Today we’d like to introduce you to Ibrahim Mohmed.
Hi Ibrahim, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I began my career in entertainment in 2017 taking a class by former Hesiman trophy winner and NFL legend Eddie George at Ohio State. The class taught students about sports business and each week, we had a prominent speaker in the industry come in. One of them was the NFL’s executive Vice President of operations, Troy Vincent. After the class, I called hotels, found out where Troy was staying, wrote him a letter stating that I wanted to intern, and had hotel reception slide it under his door. The next day he called me, gave me a few test projects, and then gave me the opportunity. I also brought speakers such as former NBA legend Michael Redd, to the class and was the only student to add value in that sense. Eddie took notice of me and asked me to create a marketing campaign his wealth management firm.
At this time, I wanted to start a media company so Eddie became my first client and had my team shoot content of him in places such as the NFL draft and other places. One of the videographers I hired to shoot content for Eddie was also the videographer of Ross Smith, a social media comedian with over 80 million followers across all platforms. Ross lives in Columbus, Ohio and was looking for someone to manage his productions. That’s when I was referred working with him for over three years. Although I was good at the job and helped him tremendously, he helped me even more. He introduced me to the social media world and how to create compelling content in order to generate income off the ads that run over your content. I learned the science behind that and then started building more relationships with people that work at the platforms such as Snapchat, Meta, Spotify, etc.. and talent managers started referring me to other social media stars to work with them.
One thing I do want to put out that none of this was or is me. It’s God. I truly feel that I am divinely here doing what I was tasked with. The odds that Eddie George would become my professor were slim, moreso he only taught the class during my time at OSU. The odds that a major social media comedian lives in Ohio and was looking for someone to help him the same time I just broke into the scene were slim. The timing of everything is eerie and I don’t take this for granted. I focus on what I can control and become amazed with the places God takes me and the opportunities He provides me.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has not been a smooth road at all. A lot of mistakes along the way. I was a solo entrepreneur building a media company in Columbus, Ohio/midwest. The media game is played in LA and New York City. The landscape of the midwest is known for insurance, healthcare, etc.. not media. There were few to almost no people in the community I could go to for games on how to do things. It was simply trial and error.
The blessing in disguise became COVID-19. With the world shut down and no productions occurring, it gave a great opportunity in order to reach out to media outlets, get on calls with them to better understand how they work. That game was tremendous because it allowed me to better understand the landscape and where we can fit. I built many relationships with major outlets such as Complex, SLAM, ESPN, etc.
Again this goes back to the timing being eerie and luck on my side. COVID-19 was an unforeseeable tragedy that occurred. However, I always take the not everything happens to you, everything happens for you approach. I truly believe those that were healthy and took the time we were in the house to re-evaluate things and hone in on their craft greatly separated themselves from others. I am currently living financially free and it feels amazing, sometimes surreal. I don’t take it for granted at all, but the reason I am able to do so is because I took time to build the foundation of what I was doing. The foundation of whatever it is you are building is essential to build slowly and properly so nothing can waver it.
We’ve been impressed with CourtSide Media Group, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
CourtSide Media is a digital media management agency that manages influencers between 1 million to 75 million followers across all platforms. We help our clients create and execute a strategy that assists them with generating income off of ad-revenue. We’ve also partnered with brands such as AT&T, eBay, and SLAM to create sponsored campaigns for our clientele.
What sets us apart is that we mainly focus on ad-revenue. Many other agencies focus on getting their clientele deals with brands. Securing a brand is a long process and many deals are not for a long duration so the creator stops getting paid. We want our creators to consistently generate revenue by providing them with the game plan of how to create compelling content that the algorithm likes in order to show it to more viewers and generate income off the ads that run over the content piece.
I am most proud about the resiliency. A lot of hardships occurred along the road that could have derailed us to quit and pursue other opportunities. We stuck to it and eventually, the tide became in our favor. I am also proud that we won our backyard. With anything you create, you have to win your backyard. We work with the biggest creator in the midwest as well as create content for the biggest restaurant in Ohio, Townhall. With whatever business you build, if you don’t win your backyard, you have a high chance of losing. Now that we have done so, I’m relocating to Miami for the winter and spring months to expand and build relationships out there.
What do you like and dislike about the city?
Although I live in Ohio. I have been to Atlanta many times. What I like best is the culture of the city. What I like least is the traffic.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.courtsidegroup.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/courtsidegroup/
