Meet Social Assembly

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

Hi Social Assembly, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
Social Assembly is an exclusive membership community for successful independent managers (formerly of DBA, UTA, WME, CAA, etc.). Think of it like Soho House for managers – where we each have our own personal roster of talent and share information, brand contacts, paid opportunities, press opportunities, talent signing opportunities, and have weekly calls where we talk about the state of the industry and ways to stay ahead of the trends. We formed Social Assemblybecause many managers are looking to branch off and build their own businesses. There are now more talent represented by independent and boutique managers then there are at the larger corporations. We wanted to create a space where independent managers can work together and not feel siloed but are still able to be entrepreneurs, working towards their own bottom line. Many of us came from reputable management companies and talent agencies where the representatives have less time to dedicate to growing their talent’s careers- they become just a number. We pride ourselves on having a more boutique-like approach to talent management where we can focus on a personal approach to managing talent. With Social Assembly, our mangers feel like they have other managers who they can talk to about their business and brainstorm ideas with without having to work for a management company with unattainable quotas and less personal representation. By banding together, we’re granting access to larger opportunities that most boutique management companies are not able to do on their own.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
The three of us all came from a traditional media background- Ali from Entertainment 360,Larry from CAA, April from ICM. We all saw the film + TV business changing so drastically around 2010, and each of us branched off into digital media, which was really growing quickly at the time. The thing we are most proud about is that nothing else like this exists in our business- and we have built a community of managers we genuinely enjoy working with. We have also won a lot of larger brand business because of how we can service our brand partners with Social Assembly.

We started this business in the midst of covid, arguably one of the most challenging times, and it has proven to be very successful. We want other people to know that you can own your business, have clients who are happy, make great money, and work for yourself- while being surrounded by like- minded entrepreneurs who have positive energy.

What sets us apart is insight and information. Each manager owns their business but we know the value of sharing information as well as wisdom. A lot of companies have young in experienced managers. At SA, there is a level of experience and most importantly, respect for each others knowledge without the internal competition that some companies create due to their way of compensation and revenue benchmarks.

Social Assembly is successful because of the level of experience and the support we bring to each other with either deal structures, casting or even client issues.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
A special shout out to our members. Everyone brings something to the SA community. We share information, insight and support. The SA community creates an energy that our agency partners see and internally creates a standard that we all strive to keep in terms of service we provide our clients and buyers.

Website: https://www.wearesocialassembly.com

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

Image Credits
Lindsey Engalnder