Dynamic Duos: forming a strong business partnership is ‘similar to dating’
In this week's Dynamic Duos, Amplify's co-founders Alex Reid and Tom Maynard share their story of launching the business, working on numerous projects together, and building a great relationship - describing the process as "similar to dating."
In Dynamic Duos, Mumbrella each week asks two colleagues with a professional and personal affiliation to share with readers the importance of workplace relationships in an increasingly hybridised world of work.
Alex Reid:
Tom and I met in 2016, when he launched the first Amplify Live shows across Australia and New Zealand.
At the time, I managed a number of online creators in Australia, and the industry was just starting to gain momentum. The concept behind the Amplify shows was cool – bringing together well-known Australian creators and US superstars to meet fans in Australia. I was impressed because nothing like this existed in Australia before, and Tom was the one who made it happen.
Our initial interactions took place at the negotiating table, and since I had never negotiated a live appearance fee before, I had no idea what I was doing. However, Tom took me seriously, which gave me confidence that there was a future industry for influencers and creators. For the first time, I was speaking to someone who really understood the value of a creator.
From there, Tom and I worked together on various projects, some amazing, some terrible, before eventually deciding to work from the same office. Tom led productions while I focused on talent management. Working together allowed us to learn more about each other’s businesses and identify the pain points which were plentiful. It was a process similar to dating, as we cautiously approached projects, learned what worked and what didn’t, and eventually formed a strong partnership.
We began with some major projects, including touring the infamous social media influencer Tana Mongeau, who made headlines for her disastrous VidCon-style event. Tom and I travelled with her across the US and found ourselves in some peculiar places, from the backstreets of Chicago to being on the “wrong side of the city” in Houston. It was during our time in New York when Tom met some of my colourful friends for the first time and introduced himself as “my partner,” which led to some confused looks, especially when he mentioned his wife and kids. From that day forward, he started adding the word “business” before referring to himself as my partner.
Along the way, we’ve experienced both successes and setbacks, but our overarching focus has always been on enjoying the journey. Together, we have achieved remarkable goals, such as launching offices across Southeast Asia, expanding our management company to become one of the most respected teams, and establishing partnerships with Spotify, Samsung, TikTok, and Meta.
While our backgrounds, lifestyles, and experiences may differ we are laser focused on a common goal: global domination (starting small ha).
Tom Maynard:
I’m not sure if Alex remembers, but I first met him when we were both working on The X Factor 2010, he was the personification of a talent manager, he was working with Kyle Sandilands and I was running the digital side of the show.
We had a bunch of small interactions over the years, but it was not until about 2016 we started negotiating with each other. I was touring a few creators out in Australia and Alex was managing one of Australia’s biggest ‘influencers’ at the time, Kurt Coleman. Over the next few years we did a bunch of deals together.
I made a few business and financial mis-steps over that period and I was working as a solo business owner. It was a lonely and daunting experience and I decided to wrap up my then business. Then 2020 came, the big C changed everything. Alex and myself had done a few projects together and working with him was always a true joy and being able to share both the ups and downs with someone was a lot more fulfilling.
So at the start of 2020, we created our business with a focus on building the creator-economy across Australia and Asia. We both intrinsically knew that the creator space was not going away and will be the future of media.
Both Alex and myself believed whole-heartedly in this space and it was clear he had a lot of the skills I did not – he’s charming, handsome and intelligent. Having a partner in business has definitely allowed us to scale rapidly, we both intrinsically know when and how to help each other when the going-gets-tough – a problem shared is a problem halved as the saying goes.
During the past few years our relationship has become stronger and stronger. We both keep pushing each other into new areas and territories. Sometimes I feel like we’re both explorers venturing into the unknown and with that so much trust in belief with each other is needed. Alex is a great partner and fearless leader, he’s not afraid to take on any challenge and creates an amazing work culture for the team and business. We both want people to come into the office feeling like they’re making a difference and also happy. We both believe that life is too short to not enjoy work so we try to foster that feeling throughout the entire business.
Alex on Tom:
Most memorable moment with Tom: One of our earliest projects together was organising a music festival for Spotify in Bangkok and Jakarta.
We pulled it off successfully, attracting 10,000 people and hosting world-class acts in some of the largest music venues in each country. On the first day of the festival, we were understandably nervous as so many things can go wrong in a live event, especially on such a grand scale and in unfamiliar territory.
However, by the final show, it was an incredible feeling not only to experience a sense of pride but also to share that feeling with someone else. That was the moment I realised that Tom and I could truly work together. If we could find our way in such a foreign environment, imagine what we could achieve in areas where we both feel comfortable.
Best word to describe him: Reliable.
I know I can count on Tom to show up and deliver, and that reliability builds trust quickly.
Most annoying or endearing behaviour he has: Tom loves coming up with small catch phrases to summarise situations, like “time kills deals”, which I end up stealing.
Tom on Alex:
Most memorable moment with Alex: Myself and Alex were in Anaheim together to attend the infamous Tanacon. It was amazing, a logistical disaster, but seeing the enthusiasm and incredible fandom these digital creators can build is truly amazing to see transformed IRL.
But when we were there we were introduced to a new creator that was just emerging – Emma Chamberlain, I think she was 17 at the time and we managed to sign her on to a tour in Australia by being at the event together. For us human interaction and creating moments together is so powerful in this digital world we both live and work together in.
Best word to describe him: Assured.
No matter what is thrown at Alex, he is always calm and collected. He finds a solution to any problem.
Most annoying or endearing behaviour he has: Alex has an incredible ability to make new friends and connect with people across the world and in any situation. He’s great at putting on an event and making people feel noticed.
The side effect of this is that it has created countless amounts of hard mornings after them.
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Lauren McNamara is a journalist at Mumbrella, covering the creative and PR beat. She joined in November 2022 as editorial assistant, after completing a Bachelor of Communications (Journalism) at UTS.
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