Today we’d like to introduce you to Shep Ogden.
Hi Shep, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I’m the founder and CEO of Offbeat Media Group. Growing up in Jesup, a small town in southern Georgia, I was exposed to entrepreneurship at a young age as my parents built successful businesses. After studying finance, computer science, and new media at the University of Georgia, I landed an internship at a bank but quickly realized that finance wasn’t my passion.
During my junior year, I decided to start my own social media agency and quickly scaled to managing over 40 social media accounts for various companies. It was during this time that I met my business partner, Bailey Grady, who shared my passion for social media management. Together, we started Scout Social, which later became Offbeat Media Group.
Our first major client was TikTok, and we served as a go-to-market partner for them across 13 countries. We quickly realized the power of memes as a language for culture and expanded our services to include working with the entertainment industry to help upcoming artists and movie launches tap into today’s youth.
As we continued to grow, we shifted our focus to working with top brands around the world. Today, Offbeat Media Group has over 30 shows across the internet, 12 million followers, and our content reaches billions of impressions each year. We have also reinvested our profits into new forms of media, such as virtual influencers, virtual reality, and augmented reality experiences.
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?
No, it has not been a smooth road for our company.
We faced several challenges on our journey. We had investors who pulled out of funding rounds, which put a strain on our finances. We have lost million-dollar clients overnight, which impacted our revenue streams significantly. Furthermore, we had to deal with social platforms changing their algorithms, which further affected our revenue streams. Through constant iteration, we have had to restructure our team and make tough decisions to keep the company alive. However, we’ve learned if you push through and don’t give up, you can still build a profitable business even if it looks different than before.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
We create content built for the digital generation across social media. We have 30+ shows that have more than 12 million followers and regularly partner with the world’s top brands. We know the internet because we were raised on the internet. We take this mentality forward to everything we do within the business.
Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
As we progress throughout 2023, we’re looking at how we leverage our shows and media to partner with or build new brands that will be loved by the younger generation. We’ve helped many upstart brands succeed and driven millions of dollars in revenue for the world’s largest, we are now looking to do this on brands we own.
Contact Info:
- Website: Offbeat.xyz
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shepogden/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/ShepOgden/
