Concordia graduates build 5 Pound Media, a company specializing in media production
Two friends turned their passion for photography, videos and hip-hop into a successful business. Meet Glen Carter and Ryley Mahoney, the founders of 5 Pound Media. They both recently graduated from Concordia—Carter in finance and Mahoney in communication studies.
In April of 2012, as full-time students, they decided to take on creative projects together for their own pleasure. That’s when they first launched 5 Pound Media.
“Music videos were our jump-off point,” said Carter. One of the first videos they shot was for rapper Ceasrock, said Mahoney. From there, they started working on projects that sparked their creative and entrepreneurial spirit which in return, lead them on to bigger contracts.
“Our work is all about collaboration, we do a little bit of everything together. Ryley specializes in production, shooting and editing while I handle more of the administrative side such as setting up shoots and budgeting,” said Carter.
Only a year after their launch, they got in touch with hip-hop artist Mick Jenkins. “Mick was a cool milestone for us. We got in touch with him through his manager who lived in Montreal. We understood Mick’s unique talent and knew that we had to work with him,” said Carter. “At the time his music was still very underground.”
Their first shoot with Mick was in winter 2013 in New York City. During fall of that year, Mick came to Montreal and the pair shot the video for the song “Martyrs” said Carter.
This was Mick Jenkins first viral exposure and it got over 2 million views. The video also appeared on World Star Hip Hop. The success of this project lead them to more collaborations with local artists such as The Posterz, Wasiu and The Narcicyst.
The artistic expertise of 5 Pound Media, combined with their humanistic approach brought them into the commercial business as well. “A lot of the styles we use in our music videos can easily transfer to our commercial work which is based on high-quality, specific style and aesthetic,” said Carter.
They recently collaborated with HRVST, a web design company, and created media content for “My Pop Shoes” brand. “Our work is all about the way we collaborate. We want to make sure that [clients] get exactly what they want from it. The “My Pop Shoes” project was taken care of as if it were our own business,” said Mahoney. “That’s why we enjoy working with young entrepreneurs because they have a lot of ideas and they just need help executing them.”
As their company has grown, Carter and Mahoney reached a milestone—the part-time company they started for fun now became their full-time occupation. “Being a full-time entrepreneur is easier to do today than tomorrow. Most students don’t have as much financial responsibility as someone older would have. If you’re young and do something that you love, it makes it a whole lot easier. Just make sure you have good hustle,” said Carter.
Asking for entrepreneurial advice, they gave their perspective: “If you are the smartest person in the room, then you are in the wrong room. You should always be progressing and learning,” said Carter. Mahoney adds that confidence is key. “The more confident you are, the more people take you seriously.”
From video production to creative marketing concepts, it’s fair to say that 5 Pound Media is here to make creative dreams come true. When asked what success means to them, their answer was simple: “It means that we’ll be doing what we love for a full-time and a long time.”
5 Pound Media will soon organize various events and workshops. For further information, visit www.5poundmedia.com.