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Kakabelly Esq.
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Posted: Mon Dec 6th, 2004 02:42 pm |
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Don’t Sleep on Irwin Persaud
By Alexander Penn
"Did you get an offer?" To returning CBS (Columbia Business Studies) second years this question is as familiar a refrain as the ever popular "How was your summer?" Second year student Irwin Persaud’s primary concern, however, is not a position that he is being offered, but rather a job that he himself is offering.
Irwin, along with his brothers Michael and Mark, own and operate Persaud Brothers, Inc., a multi-million dollar marketing and promotion company that they founded four-and-half years ago. With a client list that includes companies such as Procter and Gamble and Pepsi, brands like Tanqueray and Remy-Martin, and even advertising agencies Ogilvy and Mather, and DDB Needham, Irwin finds himself constantly trying to balance the rigors of being a full-time student at CBS while managing a successful and rapidly growing business.
"On average, I sleep four hours a night," explains Irwin. "Between school and the company, every hour of my day is taken up."
Irwin’s dedication and devotion to the company that he describes as his "life and passion" seems to be paying off. With offices in New York, Atlanta, and Los Angeles, Persaud Brothers is rapidly becoming the primary resource for companies and brands interested in marketing their products to urban consumers.
"We kind of fell into it accidentally," replies Irwin when asked to explain how Persaud Brothers evolved from an exclusively family-run enterprise to a business that now has twelve full-time employees (including 1994 CBS graduate Terry Williams) and countless part-time workers who are hired on a project by project basis. "When Mark, Michael, and I got out of college we started to throw some parties and events for our friends around New York City. I was working as a paralegal at the time. We’d rent out a club, and charge to get in. We didn’t make much money. We mostly did it for fun and to earn a little extra pocket change."
What began as "fun," however, rapidly became a vision for the future. As time went on, the parties got larger and the pockets got fatter. "The turning point was New Year’s Eve in 1991," explains Irwin. "Three days before New Year’s we were sitting around our apartment in Brooklyn with no plans, so we decided to throw a party."
As the clock struck twelve, Irwin and his brothers found themselves in their apartment surrounded by over 200 people. "The incredible thing was that we didn’t know most of the people there," says Irwin. " We had made just a few phone calls, and three days later we had a huge group of complete strangers ringing in the New Year with us. Then it hit us."
What "hit" Irwin and his brothers is that, through the parties and events that they had organized, the Persaud Brothers had developed brand name equity among young, black professionals in not only New York City, but in a number of major cities in the United States. "From there we just ran with it," explains Irwin.
Irwin managed the business in New York, while Michael and Mark both went off to Harvard to earn their M.B.A. and J.D./M.B.A. respectively. It was at Harvard Business School that Michael wrote a paper that crystallized the Persaud brothers’ vision for their fledgling company.
Titled "Turning a Marketing and Production Company into a Full-Service Communications Entity," the paper served as, and continues to function as, the business plan for Persaud Brothers, Inc. "We knew that we had access to, and understood the sensibilities of, a demographic that many companies had been unable to reach," remembers Irwin. "The key was to convince companies that they were losing business by not aggressively marketing to particular groups of people."
The Persauds began to position the business as a marketing and promotions company that could act as a consultant, researcher, and production coordinator for companies, brands, and advertising agencies hoping to attract urban consumers.
"In the beginning we weren’t as focused as we could have been. We were trying to land new consulting business, while at the same time we were producing music videos and trying to manage some music acts. I think that may have cost us some business at the start."
All that changed, however, when Persaud Brothers landed the Home Box Office account and assumed the responsibility of marketing all of HBO’s ethnic programming to urban audiences around the country. "We realized that our real strength was in marketing and promotions, and we just focused all our efforts on that aspect of the business."
After HBO, the word on Persaud Brothers was out. "All of the sudden we just started getting phone calls and having meetings. Our new business exploded. Before we knew it we had to hire people to help us out." Today, the Persauds find themselves working with some of the world’s top brands.
Irwin’s entrepreneurial success begs the obvious question: Why get an MBA? "First of all, I had to keep up with my brothers," laughs Irwin. "Seriously, though, despite what we’ve done with the company I still have a lot to learn about the fundamentals of business. School has helped me in so many different ways; from just understanding what my accountant is saying to managing the company’s finances. Also, I think a lot about teaching at a business school in the future and an MBA would obviously be helpful if I decided to do that."
So what kind of advice does Irwin have for other CBS students who are managing their own businesses while going to school? "Talk to people. Go to hear the guest lecturers that come to school," advises Irwin. "You meet a lot of people who have an incredibly wide range of experiences. You can learn a lot from the person sitting next to you in class. And you never know whether you might be able to work with them in the future."
The future for Persaud Brothers, Inc. is bright. While the business has achieved much of what Irwin, Michael, and Mark originally envisioned, they plan on expanding the company’s presence in the media and entertainment industries. In fact, this summer Persaud Brothers produced a number of radio advertisements for Malacca gin featuring R&B singers Gerald Levert, Zhane, and Isaac Hayes.
They are gradually expanding the company, and have begun to pursue opportunities outside of the marketing and promotions side of the business. Mark is currently the president of Qwest Records, Quincy Jones’s label, while Michael has moved to Los Angeles to explore possible entertainment-related business ventures on the West Coast.
Meanwhile Irwin continues to oversee Persaud Brothers’ New York operations while attending CBS on a full-time basis. "I’m both the CFO and the COO of this company, and I’m going to classes four days a week," remarks Irwin. "Believe me, I get tired. The business is my life, though. I can catch up on my sleep later."
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StevieC
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Posted: Mon Dec 6th, 2004 03:09 pm |
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| great success story..
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Karpov2
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| Joined: | Sat Aug 7th, 2004 |
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Posted: Tue Dec 7th, 2004 01:05 am |
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Good story I agree, great success has a price, how far is any of willing to go individually??.
K.
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