Alex Sunshine is CEO and founder of Rising Suns Agency, a boutique influencer marketing agency for DTC brands. He builds partnerships between brands and social media influencers with common audiences, helping brands connect with their target market in creative and lucrative ways. Over a span of 4 years, Rising Suns Agency has closed over 234 influencer contracts. Alex has signed Gretchen Rossi, Ali Levine, Jesyka Harris, and worked with brands such as Amazon and Zulily. Alex's work is shaping today's influencer marketing industry to become more widely understood. He believes no brand should ever have to worry about finding their ideal customers again.
Hi Alex! Please tell us a little bit about yourself!
Growing up in a suburban Jewish neighborhood, I felt very blessed by the opportunities that my family was able to provide me. This included a fancy Bar Mitzvah, summer sleep-away camp, Mets games, ski trips, beach vacations, and multiple visits to DisneyWorld and Universal. These are all things that I still love to do to this day! I grew up with a great Asian leopard Bengal Cat named DJ (after Derek Jeter unfortunately) and I currently have two of my own cats, Mac and Millie (honored by the passing of Mac Miller when they were adopted in 2018).
What is your business name and how do you help your clients?
The name of my business is Rising Suns Agency, and I am an influencer marketing agency that helps brands partner with social medial influencers. - What kind of audience do you target your business towards?
I target both brands and influencers. I want to truly help them collaborate on a mutually beneficial partnership. I've seen both successful and unsuccessful partnerships, so I know what works and what pitfalls to look out for when facilitating these types of partnerships. I help DTC CPG brands in a variety of verticals like baby products, food + bev, financial services, gaming, etc. I predominantly help these brands target women and early-stage mothers (25-34) in the United States.
What are your current goals for your business?
My current goals for the business are to make small to mid-sized brands feel extremely educated on the current trends in the influencer marketing space. A few big trends I see in 2023 will be the rise of creator-owned brands as well as the focus on YT shorts. Additionally, my goal is to make sure all clients that work with my agency get to know that they work directly with me and utilize my knowledge in order to collaborate on a customized strategy for their brand.
What would you like to achieve for yourself and your business in the future?
I want to become a resource of knowledge for influencer marketing as well as entrepreneurship. Influencer Marketing is evolving extremely quickly and as one of the agencies that was an early adopter in the space, I will always be able to reference it’s rich history while simultaneously staying up to date on the most current/future trends. Who inspires you to be the best that you can be?
Gary Vaynerchuk is a modern-day icon and has been the biggest reason that I have been able to pursue entrepreneurship. His emphasis on having patience, especially in your 20’s, has given me the strength to know that I am on the right path. With my 30th birthday approaching this year I am ready to turn a corner on a business as well as professional level. What is your work inspired by?
My work is inspired by Tom Cruise who portrayed the role of an agent in Jerry Maguire. It was always my dream to be a sports agent growing up. Having become an influencer agent is to me a modern-day version of that movie. If a studio ever decides to greenlight a project on the influencer marketing agency space, then I’d love to receive a call to provide the behind the scene scoop. Tell us about your greatest career achievement so far.
My greatest career achievement to date has been the reputation that I have been able to build at Rising Suns Agency. Over the course of 230+ deals I have had the fortune of successfully brokering every single one of them to date and that’s the most important metric that I have for my company.
If you could change one thing about your industry, what would it be and why?
The one thing I would change about my industry is the false stigma that comes with being a social media influencer. I know this firsthand because when I introduce myself to people that I am an influencer agent, I hear the feedback that I get about influencers. I think they are extremely misunderstood by the public and only the people in the space understand how hard working and inspiring influencers can be to not just their followers but the people around them every day. Tell us about a pivotal moment in your life that brought you to where you are today.
When I was dating an influencer back in 2018, I used to help her with her photoshoots and brand sponsorships. Additionally, she would invite me to her press events as her plus one. At one of the events, I spoke to an influencer who asked me if I could help her the same way that I was helping my girlfriend. This was my light bulb moment to start my influencer marketing agency.
