Meet the Founder [@jashimaw] of Revolutionary Talent Management Agency, Ode

There’s not a hat that Jashima Wadhera doesn’t wear. The New York-based entrepreneur is the founder of Ode, a multicultural marketing and talent management agency with an impressive and exclusively immigrant/BIPOC roster of clients. GUAP interviews Jashima to learn about how the young creative built such a dynamic agency, life, and career for herself. 

GUAP: Tell me about how you got started in music. How did you know this was your calling?  

Jashima: Music is not my calling, storytelling is. Music is my method of storytelling. 

I started my career as a music journalist and worked in marketing and sales, too. When I was writing about music or people that inspired me, I learned that they all felt a lack of education and resources around the arts as a career.

This led me to found Ode, a multicultural marketing and talent management agency. We focus on providing musicians and immigrant owned brands knowledge around business development and marketing practices to fill in information gaps. Through art and storytelling, we help our artists realize they are entrepreneurs.

GUAP: What does Ode do that is different from your peers and why?

Jashima: We have lived amongst and are comprised of the communities we service. Therefore, we are able to craft marketing campaigns that are culture-forward without tokenizing each other.

We also center equity in our company– meaning teaching artists, brands and businesses that they should use their genius for their own projects and take educated risks to retain ownership of their intellectual property. 

GUAP: The music industry has it’s own breed of bro-culture. How have you navigated it? 

Jashima: I’ve navigated it by remembering that my existence in spaces is earned, not an accident. I lean into that evidence, and the evidence of my work ethic, results and community. I then take stock of who shows up, who advocates…and whoever doesn’t, that’s on them. If I centered male validation in entrepreneurship, I’d have quit a long time ago. 

What I do center is everyone that has always provided constructive feedback and support. They are my north star. 

GUAP: As a multi-hyphenate, what advice do you have for others with many passions? 

Jashima:

1. Having changed my instagram bio a minimum of 50 times over the years, I’ve learned that no one title or phrase will ever encompass my totality. The attributes of the titles I hold however, are quite aligned.
2. Being an artist manager, angel investor, founder, writer, producer, strategist, poet, artist, podcast host, festival producer, event coordinator, consultant – those are all just business lingo for storyteller/ producer. Essentially, someone one who imagines something and then creates it. 
3. Don’t waste your time trying to be consumable or well liked. Spend your time being discoverable and clear about your pursuits. Have a real website and portfolio. People know what we tell them about us– whether through verbal or non verbal communication.
4. Teach people how to treat you and engage with you. Make a list of everything you want to do, be, or try, and then start chipping away at it. You’ll quickly figure out what you’re good at, what you’re bad at, what you enjoy and what you don’t. Notably, make a list of the qualities you think describe your character, and then embody it at all costs.
5. Take care of yourself. Don’t let your trauma and insecurities define you. You’re not uniquely bad, but you are uniquely great. Don’t be annoying and ask to “pick people’s brains” or ask questions that you can google. I definitely did that too, but just know, advice doesn’t actually help until you’ve started trying things. Advice requires action otherwise it’s all theory. 
6. Stay curious and excited. The point of having many passions is to pursue them.

Discover more from GUAP’s Arts and Culture section here.