Lessons from a Thriving Power Couple, With Nilou & Cameron Ajdari of Currents Management
Intimacy: Carving out one on one time for each other fosters closeness and strengthens your bond beyond the physical. Regular date nights, frequent vacations, and prioritizing alone time to “date” each other contributes to not only maintaining a deeper connection, but keeping one.
As a part of our series about lessons from Thriving Power Couples, I had the pleasure of interviewing Nilou and Cameron Ajdari.
Nilou and Cameron Ajdari, Co-Founders of Currents Management, the LA-based creative agency and talent management firm. By adapting a white-glove, “not one-size-fits-all” management model, the Ajdaris focus on creating long-term, sustainable strategy for each and every name on their roster. This approach has helped them launch podcasts, release short films and books, secure high-end lucrative brand partnerships and more. In 2023, they were named to Business Insider’s“33 rising stars in digital talent management” list. Since then, they have only expanded their roster to include comedy, family, cooking and lifestyle verticals. Their current roster boasts many of the top and buzziest names in family, comedy, lifestyle and podcast spaces, including: Alexandra Madison & Jon Bouffard, David Ogleton, Tank Sinatra, Devin & Hunter Cordle, Meghan & Jack Morrison, Taylor and Sophia Watts and many more.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you two to your respective career paths?
Nilou: As a young girl, I looked up to my father, a trailblazer who founded a software company and embodied an extraordinary entrepreneurial spirit. When I started my career, I knew that I wanted to follow in his footsteps as a trailblazer and entrepreneur. I’ve always had a passion for working with creatives and artists, and started my early career in music management. In 2014 I was introduced to the digital media space by Cameron’s sister Sima, and quickly realized that it would be the next frontier of entertainment. I shifted my focus and immersed myself in the world of digital media managing the careers of some of YouTube’s biggest stars. Cameron and I quickly understood that we could join forces and create a business focused on unleashing the full creative potential of creators and artists.
Cameron: For as long as I can remember I’ve had a passion for business, starting my first business at the age of 8 raking leaves for family and friends. I started my professional career in strategy consulting in media and entertainment. I went to business school at USC and focused my studies on entrepreneurship, learning first-hand from alumni entrepreneurs that starting a business meant seizing opportunity, and being passionate enough about a subject to persevere over the inevitable obstacles. When Nilou and I first founded Currents in 2019, we both saw the opportunity working with the next generation of talent, and have enjoyed every minute of working with some of the most inspiring people in the business. Nilou’s background as a rockstar talent manager and my background as a strategist and businessman has helped us naturally navigate into distinct roles in our business. Together, we are building a leading destination for digital talent, offering our clients a unique mix of strategy, sales, and white-glove management service.
Can you share the most interesting story that has happened to you since you two got married?
Since tying the knot, we’ve managed to build a thriving business without driving each other crazy. What we find particularly interesting is that we’ve naturally found other “power couples” who are as aligned in their careers as we are. We’ve partnered with many of them, and together we make every decision with each other in mind, set shared goals, and assist our clients (many of which are couples themselves) in discovering the harmony needed to work together with their spouse in business & entrepreneurship.
It has been said that our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
Reflecting on our early days in business, we recognize that our biggest mistake was trying to juggle every role within the company. We’ve had to handle operations, strategy, finance, accounting, legal, and more. Being slow to let-go and delegate some of these functions had prevented us from fully leveraging our strengths as talent managers and founders. However, we quickly learned that spreading ourselves too thin makes it impossible to excel at what we’re each respectively best at. We’ve since brought on additional support staff and have outsourced certain roles. This lesson has helped us in continuing to expand our business, and simultaneously improve the service that we offer our clients. Our mission has been to retain the unique level of service that we provide, and to continue to push the envelope on what it means to be a world-class management team with a unique hands-on approach.
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
Over the past decade, we’ve deeply cherished the many relationships that we have cultivated with our clients as well as our partners in the industry. It’s remarkable how small the industry feels, and there’s a distinct language that resonates with those who’ve been part of the space since the inception of certain social media platforms. At our core, we’re a family business, and this allows us to infuse a personal touch into our business relationships. As a result, we’ve forged bonds with clients who have become like friends and family to us. We sometimes attend weddings and travel for momentous events in their lives. We are committed to fostering a culture centered around a personal approach, which we feel distinguishes us from companies solely focused on their bottom line.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
We’re incredibly excited about the array of projects that we are currently working on this year! Over the past 12 months we’ve accomplished quite a bit, including the development and launch of 5 original podcast shows, with multiple ranking in the top podcast charts across multiple genres. We also produced and launched a live podcast show in collaboration with our partners and sponsors.
We are also in the process of launching multiple custom collections and co-branded collaborations with several of our clients. These collaborations span across various industries such as apparel, baby products, jewelry, hard goods, and sunglasses, further expanding our clients’ resumes as entrepreneurs and designers.
Additionally, we have worked alongside our clients in producing a debut short film, which has received acceptance and nominations in the official festival circuit this year. We’ve also worked to successfully secure client TV appearances, facilitating their transition from digital to traditional media.
Our overarching goals remain the same: to continue guiding our clients’ careers by propelling their brands forward with projects that transcend the boundaries of digital branded partnerships. We aspire to redefine and expand on what it means to be a Creator in today’s society.
What advice would you give to other CEOs or founders to help their employees to thrive?
The most impactful advice we’ve received as a founder is that people don’t work for you; rather, you work for them. It’s essential to nurture your employees’ strengths, which involves getting to know them and prioritizing mentorship. By adopting a giving attitude as a leader, you receive more than you could ever imagine. Especially within startup and mid-size companies, it’s important for employees to feel valued and find fulfillment in their work within a culture where they are integral contributors, and this begins with leadership at the top.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
We credit a significant portion of our success to many individuals who have helped us on our journey along the way ranging from family, to mentors, to our clients who have believed in us from the beginning. For Nilou, Petar Mandich, Co-Founder of Addition, was her first boss in the digital realm and she credits much of her management principles, and the art of cultivating an exceptional company culture to Petar. Similarly, Cameron found a mentor in his first boss Dave White, who has always been there to assist with the technical aspects of building and scaling a business from the ground up. We both also attribute a large part of their success to Cameron’s sister Sima Ajdari, a trailblazer in the digital media industry and currently the Head of Legal Affairs at TikTok. She has helped us unfold our path from the very beginning.
Additionally, some of the most important individuals that have contributed to our success have been our early clients, who granted us their faith, trust and genuine partnership from the early days of Currents. We know that Currents Management would not be what it is today without the support of our incredible clients, all of whom continue to be greatest catalyst for our success today.
How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?
We are blessed to be working with so many creators who are spreading a positive message with their platform. Our role is to help unleash the full creative potential of everyone we work with, and by working with amazing people who spread joy, positivity, and awareness to great causes. We have clients who are health advocates spreading awareness to issues such as heart disease and diabetes. Others that we work with are spreading joy through comedy and through mental health awareness. At this stage in our journey, we understand that the greatest positive impact we can have is to help empower to voice of great people through our service as a world class management team.
What are the “5 Things You Need To Thrive As A Couple”? Please share a story or example for each.
Communication: While you may not always agree on everything, the ability to articulate your perspectives and understand each other’s viewpoints is crucial for making joint decisions and resolving conflicts effectively which leads to a trusting partnership.
Trust: Establishing trust in your partner and fostering a sense of safety is essential. Trust develops over time through experiences where you rely on each other. Providing a sense of security and predictability enables you to explore a deeper connection with one another where respect is built.
Respect: Respect is fundamental in any relationship. As you evolve with your partner, they should consistently demonstrate respect both privately and publicly. Respect involves valuing your partner, accepting them for who they are or who they are becoming, and treating them with kindness, empathy, and consideration in all settings which fosters intimacy.
Honesty: Authenticity with your partner enhances your bond and promotes deeper understanding. Honesty lays the groundwork for couples, which is essential for a healthy relationship. When both partners feel comfortable expressing themselves openly, it cultivates a lasting connection, resulting in a happier and healthier relationship with stronger intimacy.
Intimacy: Carving out one on one time for each other fosters closeness and strengthens your bond beyond the physical. Regular date nights, frequent vacations, and prioritizing alone time to “date” each other contributes to not only maintaining a deeper connection, but keeping one.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
Attitude is a choice. Happiness is a choice. Optimism is a choice. Kindness is a choice. Giving is a choice. Respect is a choice. Whatever choice you make makes you. Choose wisely.
-Roy T. Bennett
This quote has always deeply resonated with us because it highlights the importance of perspective in life. It emphasizes that we have the power to choose how we view situations and the ability to focus on the positive aspects. While some may perceive success as mere luck or being in the right place at the right time, we believe that is only a small part of the equation. True success lies in adopting the right mindset and channeling efforts into shaping outcomes according to desires. It’s about taking proactive steps to make things happen the way you envision them to happen.
We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them :-)
Arnold Schwarzenegger is someone who has always inspired the both of us. He is the embodiment of the American dream, a first-generation American turned Bodybuilder, Actor, business man, and Governor. His message to “ be useful” is a simple and effective way of inspiring us all to approach each day with a philosophy of showing up, contributing, and marching forward towards achieving what you can one step at a time. We’d be honored to have the chance to meet him someday.
How can our readers follow your work online?
For more information about Currents Management, feel free to visit our website and check out our social media channels below
Website: https://www.currentsmgmt.com/
Social: https://www.instagram.com/currentsmgmt/
Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational.
We thoroughly enjoyed answering these questions! Thank you once again for the opportunity!
