Behind the Screen: Working Brand-Side with Creators Inspired a Different Kind of Talent Agency
Interview with Sophie Krakoff, Founder of Friends Of The House Group
Behind the Screen is a series on Following Up, featuring the minds behind brand’s influencer + community strategies. We often forget that there is a person or team behind the paid partnerships we consume, so I wanted to bring these people in front of the camera for a change.
Where are you based?
New York City (born and raised!)
This is my first interview from the talent manager side, but I feel like you have such a unique perspective since you started your career on the brand side.
It is funny to me how novel it was just a few years ago, but I now know so many people who are transitioning from the brand side to the talent side.
Which leads me to my first question. Stepping back, how did you start your career in the influencer industry?
I graduated from Tufts in 2017 and began as an intern on the Product Development team at MAC Cosmetics. While I always knew I wanted to work in beauty (Beauty YouTubers were my thing growing up), I wasn't sure which department to pursue. During the interview process, someone recommended Product Development, and given my love for MAC and creative intuitions, growing up collecting all the lipstick shades and collaborations, it felt like a perfect fit. After my internship, there wasn’t a full-time position available on the PD team, but they offered me a role on the Global Product Marketing team. I initially expected it to focus on advertising and consumer-facing work, but it turned out to be more about project management, cost analysis, and educating internal teams about upcoming launches. I stayed at MAC for two years, but eventually, I realized I wanted to transition into the influencer and social space.
In 2019, I was really into DTC brands like Glossier, Outdoor Voices, fascinated by their disruptive marketing and community-driven activations. This wasn’t a new obsession - I’ve been shopping the DTC space as early as 2013, when Everlane was selling t-shirts for $5 (I went with the Slouchy Pocket Tee in Heather Grey). I’ve been an Everlane customer ever since. With the influencer space booming, I knew I wanted to move to an agency after my time at a corporate brand, so I reached out to Metier Creative via DM. It took a year for the head count to open up, but I finally joined as a Senior Strategy Coordinator, working on the first brand identity for Saie Beauty and with existing brands like Chanel Beauty and Miami Design District. We even did activations at Art Basel with Revolve and Aimee Song/Song of Style, at the height of their influencer trips, which was fascinating and felt very surreal.
Then the pandemic hit, and I was furloughed, which led me to consulting. I worked on the brand identity for French Farmacie, a very chic clean beauty skincare line, but ultimately sought more stability, joining the pre-launch stage of Halsey’s beauty brand, about-face. I launched all their socials and influencer strategy, and being a fan of Halsey growing up, it felt full circle engaging with her community. After about a year post launch, I joined Shiseido’s US team, focusing on skincare, where I ran organic and paid strategy, brand trips, and influencer campaigns. It was an amazing experience that solidified my passion for working with creators.
While at Shiseido, I realized I was more drawn to the creator side of things than the brand social side. The best part was meeting and supporting creators, many of whom were balancing full-time jobs with their growing online presence. Eventually, I left Shiseido to focus on consulting and managing creators. It’s been almost two years now.
Congrats! That’s huge. What did the beginning of being your own boss look like?
I always knew I wanted to keep things small and work closely with people one-on-one. As I started my business, I was creating my own role, learning talent management in real time based on my brand-side experience. It was exciting to go from working on one brand to touching many projects and meeting new people. The first year was challenging, though. Lots of networking, meeting 2-3 people a day, and connecting with agencies and brands to share my story. Now, we have strong local awareness, but it was definitely hardcore networking in the beginning, as it is when pivoting careers.
Did you always know you wanted to create your own agency or did you just think you were going to manage a few creators as part of your consulting capabilities?
My roster came out of natural conversations. For instance, while having dinner with
and her cousin on the Upper East Side, she mentioned how overwhelming her inbox was. She offered to be my guinea pig, and many of my creators, who were also friends, were willing to take a chance on me. There were no hard feelings if things didn’t work out. But no, I did not think I was going to start an agency.How did you build out your roster from there?
I don’t actively seek out new talent - not because the talent pool isn’t fantastic, but because I am super involved with the talent I currently work with. It’s a very untraditional way of working in the space - but I am such a people person (I am a Cancer, shocker!), that I can’t imagine having the lines not be a little blurred. I love getting to know their significant others, their family and the people they’re closest to, and they know mine too. Being a creator is so inherently personal - from what you share with your audience, to the brands you work with - and I think the more I know my clients, the better I can serve them. I also have my talent on copy on most of the emails which some people don’t view as a common best practice, but I’ve never been one to do things by the book.
From my agency experience, it’s nice because it doesn’t feel like you’re gatekeeping your talent, and they can see how you’re speaking to the brand/agency on their behalf.
Yeah, I mean sometimes it can blow up, when people ask about rates for other creators on my roster while we’re discussing something else, and I have to address that separately. I aim to make the experience feel like an in-house extension rather than just another agency with hundreds of clients. I want my creators to feel like part of a team, which is why they’re included in conversations, but I know that approach doesn’t work for everyone. I will say that everyone I’ve worked with on the talent side really enjoys getting to chat with the brands directly and not feeling silo’ed out of conversations.
Looking at your current roster, it is mainly creators in the beauty and fashion space. Was this on purpose?
I wanted to work with people and brands that aligned with my interests to maintain synergy. My beauty experience came from my career, and my fashion knowledge came from growing up in the city and my dad being in the industry. I always loved the business of fashion but didn’t know how it would fit professionally, so it’s been amazing to integrate that. While running a business has its challenges, getting to do things like shoot brand campaigns for my talent (I’ve always loved photography and creative direction) and be by their side during fashion week in Europe makes it all worth it.
When a brand approaches you to work with a creator you manage, how do you handle those conversations? Do you prefer they come with a specific ask, or are you more likely to pivot if you think a different platform or creative approach would be a better fit?
I approach each collaboration holistically. For example, if a beauty brand is launching a sunscreen but the creator prefers to feature a lipstick they’ve been loving, we can include the lipstick, but the sunscreen should be the main focus to drive sales. I think because I am operating by myself most of the time, I am able to have more candid conversations with brands. I’ve also developed more personal relationships with these people which helps us find a balance between what feels true to the creators and delivers results for the brand. Flexibility is key because our goal is to build long-term partnerships, not just one-off collaborations. While one-offs are important for seasonal moments, our focus is always on fostering lasting relationships.
I’d also love to hear your thoughts on Substack and how you approach brand partnerships on the platform, especially since it’s still a relatively new space. Do you find yourself educating brands about how to collaborate effectively with your talent on the platform?
I worked on my first Substack campaign in Winter 2023 with Aerie, a now long-term partner, and it was exciting to see a major brand invest in a new platform so early. I also want to shout out Shopmy, which is a huge advocate for Substack. All my creators are on Shopmy, and I often recommend it because it's so easy to track sales, making it simple to share metrics with brands as a media kit to support collaborations. That said, it’s still tough for brands to fully invest in Substack. It’s a bit like the early days of TikTok, where brands were unsure about ROI. It takes time, case studies, and often, overcoming resistance from senior leadership who are hesitant to take risks without proven results.
I totally agree, there has to be a balance. I’ve really enjoyed using Shopmy from both a consumer and brand perspective—it feels much more user-friendly than platforms like LTK. When working with Shopmy and your talent, do you primarily focus on the affiliate side, or do you also collaborate with them on the paid side?
It depends. Shopmy now offers opportunities and campaigns, and from a manager’s perspective, it’s great because they have manager tools. For example, if I need to see how many jeans a creator has sold for Free People, I can pull that info myself without relying on the creator. I also use a platform called July for analytics, which syncs my entire roster’s data across platforms. I can access stories, reels, TikTok analytics, and more to create wrap reports without needing screenshots. It also allows me to track audience growth and create media kits. Brands love the wrap reports. I’m hoping July adds Substack soon, as it currently supports YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram.
I’ve never really thought about these platforms from a manager perspective, but it’s so nice to have that access on behalf of your creators on the same platforms they are using.
Yeah, it’s great because the speed at which brands need things for campaigns has become crazy. Brief today, content drafts tomorrow…Lead times are much shorter now. Managers need more tools!
So short! And at the end of the day you are working with humans. We all need our time.
Everyone gets caught up in the cycle. Creators need time away from their phones and inboxes to create content, while I need to stay on top of my inbox to respond to brands and get responses from creators. With agencies, you're often waiting on brands for quick answers, creating this constant chain of communication and endless emails. It can lead to a lot of inefficiencies.
Given how quickly things are moving, do you think it's driven by virality and trends? Do you find that many brands come to you asking your talent to jump on specific trends?
I think there’s that. There are also more campaigns and events than ever. Outside of paid partnerships, they also have to create organic content, engage with their community, and maintain a life beyond content creation. While paid partnerships are a priority, balancing everything is challenging. If creators don't stay engaged, their community feels neglected. Plus, they need to grow their audience and attend events, which can lead to burnout. It's not for the faint of heart! Many of the creators I work with also have full-time jobs, so they’re juggling everything outside of their 9-to-5.
Always impressed by creators! And speaking of your talent, what your favorite campaigns that you have worked on with your talent?
You’re going to have to wait until later this year, but it’s definitely the most exciting collaboration to date and has been such a dream to work on.
Do you have any dream brands you would love to work with?
I would love to see one of my clients attend Copenhagen Fashion Week with a brand. It is one of my favorite cities in the world, and I am dying to go back!
Now for a few final, fun questions:
Book, podcast or music on your morning commute?
I’ve loved Glossy for a long time. I try to listen to their podcast on the subway or when I’m making coffee in the morning. I read
on Substack everyday without fail. When it comes to what’s happening in the industry, specific to fashion and beauty, it’s Glossy and Business of Fashion. I’ve also been loving the podcast Fashion People - especially the recent interview with my dad.
If you were on the other side of the business as an influencer yourself, what brand would you want to partner with?
I am a massive Delta groupie, so definitely Delta for travel. I also post a lot about food and dining out on my Instagram, so I’d probably be a food blogger in another life. I’d be gunning for sparkling water and coffee PR lists. I can’t live without sparkling water and coffee (my poor teeth).
Can you also share the last item you bought based off of an influencer's post and who the influencer was?
I’ll be honest. I bought something off of TikTok Shop last night. I was served an ad for Makeup Forever, and I bought a lip combo set. I’ve used their lip pencils for years, and they just came out recently with matching glosses. I love a matching moment, I love a value kit (going back to the MAC days!), and I don’t know who the creator was, but it got me!
You can stay in touch with Sophie on Instagram & stay up to date with Friends of the House partnerships here!