G.I. Sanders is co-owner of Fancorps.com, a software and grassroots marketing firm whose website offers independent artists a means to leverage their fan base into an organized fleet of street teams, and then manage those teams efficiently.
G.I. Sanders, co-owner of Fancorps.com, sat down with ArtistsHouse at SXSW 2008 to discuss the founding of his company and the lessons about entrepreneurship he learned along the way, and also to share some of the secrets of finding, building, and leveraging a street team of hard-working, dedicated fans to do grassroots marketing on your behalf.
G.I. Sanders, co-owner of Fancorps.com, introduces his company and its business model, which provides an online management portal through which emerging artists can leverage their hardcore fans into street teams as a force-multiplier of their marketing efforts. He also discusses how artists can best approach recruiting and using word-of-mouth marketing agents such as street teams.
G.I. Sanders, co-owner of Fancorps.com, offers entrepreneurial advice to people who have an idea for a business on how to decide to take the plunge, and shares the story of starting Fancorps as an object lesson in successful entrepreneurial management.
G.I. Sanders, co-owner of Fancorps.com, discusses how social networks and Web 2.0-style communications are changing how street teams work, and creating new opportunities for leveraging your fan base.
Geoffrey Schulman, a longtime marketing veteran, artist manager, radio promoter, A&R rep, and now a member of the Commercial Music Management faculty at Austin Community College, discusses why artists, entrepreneurs and aspiring industry players need to be as versatile as possible in order to stand a chance of having a career in today’s music industry. He also shares his advice on getting over the “glamour” aspect of the business and getting down to establishing goals, accomplishing tasks, and making sacrifices for the future.
