Today we’d like to introduce you to Branden Criss.
Hi Branden, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I was born in Rockford Illinois a small city right outside of Chicago I moved to Cincinnati Ohio around the age of ten. I grew up in Cincinnati. I was born to be an entrepreneur at the age of nineteen I created my first company. I was born to be in the music industry everybody in my family knew how to sing and had something to do with the music industry. Growing up I looked up to stars like Diddy, Master P, Rick Ross, Steve Jobs and others who created companies based on lifestyle, music, entertainment, fashion, technology, media and culture. However coming from a city like Cincinnati I didn’t have access to the music, tech and or entertainment industry at all, The Chicago hustler inside me wanted to do something about that. After having huge success with my first company I decided to invest my money into creating a marketing firm. I taught myself how to build apps and targeted celebrities as my clients. I went to all the dopest events and targeted major cities like New York, Miami, Atlanta, and LA. I ended up landing major clients like Master P, Karlie Redd from Love and Hip Hop, The Diddy’s Bad Boy Tour, Adrien Broner, Ceaser from Black Inc Crew and several other celebrities and major athletes. After having success with that I moved to Atlanta and created another company a music tech startup called Rap Plug. I wanted other aspiring artists, and entrepreneurs who were passionate about the music and entertainment industry but came from small cities to have access to the industry. I wanted to build a place where people could get discovered, collaborate and learn from music industry professionals. I ended up raising over a million dollars for my company and landing major partnerships, endorsements and investments from people and companies like Comcast NBC Universal and Rick Ross.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The road to success has not been easy raising money as a black person alone is hard but raising money as a black millennial with a company focused around Rap and Hip Hop is even harder. I have had people say they would invest and lead me on for months but never invest. I’ve had brands and companies not want to collaborate with me because of the negative connotation of the word “RAP”. My partner and I lost hundreds of thousands of dollars in deals, investments and revenue due to a global pandemic that happened less than two years of us launching our company. We almost wanted to give up, we almost wanted to quit and let go but we never folded.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Rap Plug is a music media and tech company that provides aspiring music industry creatives/professionals access to verified music industry professionals. Through our App and website we educate, empower and entertain our community of members and users to be successful in the music industry.
Do you have any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
My favorite childhood memory was traveling to New York to compete in a national oratory competition sponsored by the NAACP where I got to collaborate with other young leaders all over the world and learn more about business, leadership and entrepreneurship.
Pricing:
- Consulting $50 / hr
- Rap Plug membership $`120/ year
Contact Info:
- Website: www.RapPlugLive.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rappluglive/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/therealrapplug
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheRealRapPlug
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/RAPPLUGinc
Image Credits
RAP PLUG INC FOR ALL IMAGE CREDITS
