://www.vraidigital.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vraidigital/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mollyatracy/

Image Credits
Hannah Schweiss Photography

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutLA is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.