She Quit Her Job and Built a 7 Figure Talent Agency | Pam Zapata | Coffeez Ep. 323
Episode of Coffeez with Joe Shalaby · October 29, 2026 · 1 h 8 min
Joe Shalaby talks with Society18 founder Pam Zapata about building a creator talent agency, the creator pay gap, perpetuity clauses, and her career path.
Summary
Talent agency founder Pam Zapata joined host Joe Shalaby on Coffeez to discuss her path from a Dominican immigrant household in Lawrence, Massachusetts, to running Society18, a multicultural influencer management company she said brought in seven figures in its first year. She described her morning routine, the phases of entrepreneurship, Substack as a platform where creators own their audience, and how brand goals determine whether reach or loyal followers matter more.
Zapata recounted studying broadcast journalism, interning in casting at Disney Channel (where she recorded a young Zendaya's audition for Shake It Up), working as a production assistant on Shahs of Sunset, and working in development at Ryan Seacrest's company and at E!, where casting YouTubers convinced her creators were the future. She told a story of an awkward hallway encounter with Caitlyn Jenner at E! and criticized unprofessional behavior from some talent.
She said she founded Society18 after noticing that creators of color, often self-managed, were quoted a third or a quarter of what managed white creators charged. Zapata identified perpetuity usage clauses as creators' costliest contract mistake and advised hiring attorneys. She described burning out before hiring an attorney, operations lead, and second manager, the personal cost of the business including delayed dating and choosing not to freeze her eggs, and her family's pressure to have children.
The pair also discussed financial literacy for creators, with Shalaby arguing buying a house should be step one and Zapata emphasizing budgeting and financial advisors. The episode closed with a "Sign it, fix it, or walk" game in which Zapata said she would sign an AI-likeness deal as a case study.
Chapters
- 0:15
Barista cold open
Barista Alyssa takes Zapata's coffee order and asks what she looks for in talent.
- 1:44
Introduction and morning routine
Shalaby introduces Zapata and they discuss camping, workouts, and Equinox.
- 5:27
Knowing her worth and the entrepreneurial journey
Zapata recalls negotiating her own salary and describes the phases of running a business.
- 7:49
Platforms, Substack and the algorithm
They discuss Substack, LinkedIn newsletters, reach versus loyal followers, and algorithm changes.
- 16:03
Dominican upbringing and family
Zapata describes growing up in a Spanish-speaking household in Lawrence, Massachusetts, her parents' sacrifices, and her mother's pressure about grandchildren.
- 27:33
From broadcast journalism to behind the scenes
Zapata recounts her radio show, Disney casting internship with Zendaya, and PA work on Shahs of Sunset.
- 33:32
E!, Ryan Seacrest and the rise of creators
Zapata explains what E! and Seacrest taught her and when she saw creators as the future.
- 39:44
Diversity, the pay gap and perpetuity clauses
Zapata describes founding Society18 to fight pay inequity and warns against perpetuity usage rights.
- 44:02
Quitting, broke influencers and difficult demands
Zapata recounts quitting and filing her LLC the same week, then discusses broke influencers, scripted briefs, the Caitlyn Jenner story, and flaky creators.
- 51:55
Scaling, burnout and personal cost
Zapata describes burnout, hiring staff, delegating, and the sacrifices including delayed dating and not freezing her eggs.
- 57:42
Financial literacy and the future of creators
They debate financial advice for creators and whether creators will be entertainers or CEOs, and Zapata states her legacy goals.
- 1:04:15
Sign it, fix it, or walk
Zapata answers rapid-fire deal scenarios and gives final contract advice.
Key points
What was said, by whom, with the exact words. Timestamps jump to the moment.
- Pam Zapata
Zapata says her agency has reached a point where it can run largely without her.
“and then it becomes easier and then you get to a place where for the most part, my agency can run like 80% without me”
- Pam Zapata
Zapata argues Substack gives creators more ownership of their audience than social platforms.
“Substack is like an email list that you own, you own the audience, you can like measure open rate”
- Pam Zapata
Zapata says brands seeking conversions should prefer creators with smaller but loyal followings over those with large reach.
“If I'm looking to get products sold and I want to convert, I'll go to the one with a thousand loyal followers”
- Pam Zapata
Zapata says her agency generated around seven figures in revenue in its first year.
“literally within my first year, we brought in like seven figures in revenue”
- Pam Zapata
Zapata says she grew up in Lawrence, Massachusetts, which she describes as having the most Dominicans per capita in the US.
“a city called Lawrence, Massachusetts, and it has the highest Dominicans per capita in the United States”
- Pam Zapata
Zapata recalls recording Zendaya's Shake It Up audition as a Disney intern and sensing she would become a star.
“she had this presence to her that I was like, this girl's going to be a superstar”
- Pam Zapata
Zapata says talent managers are expected to generate two to three times their salary in revenue.
“Because as a talent manager, you have to make two or three times your salary in revenue to stay”
- Pam Zapata
Zapata says a longtime Disney Channel casting director could not find work after layoffs because the industry has shifted to creators.
“you've been at Disney Channel for like 20 plus years and she can't get a job because the landscape has shifted so much”
- Pam Zapata
Zapata says she observed self-managed creators of color quoting far lower rates than managed white creators.
“these smaller creators, creators of color primarily, were self-managing and were coming in like a third or a quarter of the price”
- Pam Zapata
Zapata argues that granting usage rights in perpetuity is the costliest mistake creators make in deals.
“no one should have anyone's right or like right to use their likeness in perpetuity. That's just like bad business”
- Pam Zapata
Zapata recounts clients discovering their images on billboards years after small one-time payments due to perpetuity clauses.
“I got paid two thousand dollars for this campaign one time eight years ago. And now they're using my image on a billboard”
- Pam Zapata
Zapata says she quit her agency job and filed her LLC in the same week.
“that week I gave my notice. I handed in my computer. I went home. I filed my LLC and I never”
- Pam Zapata
Zapata says many creators with large followings earn little or nothing from their content.
“There's people with millions of followers, hundreds of thousands of followers that are not monetizing their social media”
- Pam Zapata
Zapata criticizes brands that hand creators rigid scripts, arguing creators are hired to make content suited to their own audiences.
“You're hiring the creator to create something that works for their audience”
- Pam Zapata
Zapata says brands commonly complain about creators who miss deadlines and lack professional discipline.
“It doesn't really take much to just be responsible and respectful of people's time”
- Pam Zapata
Zapata says Ray J showed disregard for crew and production on a show she worked on.
“And he had just zero regard for crew, other talent, production”
- Pam Zapata
Zapata says hiring an attorney, operations lead, and second manager after burning out restored her personal life.
“that following year I hired an attorney, I hired an operations lead and I hired another talent manager and then I got my life back”
- Joe Shalaby
Shalaby argues that the first financial step for creators and athletes should be buying a house.
“and the first step like 101 is like yo buy a house first like step one”
- Pam Zapata
Zapata says she wants Society18's legacy to be helping eliminate the pay gap between Black and white creators.
“I wanted to be known for a company that helped eliminate the pay gap with like black and white content creators”
Linked moment · 1:04:15Skip to 1:04:15 using a listen link in the info box.
Pam ZapataZapata says she would sign a deal for an AI version of a client as a learning case study.
“know what? I would probably sign it as a case study. Yeah. Okay. Let's learn from it”
- Pam Zapata
Zapata advises creators to read contracts, exclude perpetuity, define scope, and hire an attorney.
“Read the contract. Make sure that perpetuity is not in the agreement. Make sure the scope is lined out and very clear”
Listen from 1:06:49 · Perpetuity clauses and likeness rights
People
In the conversation
- Joe ShalabyHost of the Coffeez with Joe Shalaby podcast; Egyptian-born entrepreneur and father of four based in Newport Beach
- Pam ZapataFounder and CEO of Society18, a multicultural influencer talent and marketing agency
Discussed
- ZendayaAmerican actress cast as Athena
- Caitlyn JennerTelevision personality and former Olympian; subject of Zapata's E! hallway story
- Ryan SeacrestTelevision host and producer whose development company employed Zapata
- Ray JSinger who lost a Brand Risk MMA bout and suggested a fix
- Dan FleischmanMedia figure with whom Shalaby tried to start a mortgage company for creators
Topics
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From the publisher
Talent agency founder Pam Zapata sits down with Joe. A Dominican immigrant kid from Massachusetts who worked her way through E!, Ryan Seacrest’s team, Disney Channel casting and Univision, then quit and filed her LLC the same week to build a seven figure creator agency. The pay gap between Black, brown and white creators, the perpetuity clause that steals creators’ likeness, why a million followers can still be broke, the Caitlyn Jenner bathroom story, and freezing her eggs while building the business. New episodes every week. Pour up.
Summary, chapters and key points were generated from the episode transcript on October 30, 2026. Quotes are checked word for word against the transcript.