From Finance to Founder, How Shereen is Bridging the Gap for Underrepresented Creators with SoSher Media
Shereen, founder and director of SoSher Media, shares her journey transitioning from finance to establishing her digital marketing agency, which focuses on talent management and consultancy. SoSher Media bridges the gap between underrepresented talent and global brands like Tiffany & Co., Lounge, and London Fashion Week.
After graduating from university with a degree in Politics and International Relations, Shereen initially worked in finance as a banker before starting her own printing business. At the same time she was leaving her finance job due to a toxic work environment, COVID struck. While working with content creators to set up merchandise lines, one of them, who had 3 million followers, was receiving brand emails offering only gifting collaborations. Shereen managed this creator’s inbox and noticed that many POC (people of colour) were not being offered paid opportunities in the influencer space.
During the momentum around Black Lives Matter, Shereen read extensively about the influencer wage gap and the inequalities faced by black and brown creators in terms of pay. This led her to think about starting her agency, which she launched towards the end of 2022. “I literally had zero background in media, PR, advertising or marketing. I was learning everything from scratch,” Shereen highlighted.
Recently, SoSher Media partnered with Lounge underwear at the Trafford Centre to celebrate South Asian Heritage Month. Shereen was first invited to Lounge’s Birmingham HQ for a supper club, where discussions focused on identity and integrating cultural understanding into corporate spaces as POCs. Inspired by this, she collaborated with a LinkedIn connection to plan a similar event. The attendees included creators, influencers, and proactive community members, making the experience meaningful and wholesome. Shereen appreciated the unexpected collaboration between Muslim women and a lingerie brand.
One of the hardest parts of running SoSher is that Shereen is “a one-woman team.” She speaks about the difficulty of staying motivated and holding herself accountable. “It’s really hard not to compare yourself,” but she works on shifting her mindset, reminding herself that everyone starts from scratch and does things differently.
A challenge Shereen has faced within her agency is working with creators who had large followings but little engagement and work ethic, which meant they lacked serious commercial potential. “This industry is a numbers game,” she says. “Creators weren’t following or implementing the strategies given to them and weren’t aligned with the brands they wanted to work with.” To address this, SoSher Club was born – a hub for emerging creators of all sizes, offering industry updates, insights, and networking opportunities. This ensures SoSher only works with creators aligned with the agency’s values.
During SoSher’s first year, Shereen attended numerous meetings with brands and agencies in London, building her network. This helped solidify SoSher’s reputation, allowing the agency to collaborate with major brands and talent. Shereen explains that she prefers to work with boycott-free, sustainable, and ethical brands that align with the agency’s values, maintaining authenticity. Both brands and talent appreciate this approach.
Regarding the wage gap in the influencer industry, Shereen ensures transparency about which brands are paying and which are not. Earlier this year, she conducted a survey for POC creators around their experiences pertaining to campaigns. Referencing the results of this survey, She ensures conversations around fair treatment and inclusivity are being had.
One thing Shereen loves about running her agency is the flexibility of remote working. “As an agency, we’re so flexible. So many brands return to work with us because of our communication,” Shereen says, emphasising that they never leave anyone on read. While striving for a work-life balance, she enjoys activities that don’t involve a screen, such as meeting friends between meetings, playing netball and badminton and trying new wellness practices.
Shereen advises anyone looking to start an agency to connect and network, be prepared to learn, and expect many rejections. “You have to have thick skin,” she says, stressing the importance of having a unique selling point (USP) in your niche and evolving with it. “Don’t replicate or imitate, just be your own person.”
In the future, SoSher Media aims to expand into the Middle East due to high demand there. She also hopes to work with more brands on a consultancy level to increase representation from within teams to inclusion of activations, provide support for cultural awareness and marketing.
You can find out more about SoSher Media via Instagram @sosher.media.
