May 1, 2017

Meet Daisi Pollard Sepulveda of Brazen Studios L.A.

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Daisi Pollard Sepulveda.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I’m a beauty queen/model and I’ve always had a strong business sense. I was way ahead of my time 12 years ago when I opened an influencer-esque studio. It was the early days of Myspace and I knew digital media was going to be a thing. I knew “talent-first” content was going to be big. So, I wanted to create a hodge-podge of a talent agency/media company where we create visual content (photos/videos) through brand partnerships. Absolutely EVERYONE thought I was crazy! We did some projects and it kind of worked but not enough to sustain a business – so we shut down but I kept doing things online.

Around 2009, I created a series and distributed it through YouTube and struck a deal with Tremor Media to put ads on my content via Brightcove. After that project, I started playing around with opening another studio in Downtown Los Angeles. YouTube had YouTube Space, there was MakerStudios but I’ve always been an “independent” creator and wanted to provide a resource for content creators that didn’t want to necessarily work under a network. So in 2015, I leased a small raw space and turned it into a boutique beauty blogging space. We’ve now expanded to almost triple our space with built-in beauty stations, lights, cameras and we provide workshops and additional resources for beauty and fashion influencers to grow their audience.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I wouldn’t say it’s been 100% smooth but I’ve received a ton of support! I think the main thing is building strong relationships with influencers and brand partnerships. That means being consistent – being there when people need you!

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Brazen Studios L.A. – what should we know?
At Brazen Studios L.A., we’re a studio for fashion and beauty influences. Bloggers can use our space to create photos and videos for their channels. We also help with establishing and maintaining brand partnerships so that influencers can focus on doing what they do best – create!

I think what sets us apart from other studios and influencer agencies is that we have a background in content creation and we also produce content for our native online properties. So, we’re influencers too, but we also have the business infrastructure that many influencers don’t have.

I think we’re most proud of being able to facilitate a need on the influencer side and the brand side without being divisive.

Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
The most important qualities for our success is really relationship management. We’re not a tech company. We’re not trying to sell anyone a tool that a dozen other companies are also trying to sell. We’re in the relationship business. It’s not easy to create beautiful content on the regular basis. It’s a lot of emotional labor. It’s also a lot of physical labor.

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