Nick Adler
New Business Development Manager at Cashmere Agency, clients include Snoop Dogg and Adidas
Discussion
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Nick Adler
@nickyads · Cashmere Agency
Hello Product Hunt! I am Nick Adler and I run new business development at Cashmere Agency. Every day is different but on a daily basis I am responsible for seeking and creating key strategic partnerships for our wide range of clients which include globally renowned artists like Snoop Dogg and blue chip brands like Adidas. The entertainment landscape is constantly changing and its my goal to continue to bridge the gap and find new ways to collaborate with technology and new media. I also have made a number of investments personally and on behalf of clients but I don't call myself a VC because my strategy is more impulsive.
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Ryan Hoover
@rrhoover · Founder, Product Hunt
Nick! I remember the night SV Angel's @abramdawson invited me to a dinner with you, @snoopdogg, and team when Product Hunt was still a side project. After showing off what we were building, Snoop's first question was:
"Has anyone posted a bong yet?"
Love it. Ok, enough nostalgia. Question: What will the music industry look like in 5 years and how do you see tech influencing this change?
Bonus question: What's your favorite song right now?
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Nick Adler
@nickyads · Cashmere Agency
@rrhoover Whats up! I have to admit I never saw @producthunt coming! I loved what you were building but its definitely gone beyond. Congrats. I think that the music industry in 5 years will actually be very similar to the way it is now. I think that it is an industry that had to fit itself into other industries, it had to become a supplier for Media, Technology and host of other verticals. I think that the last 5 years were the real disruptor for music and it decimated the business model but now the industry is finding its path. Its not as profitable as a consumer business but it has its purpose and creative people are continuing to figure out new solutions for revenue.
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Nick Adler
@nickyads · Cashmere Agency
jnicely
@jnicely
Nick do you ever find your rugged good looks to be a hinderance and distraction in meetings? How do you keep it professional when you have the looks of a male model?
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Nick Adler
@nickyads · Cashmere Agency
YES. THE ANSWER IS YES. ITS BEEN A STRUGGLE MY WHOLE LIFE. IN FACT READ MORE ABOUT IT HERE: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/3...
Dan Sanchez
@dansanchez · Brand Manager, Turnkey Brands
@nickyads You mentioned new media, how have you been experimenting lately? MerryJane.com is an incredible domain, congratulations on that deployment.
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Nick Adler
@nickyads · Cashmere Agency
@dansanchez thanks. Ill pass that on to the Merry Jane team! I find the media business to be fascinating. Content is happening all around us and new stars are being born everyday. There are stars born on new platforms as well as content verticals. I actually see Product Hunt as a Media Brand and the stars include VCs.
I know its a bit obvious but I think that Snapchat is going to dominate. I think that with we have just scratched the surface on what they are set up to do. There will be a series shift and they will lead consumption.
Lejla Bajgoric
@lejlahunts · Intern, Product Hunt
Hey Nick! How do you know a film or a show is going to be a sure-fire success? What are some common underlying characteristics?
Followup: What's the best movie you've watched this year that people may not have heard of but need to see?
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Nick Adler
@nickyads · Cashmere Agency
@lejlahunts That is a hard question. There is no sure fire success. I have seen so many things that I thought were going to be winners become huge failures. I wish I had more good insight but I really never know.
Im going to come back to you on best movie.
Emily Hodgins
@ems_hodge · Community and Marketing, Product Hunt
Hey Nick! Thanks for being here today. 🙌During your career to date, what has been your a) most challenging moment and how did you overcome it? b) proudest moment and why? c) most surprising moment? Thanks!
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Nick Adler
@nickyads · Cashmere Agency
@ems_hodge Hey Emily. Ok. Most Challenging moment was when I realized that I did not want to be a lawyer and had to leave a career that I had invested in financially and spent several years pursuing. A proud moment was when I turned a fun idea for a online news series into the GGN ( www.youtube.com/westfesttv ). Surprising moment was when a small sticker App we made for fun turned into a gigantic hit and flew up the app store.
Ben Tossell
@bentossell · Community Lead, Product Hunt
Hey Nick - how was it working on the launch for Merry Jane ??
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Nick Adler
@nickyads · Cashmere Agency
@bentossell its great. I love seeing that product grow by the day .
Seth Louey
@sethlouey · 🙌 2016 PH Maker of the Year Nominee
@nickyads @bentossell There's a pun here.
Ben Tossell
@bentossell · Community Lead, Product Hunt
Being in the creative industry, do you see a lot of similarities with the startup scene? I know this is something @mazzeo has mentioned before on some podcasts
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Nick Adler
@nickyads · Cashmere Agency
@bentossell I think that the creative industry is unique by its own nature and everyone has there own vision of the world. However when you have a strong leader who can help wrangle that creativity it can resemble a start up.
Melissa Joy Kong
@melissajoykong · Content, Product Hunt
Hi Nick!
You went from partner at a law firm to producer at E! in the span of a year. Most people complain about having a hard time switching industries once they go down a career path.
How did you make such a big transition? Any advice for others who want to do the same (especially to an industry that's hard to break into, like entertainment)?
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Nick Adler
@nickyads · Cashmere Agency
@melissajoykong That was a crazy time. The hardest transition was from being a lawyer to tv producer. That took a lot of courage to leave a stable job and go into freelance. However it was the best move that I ever made. After I did that I just went with the flow. Being a producer is great but it isn't consistent work so when the opportunity came up to work in house with Stampede and combine the skills that I had been building it was an obvious next step. Now I have been with that team for almost a decade.
RAMADAwhite
@ramadawhite
Is there a such thing as too much as far as marketing? Should you leave a little mystery when your promoting a product or artist?
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Nick Adler
@nickyads · Cashmere Agency
@ramadawhite yes there is. However I believe that you have to take a stand and go either with an aggressive marketing strategy or chose to remain elusive. You can do both. Guys like Jay Z have done an amazing job at only marketing when the moment is right and remaining a mystery where as with Snoop we have chosen to go all in.