Today we’d like to introduce you to Nadya Rousseau.
Hi Nadya, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
My journey hasn’t been exactly traditional, but I tend to think the more unorthodox tales make for the most inspiring stories.
At 18 years old, I decided, after meeting my significant other, that I wanted to move out of the small Western Maryland town I grew up in to pursue a career in fashion and entertainment. I first considered New York City, but having grown up in harsh winters, I desired climate change as well. That brought me to Southern California, where I moved with just a few hundred in my pocket to pursue my dreams. Unfortunately, that first foray into Socal life did not pan out as planned, and I and my girlfriend ended up homeless for two weeks, forcing us back cross-country on a train to Maryland, where we both lived and worked for nine months before moving back to Los Angeles again. This time, I arrived armed with a three-year modeling/acting contract, savings from working two jobs, and a newfound determination.
From 2006 to 2013, I worked regularly as a model and actor, appearing on shows like Ugly Betty, Californication, and Entourage, and even seeing my own short film (that I produced and co-starred in) get showcased at the Action on Film Festival. However, I did not feel fulfilled. I decided to pivot to my first love of writing, and freelanced for Examiner, Yahoo News, Elite Daily, and even had my own blog. It was when two of my interviewees requested help with their social media that I was thrust into a world that at that time “wasn’t a thing.”
From there, I began picking up more and more social media clients, realizing that social media was another platform where I excelled with my gift of storytelling. Communicating others’ stories to help them realize their dreams and business goals was (is!) so rewarding. My freelancing evolved into the role of United States director of a digital marketing agency startup, and today, I now have my own marketing agency, Alter New Media, where we offer everything from social media marketing to purposeful publicity, influencer marketing, and more. Since starting my own agency (completely self-funded) I have scaled our team from a team of two to a team of now fifteen, and we span the globe. Having a global team as well as a global client base forces me to be more culturally aware and has contributed to a tremendous level of business and personal growth. We’ve worked with verticals ranging from tech to fashion to the social sector to finance to cannabis and more.
Last November in 2017, I launched an Instagram growth and management service, Instagram Rockstar, which since its launch, has supported over 600 customers with growing their Instagram accounts!
We have since expanded into education, publicity, and influencer marketing along with digital production. Our clients have been in People Magazine, News Nation, Forbes, Entrepreneur, and many others.
At the end of the day, my motto is purpose and profit are NOT mutually exclusive and when you have a mission bigger than yourself, anything is possible.
Today I reside between Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and NYC — and I love it.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
It has not been a completely smooth road, no. Most notably, at the start of the pandemic, we feared that we’d have to cut half our team in order to survive. What happened instead was we had a massive demand, most likely stemming from businesses’ need for an online presence to withstand the impacts of COVID. This year, in 2022, we’ve had to work really hard on streamlining our operations to be in the best position for our growth, and that has definitely not been easy — it’s been a ton of work but will pay off in the end!
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Alter New Media?
Alter New Media is a purpose-forward global marketing and publicity agency serving mission-driven companies with achieving their business goals while making a difference in the world. Our key areas of service are strategy development, social media marketing, influencer marketing, and public relations. Our purposeful partnership service forges strategic alliances between nonprofits and forprofits which take shape in short-term and long-term campaigns.
Alter New Media is also soon rolling out a marketing academy and community hub for purpose-driven marketers which we are super excited about.
Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
I can best be described as an academic goth in high school. I was extremely introverted and academic yet also had a penchant for attending metal and punk shows, with my first big festival being Ozzfest at 15. Though I was really shy, I still had a fierce independent streak and a desire to prove myself as being the best at everything I did. I graduated high school a year early as a junior thanks to AP classes and immense determination.
In middle and high school I, unfortunately, was bullied a lot so did suffer from low self-esteem. Growing up in a small town in Western Maryland definitely galvanized me to get out and to a city with more opportunities ASAP.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.alternewmedia.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/nadyarousseau
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/nadyarousseau
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/nadya_rousseau
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/NadyaRousseauEntrepreneur
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@nadyarousseau
Image Credits
Lauren Jones
