Celebrity Talk - Up Close with Kathy Schenfelt
Women-founded, Latina-owned, fully self-funded, and completely independent talent & music management firm’s founder, Kathy Schenfelt, chatted with IDLA about the exciting BTS of this fast-growing dynamic of the entertainment and content creator industry. Missmanaged LA works with a hand-selected group of trailblazing content creators, athletes, authors, artists, and actors who are as uniquely diverse as their audiences and the work they produce.
Launched in 2019 under the umbrella of SCH Entertainment, they have spent years navigating the digital landscape as a talent-first team. The team set up shop behind the scenes and utilize their experience and resources to help artists and creators do what artists and creators do best, without having to worry about the not-so-fun bits. They are basically fans of having the time of their lives!
We got a chance to speak with the CEO of Missmanaged LA, Kathy Schenfelt, on her business endeavors as well as what it takes to be a top influencer.
The following has been edited for continuity purposes.
IDLA: Tell us what got you into the world of social media & influencers.
KS: Getting started in digital marketing, I was still in high school and didn’t fully know what I was doing. The word “influencer” didn’t even exist, but some of my clients who had established fans for being in movies or TV shows would get gifts (free products/free services) from companies. As their social media presence grew and brands began to see the benefit in partnering up with talent, we came up with a pitch package.
IDLA: How did you first get your business going in LA? What was that transition like moving to a new place?
KS: Moving to LA, and starting fresh was one of the scariest things I’ve ever done, but I knew if we wanted to compete with the big dogs, we absolutely had to set up shop in LA. We did co-working for a couple of months when I was just getting things in order, and as soon as we could afford an office, we made the move.
IDLA: What do you look for when you take on new clients? Do they have to be already established? Would you take on micro-influencers?
KS: What we look for when we take on new clients, first things first, is an engaged audience as the bare minimum - we need to keep the wheels spinning. Besides that, we want someone with goals that hopefully go beyond social media. We don’t necessarily have a set threshold a creator needs to meet to be signed by us. We have a couple of clients who fall on the smaller end of the scale, and they get work pretty consistently. It all depends on the quality of the work they produce and the style they embrace.
IDLA: Is there a specific age group or niche you prefer to work with?
KS: We have clients ranging from ages 10 to 32, but what we’re actively scouting for is more in the 16-25 range. Our roster is 95% female and I love that.
IDLA: What platforms do you work mostly with? Do you prefer one over another or it depends per client?
KS: TikTok, Instagram and YouTube are our top three, with advertisers favoring TikTok and Instagram Reels the most.
IDLA: When you take on a client, walk us through what that process is like.
KS: When we start with a new client, we always do a team call first thing where we go over goals and expectations on both ends, and usually follow with a trial period before making it official. And once they are in, we’ll try to check in at least once a week. Some clients we text with daily, and we make sure to let them know we’re always available.
IDLA: Tell us about some of the clients you have.
KS: We’re lucky to work with some genuinely incredible humans, I’d love to give everyone a shout-out! But for time’s sake, let me tell you about Lexy. Alexis Williams is one of the smartest, coolest girls I know. She’s an engineering student at NYU and the founder of PB resources, a platform that was created in support of Black Lives Matter. She’s got brains and beauty, so she also models. She’s worked with top brands like Carolina Herrera, Coach, Uniqlo, Sorel, and many more. And on top of it all, she’s also a content creator who’s always busy and booked! I don’t know how she does it, but she makes it work. We are lucky to work with some “dream” clients. But it’d be wonderful to do a cross-over partnership with one of our clients and someone else. Maybe someone who has their own brand, like Selena Gomez and Rare Beauty.
IDLA: What are some of the wins & campaigns you’ve gotten clients?
KS: The wins we glove highlighting include, Brynn Rumfallo who got to do an Extra Gum commercial and it was such a cool moment for her because she’d always wanted to try acting, so it was very special to witness her first real acting job. More recently though, Spencer Barbosa did a beautiful campaign run with Dove to challenge beauty standards, and Sahar Dahi got to do a fun one with Uniqlo.
IDLA: Can people submit to you to represent them or is it more word of mouth or no solicitations?
KS: For those looking to work with us, we don’t accept unsolicited submissions. We usually do our own scouting or take on referrals, but we’re very strict about who we sign. There is an overwhelming amount of content creators nowadays. Brands trust us to put the best talent forward, so we have to be picky.
IDLA: As a top influencer manager, what advice can you give to those who want to take their accounts to the next level?
KS: If you want to take your client’s accounts to the next level the best advice I can give is to remember, that trends come and go, so dedicate your time and energy to building an engaged community rather than generating quick likes/comments/follows. Follower counts don’t mean much at the end of the day if your community doesn’t care about what you have to say. And use platforms that work best for you.
IDLA: Is Hollywood everything you dreamed it would be?
KS: Hollywood has been an experience. Is it what I thought it would be? Yes and No. The entertainment industry in general is way smaller than you can realize from the outside looking in. I didn’t expect everybody to know everybody and run in the same circles as people I grew up looking up to. But there are way less glamorous outings and way more casual “lunch” meetings than I could’ve imagined. So many lunches. My days vary.
IDLA: What’s a day in the life for you? Walk us through your typical day.
KS: I check my email first thing in the morning, it’s a terrible habit. I try to clean my inbox daily and respond to everything by end of day, but a lot of the time I’m waiting on someone else to share something or get something done, so there’s a lot of standby. We work with companies from all over the world which means the emails really never stop coming in.
IDLA: You became a CEO at a very young age, what advice would you give to those who want to start their own business?
KS: If you are just starting out in your business, Take the risk. In most cases, you don’t need massive capital or an entire team to get started. If you have the knowledge to back you up and you’re willing to put in the work, it’s going to work out. But, if you rely on a day job to pay the bills, don’t quit your job until you’re making enough money to afford your lifestyle.
IDLA: Any cool projects coming up?
KS: Unfortunately, when it comes to Missmanaged and what our clients are working on, our lips are sealed. But I like to say it’s always just the beginning!
IDLA: How can people follow you? If you allow submissions, how can they submit for representation?
KS: We do not allow submissions, but the general public is welcome to follow our Instagram at @missmanagedla for news and updates.
