FWD Feature: Marcus Sumrall, Paradigm Creative Group
FWD Collective is excited to announce that Marcus Sumrall has joined the speaker roster for our Chicago Summit on September 12th 2019!
We had the pleasure of connecting with Marcus to ask a few questions!
What does diversity, equity, and professional inclusion mean to you?
Evening the playing fields so that talent and work ethic speaks and hold more value than color or gender.
How have you experienced and/or dealt with adversity in your professional and personal life?
Having a background within the arts and entertainment world, it’s always a hard time trying to prove yourself capable. When everyone is looking at what big name you’ve worked for instead of what you’ve done with the talent you’ve been given, it’s difficult to remove the blinders off of some individuals. Starting a business where we created everything from the ground up on extremely small budgets intimidates larger companies and when we’re going for larger funding, there’s a tendency to be looked over.
What would be one piece of advice you would give to your younger self?
Save those checks you got from school! Invest wiser and put those shoes down lol. Stay grounded and read more!
Name three things that you do everyday to help lead you to success.
1. Make my bed everyday.
2. Meditate
3. Study the market.
Who inspires your professional ambition? Why?
Coming from an urban background I can’t help but to look up to individuals that have made segue from poverty to multiple outlets of success. Shawn Carter (Jay-Z) stands out above all because of the countless moves he’s made in the entertainment industry. Breaking uncommon grounds and moving without fear are my top two mantras and he embodies them with ease.
What is your favorite book? Or the one you'd recommend most?
Outwitting the Devil by Napoleon Hill.
What are the top three things we should know about your business or company?
Our mission is to create a platform for all artists. We understand the difficulties behind breaking free in a packed playing field but we strive to even the surface by bringing the consumer directly to the artists via events. There are multiple pillars to our company. Productions, management, mentorship. Open to collaboration of all kind.
