DARA AVENIUS
Founder, Fascinate Media
″I´ve been working the room since I was two years old,″ states Dara Avenius, founder of the PR firm Fascinate Media. A professional ″connector,″ Avenius represents prominent clients in entertainment, fashion and related businesses, and broadcasts their messages to major media outlets. Her first big break came in 2010, when a young woman went missing in New York City. Avenius employed social media to publicize the case and her campaign quickly went viral, nabbing attention from the New York Daily News, New York Post and CNN in a single weekend. ″When I was able to join the search on the ground, people would say to us, ´I heard about her.´ I saw the impact of my work and was hooked [and the woman was found safe],″ she says. Avenius points to her time volunteering at the TriBeCa Film Festival and other events as inspiration for her PR work, which she characterizes as helping others succeed. ″If you get the chance to volunteer your time for something, do it. So many people think it´s not worth it, but you can build experience or meet people who can help you with your career that way.″ Yes, entrepreneurship is difficult, but Avenius says, ″the joy that comes from a client taking a chance on you and your abilities is really tremendous.″
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