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

Hi Tara, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
I wanted to help bridge the gap between corporate and culture. At the time, the agency space was driven by major agencies, that really gate kept opportunities, were hard to get hired at internally, and most of all–were continually underpaying creatives. I wanted to create an agency that prioritized the creative community before anything else. So by hiring freelancers on a per project bases, I was able to give more designers, more project managers, more producers, etc opportunities to work with major brands to build their portfolios to either get more business direct, or get hired by those larger agencies because their resumes now had some big brand names on them. By also not having an in house team, I was able to keep costs efficient for brands and ensure that any talent I was hiring, was being paid appropriately.

On the expansion to the talent partnerships side of my business, I had all of these friends that were super creative but needed help getting their ideas seen or taken seriously by corporate brands. I wanted to help give them the tools (building decks, fully fleshed strategies, etc) to excel in their creative pursuit.

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?

Most of my work consists in Talent management and Brand Partnerships/Event Sponsorships, and from time to time I do brand direct work; driving creative strategy and experiential marketing work. I’m most proud to be able to serve my talent roster; equipping them with the resources they need to create and push culture forward — whether that’s through funding, operations, strategy or execution. Getting to serve the creative vs the brand is the best–it feeds the culture, not consumerism for multimillion dollar brands.

I think what sets me apart from others is that I’m really doing this out of love. If you’re a brand, and I’m pitching you, it’s not because I’m just trying to find monetary opportunities for myself or my clients–it’s because I (and likely my talent) think it’s a mutually beneficial partnership. I think together we can create a cultural impact, hit the KPI’s you have to hit for your bonus, make headlines. I’ll never present an idea that I don’t think makes sense for a brand–ask my talent roster. lol

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I just made 6 months in LA, so everything here is still fairly new to me, but some of my favorite things are:

To Do:
– Go hiking, in a non cliche touristy spot. If I’m in town, Woodie and the Oyster Expedition crew hit some really cool spots
– Go on a run on on The Strand down by Manhattan beach
– Go to an art gallery or museum — some of my favorites are the Gagosian or The Broad

To Eat:
– Found Oyster
– Hinoki & The Bird
– Cobi’s
– My neighborhood go-to’s
-Oui Melrose — The burger + the chocolate cookie are to die for!
– Escuela Taqueria

To Drink:
– For a Great Cocktail:
– Cold Shoulder Bar (get the s’mores bourbon drink!)
– Thunderbolt
– For a Good Time out:
– Grandmaster Recorders
– SOHO Warehouse
– Any “Close Friends” or “NGO + Friends” Party

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I want to shout out my sister. My sister is my biggest inspiration–she really taught me what hard work looks like. She also is the reason I am who I am. She introduced me to sneakers. To fashion. To rap.

Without her, I don’t know who or where I would be in life.

Website: www.hometeamtalent.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/copemnrockem

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

Other: instagram – www.instagram.com/hometeam.talent

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.