Meet Jáe Pesante

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jáe Pesante a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, so we’re so thrilled to have Jáe with us today – welcome and maybe we can jump right into it with a question about one of your qualities that we most admire. How did you develop your work ethic? Where do you think you get it from?

I think everyone’s formula to success is different because everyones upbringing, lifestyle, and experiences are different. My father grew up immeasurably poor in another country and was born 12 years before my mother who was from a working middle class African American family. Growing up I saw both my parents work hard (most especially my father) and as a child I was always interested in expressing myself or trying new things. My parents indulged my interests, which allowed me to think very independently in regard to what I saw for myself professionally as opposed to what my parents expected of me. I started kindergarten at 3yrs old, I was chosen for the “Gifted and Talented” program at eight years old, by age ten I was typing over 100 words per minute. I was enrolled in many pre-college programs at Essex County College, Montclair University, NJIT, UMDNJ, Rutgers University, Johns Hopkins University, and Oxford University in England. I practiced martial arts, swimming, cheerleading, played four instruments, at twelve years old I was the youngest to turn professional with “Alvin Ailey’s” (professional junior division) dance company, I became a member of my high school drama club, debate team, and editor of the year book for my graduating class.

My summers and weekends were either dedicated to my extra curricular activities or my education. My generosity, self-esteem, and confidence is what I believe has always been part of my nature as a human being. I had the privilege of meeting so many people from all walks of life through the programs and extra curricular activities I was blessed and fortunate enough to enjoy. These experiences made me appreciate the blessings God gave me through my parents, my talents, my positive temperament, and optimistic personality even when facing personal hardships. It’s why most everything I create or lend my skills to professionally or personally is to fulfill God’s purpose for me, which is “to be of service to others.” My work ethic has only strengthened these traits because I know what it’s like to rely on, believe in, and invest in yourself above all others. Most especially when no one understands your work, or supports you, or believes in what you’re doing including those closest to you. There were many associates personally and professionally that could not relate to my resilience or skillsets, and my parents came from a generation that based success on degrees or corporate titles. When everyone else in my family are in law enforcement or government positions; judges, lawyers, senators, police enforcement, or detectives. I became the freelance publicist; turned business strategist and entrepreneur.

After my parents investing so much in pre-college programs and I decided I wasn’t going to school for medicine or law. I told mom I wasn’t going to the Ivy League school she wanted, and instead chose to go to (Morgan State) an HBCU for Broadcast Journalism. For not choosing the school she preferred my mother refused to pay for school but my father co-signed the loan for me to go. Although my mother exercised tough love and my father a style of gentle parenting without her tough love and his free-spirited parenting I wouldn’t have had the strength, character, or integrity to withstand the industry I journeyed into. For better or worse I thank God everyday for blessing me with the very best parts of my parents shared duality.

I had no prior work experience I had to convince a retail company to hire me. I successfully brought that company 70K a month in sales after my first few months. I worked the retail job and a managed a salon and spa while attending school. Then I landed an internship at Hollywood Life Magazine in NYC and interned under Marigo Mihalos, their Director of Public Relations at the time. Marigo let me assist her, shadow her, and sit in meetings, but after one year I decided to go off on my own and freelance in PR and Marketing. If I could go back in time I would’ve stayed with Marigo much longer and still worked on my own endeavors. If it wasn’t for Marigo Mihalos giving me an opportunity; allowing me to shadow her, learn from her, meet with her mentor, and introducing me to a commercial manager I wouldn’t be where I am today. I credit her always because I wouldn’t have learned my professional value, the potential of my business, or my skillset as a business strategist. After my time with Marigo I began operating under my own company name, “Fashion Entertainment Media.”

When I created the first interactive gifting suite during the NBA All-Stars Weekend in 2015 I executed it under my company name “Fashion Entertainment Media,” which became the launching pad for my career. It allowed me to become a referral based business and transitioned my title from PR/Marketing Strategist to Business Strategist. Between 2009-2015 I had more losses and disappointments than sustainable deposits or opportunities. As a woman of color in the industry I was undervalued and underestimated especially in certain industries. Therefore, whenever opportunities came around from renowned companies, whether it was paid, barely paid, or unpaid I saw it as a win; leverage. I learned to celebrate those wins (paid work, unpaid, and trial periods) big or small. I was grateful and I made it work for me. I didn’t have the support of my parents (to pursue entrepreneurship) and most of my peers were pursuing multiple degrees and/or paid corporate jobs. I learned that I had to measure my success with my own milestones and not base my trajectory on others. I looked back at my own accomplishments as a reminder to myself of my greatness; my worth, my vision, my progress, and most importantly my purpose. Proud to say I never romantically used anyone to advance my career. In fact, I was never intimate nor did I ever date any executive, talent, or employee in any industry I worked including sports, music, fashion, entertainment, or lifestyle my entire fifteen years. I’m proud to say that (although it’s a road less traveled) I believe in the old adage “never **** where you eat.” I set New Years Eve as my milestone for whether or not to keep pursuing my entrepreneur endeavors or become a real-estate agent. I decided that if on NYE I cold reflect on at least one win (big or small) it was a sign to I keep going.

My work ethic came and grew in stages based on my experiences. All of which stemmed from my upbringing as a child. Through my forced independence as a high school graduate to the highs, to the lows of learning to become an entrepreneur, and the testimonies in-between. All of these stages in my life have a resilient backstory or detail that reminds me God is real and to have faith. It affirms my growth is real and it inspires me everyday to expand my business (to be of service) to give opportunities to younger generations, to speak on panels (to be of service) for college students and entrepreneurs, to share and not gatekeeper information (to be of service) to entrepreneurs, to give discounted services and resources (to be of service) to women in all areas of industry, and to give back through the development of my tech company and its charity (to be of service) to students, inner city youth, people of color, and communities of all ages, culture, and creed.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

I’m a 15-year Business Strategist with an expertise in research, data analytics, marketing strategy, and public relations strategy. My experience has facilitated a strong skillset in business negotiations as a liaison for talent and companies within the fashion, sports, music, entertainment, media, tech, and lifestyle industries. I started as a freelancer in 2009 before starting my first company, “Fashion Entertainment Media” (FashionEntertainmentMedia.com) and established myself by reputation as a business strategist after creating the first Interactive Gifting Suite during the 2015 NBA All-Stars week. The company worked off referral and became known as a liaison company with services ranging from negotiations, partnerships, business strategy, strategic public relations marketing strategy, events, activations, branding, talent management, and more.

SPOTLIST Inc. (www.spotlistinc.com / @spotistinc) is my latest endeavor. It’s the first on-demand platform to have over six user interfaces, over twenty streams of income, host up to eight multi-billion dollar markets with B2B + B2C functionality, and artificial intelligence data streaming throughout the application. It has been a huge undertaking and my best work as a business strategist. The concept came from my father who encouraged me to develop a platform that would ease his dependence on me for his personal services. My father was my best friend; caring for him was a privilege and being his caretaker gave me some of my most cherished memories with him. I went back and forth with executing the idea for a number of reasons. The main reason being that I was in the process of building a web-based platform that would generate passive income for me to “retire” from the industry. However, the ideas, concepts, and strategies kept coming to me day after day until I finally decided after doing research and competitor analysis, “that no one could build a platform for this industry like me,” so I committed to building it. Honestly, I feel that my father was the conduit between God and me. I wasn’t sitting around thinking “how can I make more money,” or “what can I create to make me successful or wealthy.” It came about because I was caring for my father, and I’m grateful for it everyday; more now than ever before.

Like everything else SPOTLIST Inc. started off with the right team. I reached out to a close associate and friend of mine; Visionary and Celebrity Barber, Marc Logan II (@slickwitdacutz) to brainstorm designs and gain insight on user experience from an expert point of view. I also extended the opportunity to have him act as a (cosmetology) advisor, business liaison, and advocate for the SPOTLIST Inc. charity. The aesthetic of SPOTLIST Inc. was facilitated by Marketing Consultant and Syracuse Business School Alumni Freddy Pesante Jr. when he found UXUI designer and NJIT alumni Anisah Khandakar. Brandon Balkaransingh our extremely talented lead backend and data engineer who developed the functionality of SPOTLIST Inc. with the help of many engineers and their advisor a Master Backend Engineer, Surf Thomas, and Chaz Carter a senior motion graphic designer for Madison Square Garden who created our first animations and demo to showcase at Forbes Summit 2019.

The SPOTLIST Inc. charity was created to coincide with the app and has a number of initiatives that empower youth and underprivileged inner cities by providing alternative career options to cultivate confidence and promote positive expression. It aims to create a cycle of positivity and independence by impacting their lifestyles, growth, and their environment. I think the most impressive thing about SPOTLIST Inc. besides its team and affiliates is the number of offers we received up to $90 million prior to having a prototype; offered $25 million pre-beta by a Vice President of a VC at Forbes Summit in 2019. I always credit my father, Ferdinand Pesante Sr. for inspiring me and encouraging me to create SPOTLIST Inc. It was extremely difficult when he unexpectedly passed away nearly two years ago, but I decided to keep the company because I realized it’s a major key for me to fulfill my purpose in life, which is to be of service to others. This app was created to be dynamic and multifaceted to allow people all over the world to be of service to themselves and to others. My father never downloaded an app on his own (ever), he didn’t know how send photos without assistance, he never used UBER or any delivery service platforms, and he didn’t have any social media platforms. This is how I know SPOTLIST Inc. was a gift from God; a blessing delivered through my father to me. In the midst of building and growing SPOTLIST Inc. I’m most proud to say that I was able to give experience and guidance to students from all around the world by opening up an opportunity for SPOTLIST Inc. to grow as well as inspire, nurture, and develop others. I created an internship opportunity which provided hands on experience to talented college students and post graduate students who were undervalued or overlooked for their lack of experience, age, or background. Some received job offers after interning with SPOTLIST Inc. and/or received recommendations which helped them acquire employment. Countless international students and undergraduate students were able to fulfill their OPT, CPT, and college credits requirements after interning with SPOTLIST Inc. I always want SPOTLIST Inc. to give opportunities to students, people of color, and females who would otherwise be overlooked due to preconceived notions or prejudices due to a lack the lack of diversity or similarity bias throughout the industry.

SPOTLIST Inc. will start its beta soft launch in New York this year and open to other major cities and states throughout the country. We’re offering lifetime perks to all professional users and clientele users who sign up to participate in our BETA launches throughout the country. Cosmetology experts (as we call them) can sign up on our website under the “FREE PERKS | BETA” tab from now until May 1, 2025. All cosmetology experts in any area of cosmetology including barbers, hairstylists, massage therapists, tattoo artists, nail techs, estheticians, and makeup artists can follow @spotlistinsiders instagram to be considered for a feature in a digital magazine and advertisement within the app.

For Cosmetology Experts / Professionals the perks include an exclusive feature in a digital magazine within the app, exclusive feature on all active social platforms, lifetime discount code for services and/or products up to 15% off, exclusive VIP invites to major SPOTLIST Inc. events, and more. For our Clientele users (wanting to get services) our offer includes a discount promo code for up to 15% toward services and/or products for up to one year, and VIP invites to all SPOTLIST Inc. events.

As a business strategist I’ve created strategies, curated unique interactive events, and secured business contracts that meet the objectives and goals for upcoming or popular and renowned brands. My liaison company (Fashion Entertainment Media) has represented talent, brands, and companies lacking the resources, network, publicity, or marketing to enhance their visibility, reach, KPI’s, ROI’s, presence, content, and more.

Currently, I’m a tech founder, business advisor, keynote speaker, and consultant leading teams in different areas of business development, marketing strategy, strategic publicity, and brand strategy. I pride myself on being multifaceted, personable, and paradoxical in comparison to the phrase “don’t judge a book by its cover.” I value my resourceful nature and the grace that comes with having done business with high profile executives, brands, media, and talent throughout the world. I pride myself on the bandwidth I have personally and professionally for exceeding expectations, which is why I’m referred most for my quick turnaround time when developing influential events, new talent, startups, and popular brands.

I’m an advocate for youth programs, female driven platforms, BIPOC owned businesses, and philanthropy.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Where do I begin there are more than a few:

– When starting a business, building a brand (a talent or company), or going into business with someone the number one thing you should have are a set of agreements to protect your business interests, concepts and plans including but not limited to service agreements, non-disclosures, non-competes (if legal in your state or country), letter of intent, or liaison agreements. You don’t need to pay a lawyer especially starting off (if you’re on a tight budget or have no money) simply get a template offline and edit it according to your needs and standards.

– Biggest mistake many people make is thinking they need to pay for a bunch of platforms, tools, employees, and paperwork that they don’t need right away starting out. Perception puts most people in the RED; broke or struggling. An entrepreneur should never be above doing the legwork. It should never be above you to do small or large tasks yourself. Nothing should be beneath you.

– Reach out to people, introduce yourself, and soft intro your business idea, product, or plan. Don’t be afraid to ask for what you need. “Fake it to you make it,” is not a phrase that is often interpreted or executed correctly. Dress well, carry yourself accordingly, speak in layman’s terms, and ask questions if you don’t know; even if you’re the only person that doesn’t know. Most successful people help those in need. Projecting a perception that you’re doing better than you are will almost never get you the type of business relationship you need or want. Who helps those who are already doing amazing unless it suites their interests. I learned there’s no room for ego when you’re building a business, career, or reputation. Being independent doesn’t mean that you don’t seek “help,” or rather “assets.” People are assets and should be utilized for mutual benefit. If I’d known this earlier in my career I would’ve adjusted my own strategy as it’s not good to do business or seek relationships with everyone.

– Don’t be afraid or set back by disinterest, hard no’s, or rejection and never leave anything to chance. The worst thing you can do is leave an event or meeting wondering, “what if.” Don’t reduce yourself to anyone regardless of their title or status and don’t self sabotage. As they say, “closed mouths don’t get fed.”

– Be hands on experience and exceed all expectations. Unpaid internships were the standard when I was in school. We didn’t have the privilege of getting paid to execute things. We didn’t have any real world or hands on experience. Sometimes I think the level of entitlement coming from upcoming generations is audacious due to many of them lacking knowhow, critical thinking, initiative, proactiveness, and competitive edge. You have to think three steps ahead and execute according to what’s next to stay competitive. Having a business partner or employee ask to take initiative on next steps and presenting thoughts, ideas, or a plan of action will always be an asset. As an entrepreneur don’t wait to finish “that thing,” push through and take initiative to get ahead of your agenda because there is always something unexpected ready to rear its ugly head or set you back.

– When starting out solo go everywhere alone and do everything alone. Don’t wait on anyone to be your plus one and if you have a business partner decide which one of you has the ability to network the best. It’s easier to get in everywhere as a party of one and it’s easier to network because you’re on your own time, you’re focused on your objective, and you can engage directly with numerous people. You can’t take people to the top with you right away. Get yourself through the door, build your reputation and relationships, and a few years down the line you’ll realize those plus one’s you were so eager to prove yourself to are no longer a priority.

– Acknowledge your weaknesses and create realistic ways to overcome them.. Set a mantra, put a plan in motion, and set a routine to break bad habits or fears. For instance: If you’re behind on bills make the call and set an arrangement. The fear of the calling and facing the lack of options or the number owed will only hurt you. See if there’s flexibility and don’t commit to anything you can’t honor. Maybe there are options that won’t hurt or hinder you financially and if there are no options that work for you at the very least you tried and know where you stand. Don’t let bad credit hold you back. All entrepreneurs face bad credit more times than you think. Whether it’s debt, procrastination, tardiness, self doubt, or peer pressure. Face it head on and be honest with yourself. Once you get those things in better practice you’ll increase the level of responsibility and integrity of everything else you’re putting in place.

– Prioritize making connections with people who are working toward the same goals as you or within the same industry as you. Stop watching what others are doing. Their life is not your own, their struggles are not your struggles, their goals are not your own, and their journey will never be the same as you. Anything you feel worried, jealous, envious, or left behind about is not a forever thing. Everything you want is attainable if you stay focused on yourself and work toward your milestones everyday.

– Choose a career or start a business that you’re passionate about, that you have strong skills (meaning you can speak to or execute effortlessly) or that you have strong interest. I always ask business students, undergraduates, and entrepreneurs to do this: Close your eyes, picture yourself waking up in your dream home, envision your dream partner, imagine dressing in your dream wardrobe. Then envision yourself getting in your dream car or walking to your dream home office. Now where do you see you’re going for work? what does your work day feel like? How are people addressing you ? how do you see yourself when you arrive at the office? are you giving orders or taking them? what is your first order of business? What does your role feel like? What does your day on the job look like? Whatever that first task you envision yourself executing throughout your “work day” is what you need to invest your energy.

If you knew you only had a decade of life left, how would you spend that decade?

Every entrepreneur faces challenges. If I could go back in time knowing what I know now I would network with investors and people across all financial industries. I would expand my services to financial institutions, real estate firms, and venture capital companies early on. I think as entrepreneurs no matter how successful you become there will always be needs to fulfill. My achilles heel is not having personal relationships with people in the above mentioned industries. Thankfully and by the grace of God I have the experience, due diligence, and skillset to ensure my company has strong economic value. Therefore, investors have always impressed with the platform.

The challenge is finding the right investors because vetting good people with the the right (investor) connections, attitude, and intention for the company is not always aligned. Ideally no investor relationship is perfect, but it is a serious commitment; its essentially a marriage. The best investor for my tech company is affluent, enterprising, eager, and progressive. He or she has up to $25 Million in capital awaiting an investment opportunity that checks all the necessary boxes an affluent investor would want checked before making an investment. An investor that understands all investments are a “risk,” and no startup goes without unforeseen circumstances, setbacks, or situations.

However, as entrepreneurs our job is to minimize the risk with our due diligence and solid contingencies in place to ensure recovery time is minimal, efficient, and ROI’s are on track. Investors interested in reaping the benefits of (not one but seven) economically sustainable multi-billion dollar markets from an easy to use on-demand (not web based) tech platform with artificial intelligence data, geographical capabilites, over twenty streams of income, b2b and b2c capabilities, and high returns on investment with impressive turn around times. Preferably equal opportunity investors that don’t overlook, undervalue, or undermine the capability and resourcefulness of female founders and CEO’s.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.spotlistinc.com
• Instagram: @spotlistinc
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/spotlistinc
• Other: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaewick/
  https://www.FashionEntertainmentMedia.com

Image Credits

First photo: Credit: Celebrity Photographer, Alan Duval
Second photo: Credit: WeWork FIDI – Financial District, NYC