Courtney Bagby Lupinin, CEO and Founder of Little Red Management, is the go-to talent manager for reality TV stars from shows on ABC, CBS, MTV and Netflix including The Bachelor Franchise, Big Brother, Love is Blind, and the Circle. She began her career in the corporate sector at Oracle in San Francisco, managing internal communications and events. A yearning for the celebrity side of influencer marketing led her to Los Angeles where she volunteered her time and built relationships within the reality TV world before taking the leap to launch Little Red Management in 2019 at the age of 25. Courtney has also activated partnerships for huge brands including Disney, FOX, Hallmark, Nike, Adidas, Amazon, and more.
“I don't remember who told me this, and I wish I did because I feel like it was the best advice I've ever learned. It was to figure out how you can help those people who you want to work with and bring something to the table for them, but don't expect something back.
“At this time I wanted to do side things that would help me meet people and build my resume. One thing I did was volunteer for a nonprofit event called Reality Rally, which is held every year and all the reality TV stars come to that event to support their cause. I tweeted some of the stars from Survivor, Big Brother and other reality TV shows and volunteered to manage their social media in the off-season. And people accepted. That was super helpful because then when the event came along, I could meet them in person and they knew who I was.
“Another thing I did was to go after a contestant on The Bachelor who I really wanted as a client. I would tweet at her every time I was in L.A. and ask her to get brunch with me. She would always respond, telling me that she couldn't do it–but she would still respond. One time I left her a message to meet me at The Grove that day, which is a fancy mall in L.A. She didn't respond to that, but I ended up running into her there that afternoon. She totally knew who I was from the emails and tweets I had sent her. We sat down together and I asked her all sorts of questions.
“I had tried to reach out to some talent agencies and even social media agencies at the time, but no one would respond to me. So, it turned out for me that my best way of learning was from the talent themselves!
“Nowadays I own my own talent management business, and I always respond to anyone who wants career advice and tips on how to get into the business because I know what it is like to be so hungry for industry information.”