Emma Grede

Yeah, it was a talent marketing and partnerships agency.

And, you know, it was really before its time because we were very early in influencer culture.

They weren't even called influencers then.

You know, I started off booking celebrities, like really famous people and putting them in campaigns.

And then, you know, when the fashion bloggers came around, which was like a revelation in the fashion industry.

I was, you know, right at the forefront of that industry, ended up like starting a business around it.

But before that, ITB was like right at the pinnacle of when brands started to transact and work with influencers on brand partnerships.

And at that point, there were no agencies.

You were either working with the influencer's mother or boyfriend as their like, you know, de facto manager.

And it was a dream of a time.

You know, I had no idea.

what I was doing but I knew I was billing and I knew that I had great clients and I could sell anything to anyone and we kept winning business and so I was like on fire in London then we opened in New York and I was on fire there and I was like I'm going to LA like the home of talent and I failed so miserably and the the reason I put it down is because it was when

My ego kind of got the better of me.

And what I've learned is that success can do really funny things to you if you don't keep it in check.

And so I'm at a point in my life now where I'm more successful than I've ever been.

But the reason that I can...

really manage it is because I've had all of these failures in between.

And I know the signs of when it's going to kind of like come back and bite me in the butt.

And I think opening that office in LA was such a huge embarrassment because A, it wasn't just about...

me failing.