Gen Z founders sold their marketing agency to talent powerhouse UTA. They shared the schedules that keep them going from sunrise to midnight.
- Ziad Ahmed and Shaina Zafar sold their company, Juv Consulting to United Talent Agency 6 months ago.
- Juv, known for its Gen Z expertise, now benefits from UTA's global reach.
In March, Ziad Ahmed and Shaina Zafar made headlines when they sold their marketing agency, Juv Consulting, to United Talent Agency.
Juv was known among many US-based influencers and brands as the "go-to expert on Gen Z", one creator told Business Insider. The acquisition helped Ahmed and Zafar's work reach a global audience, given UTA's reputation as one of the top talent agencies for influencers.
Since then, the two have transitioned from being cofounders to leading UTA's "Next Gen".
"It's my first time ever sitting inside corporate America and it's definitely an adjustment but I think we made the right choice," 25-year-old Ahmed said. "Being a founder is really tough because you have to figure out a lot of stuff on the fly, so it's wonderful to be at a place where folks have done things before and there's someone who can teach me the ropes."
At 16 years old, Ahmed launched the agency in 2016 and partnered with Zafar two years later after meeting her in college. Their goal was to work with the largest companies, non-profits, and startups across different industries to help them reach Gen Z audiences, such as connecting them with influencer talent for campaigns.
Now, as a part of UTA, Juv's creator network is able to partner with the biggest names in the entertainment, media, sports, and music, Zafar said, but it's not without long hours to make it all possible. Every day, she and Ahmed are on back-to-back calls pitching their Next Gen division to potential clients.
Their schedules are hectic, usually starting before dawn to long after midnight, as they balance local events, dozens of calls, and traveling to conferences to share their Gen Z expertise with corporate leaders around the world.
"We're here to amplify and give a platform to diverse creators that people might not have heard of," 24-year-old Zafar said. "It's exciting because we can bring along so many for the amazing opportunities we get."
For the first time, Ahmed and Zafar share a peek into their work schedules as they grow UTA's Next Gen.
Sunrise prayers and snooze before a 9 a.m. breakfast meeting
Zafar starts every day by waking up right before sunrise to pray, the first of five times a day she does so as part of her Islamic faith. She typically goes back to sleep for an hour or two after, then gets ready to commute to Manhattan from her Long Island home.
Typically, she meets Ahmed for a 9 a.m. breakfast with a potential client. The two ask the interested party questions about their industry, how their work intersects with Gen Z, and what challenges they're facing in reaching this demographic.
If the client doesn't know specifics about Ahmed and Zafar's work, the duo will conduct a "Gen Z crash course". The presentation focuses on their generations' consumer behavior patterns, why this data is relevant for the client's brand, a brief introduction of their team at UTA, and a pitch on exactly how they can help the client reach their target audience.
Most calls of the day are focused on ZCON 2024
Around 10 a.m., the pair heads to the UTA offices located just south of Central Park to hop on a series of back-to-back calls.
As of late summer, their priority is planning for ZCON, a two-day "anti-conference conference" that they launched last year under Juv Consulting. It's comprised solely of Gen Z speakers like athletes, actresses, and influencers. Last year, ZCON hosted over 500 attendees for a series of panels with partners like Snapchat, Pandora, Elf, Dove, and Sweetgreen. The event also had musical performances and even a prom, where participants dressed up in their most festive attire and danced the night away.
"The goal is to gather the top executives in a room to sit, listen, and learn from Gen Zers across different industries," Zafar said. "We're creating space for chief marketing officers to find out things they wouldn't otherwise know about our generation."
This year, ZCON is back by popular demand and will take place in New York on October 24 and 25. Conversations around programming, location scouting, and guest lists take place throughout the year but preparation ramps up in June.
On this day, Ahmed and Zafar hopped on calls with sponsors like Yahoo about what they expected to see from the gathering. They also briefed potential speakers and went over panel details with their internal UTA team.
Both of them usually have lunch while on calls, anytime from noon to 1 p.m. In fact, Ahmed said that he's usually on about 20 calls every day of the week, half of which are impromptu. He doesn't tire from them at all, in case you're wondering how he handles such a stacked calendar every day.
"I'm a true extrovert, I get energy from other people so I love being on the phone," Ahmed said.
Podcast hosting and styling wrap up the workday
After Zafar's calls wrap up at 3:30 p.m., she heads to one of UTA's conference rooms to record the podcast "Screenshot at Next Gen" where she interviews B2B executives, most recently the CMO of Kickstarter Courtney Brown Warren.
Podcast guests talk about their career experience, what they've learned from younger generations, and how they interact with their Gen Z employees. Zafar and the guests even discuss current Gen Z trends, like what "demure" means and low-rise jeans vs high-rise jeans.
After filming for an hour and a half, Zafar meets up with Ahmed, who continues his calls while she records. Around 5 p.m. they hop on a call with a stylist to discuss what they'll wear for upcoming events and speaking engagements. The first time the two worked with one was for Goldhouse's Gold Gala in May, where the duo were honored as part of 100 of the most impactful Asian Pacific leaders in culture and society in 2024.
"It's very new, but we thought it made sense because we have so many more appearances now than ever before," Zafar said.
She describes her style as a modest and chic "Gen Z Amal Clooney or Bella Hadid" while Ahmed refers to himself as a "fashionable middle schooler."
Social engagements fill up the night
Leaving the office at 6 p.m., Ahmed and Zafar head to an informal founder's dinner on a friend's rooftop for the next hour. The group, which meets twice a month, is made up of their college friends who were also early-stage entrepreneurs.
After some food, the two headed over to the Brooklyn Mirage to watch a 7 p.m. concert by South Asian record label Indo WareHouse. Ahmed and Zafar were in charge of inviting influencers to attend, so they wanted to make sure everything was running smoothly for UTA talent.
Zafar said evening events that are client —or creator-facing like this happen at least two to three times a week.
"When we were at Juv we had to create our own moments and use our own resources, but now we're attending events as representatives of a much bigger brand," she said.
The two rounded off the night by attending the album launch party for rapper Marwan Abdelhamid, publicly known as Saint Levant. There, they enjoyed some music with friends after a 12-plus-hour workday.
As Zafar headed home around midnight to sleep, Ahmed went to his friend's apartment where they debated politics until 5 a.m.
"That routine is pretty normal for me," Ahmed said. "Some of my best ideas come out of just talking to the people closest to me, so it's part work and part catching up."
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