We had the wonderful opportunity to chat with Marvin about his YouTube series. Check out the interview below.
Hi, Marvin! You produce a YouTube show called The Come Up hosted by Marcel Salapa. Tell us more.
Hello! Of course. The Come Up is a bi-monthly entrepreneur interview series on YouTube that profiles young founders and entrepreneurs younger than the age of 25 who have built or run thriving businesses.
The goal of the show is not to shine a light on the age of the entrepreneur per say but to refreshing discover tactics and business acumen employed by these entrepreneurs to keep their businesses afloat in comparison to the older companies and organizations.
As a producer, the first step is to search for potential guests. This involves lots of research on their company, reviews, press and personal social media where I get to know the age of the guest. Of course, it has happened many times where I think I have found a great guest and on their social media, I see them cutting their 33rd birthday cake. haha.
What should the audience expect to see?
Marcel Salapa is the 22-year-old host and creator of The Come Up. A very passionate guy when it comes to startups and entrepreneurship and that really comes out with the way he carries the interviews.
Our interviews are very casual and fun. Just a couple of kids talking about business. We choose to shoot the interviews in the offices or creative spaces of the entrepreneurs. We see how they interact with their employees, how they have designed their spaces and really how they handle a typical day at work for sometimes, an 18-year-old.
Why did you decide to use YouTube as your platform?
There is a vast array of content on YouTube and our show falls under the second most common and lucrative section which is vlogging. There are lots of people that want to share their stories on the platform and there is always someone ready to watch.
We at The Come Up believe that since YouTube has somewhat replaced the classroom textbook in an age where only a few people read because they are looking to an entertaining way to learn, we have decided to make use of this platform to inform and enlighten in an entertaining way on a platform where one can reach over billions of people.
As a YouTube creator, have you experienced challenges in creating the series. If yes, how did you overcome them?
A challenge I have faced as a youtube creator is the pacing to retain the interest of the viewers. We are competing against hamsters that play pianos and get millions of views and so I need to make sure I keep producing content and stay relevant on the space.
We do have faithful viewers that look forward to our episodes and write to us recommending potential guests. When that happens, it’s always a good feeling.
What inspired you to produce The Come Up?
One of my favorite shows on TV is Dragon’s Den (UK Version). I am a religious follower of that show. I have always loved listening to business pitches and I always take note. The episodes that always stood out to me were the ones that had young entrepreneurs with bright ideas. After watching an episode, I would research the companies to see what has become of them since taping and these businesses still thrive. That I would say was the first hint that I should make something or be part of something that had to do with entrepreneurship using my filmmaking degree.
When I was brought on by Marcel to be a producer for the show, it felt right. And that feeling gets reinstated every time I heard the stories of these entrepreneurs while filming an episode.
What do you love most about the series?
The Come Up simply puts me in contact with bright minds I never thought I will come across. It is amazing how much knowledge these entrepreneurs possess.
We have had Tesloop founder, Haydn Sonnad who started his company at the age of 16. We have also had Mike Kim, Co-founder of the Korean chili sauce Kpop which is doing great in the market right now.
Right now, in the world, when you go applying for a job, recruiters or employers often seek years of experience to be convinced that you can do a job. Sometimes the years of experience they seek are more than the number of years you have been alive but then, deep down you know you can do the job. That is what The Come Up is trying to pass across when we bring on guests. If a 16-year-old can build up a million dollar company, then there shouldn’t be the roadblock of ‘Years of Experience’ at any company when it comes to recruiting. I love that I am a part of a show that is enlightening the world on this.
What are your plans for the series?
We always want to discover more guests and also inspire young people to follow their passion and open up companies and maybe one day, we will be visiting their office. That will be the ultimate reward.
We are looking at partnering with Start-Up organizations in a few months so as to have a wider reach when it comes to audience and a secondary pool of potential guests.
We also want to have a large footprint on YouTube for sure.
Thus far, what has been the best experience working in the industry?
I come from the film world and so before producing The Come Up, I directed films and worked on numerous films as a First Assistant Director. My last film was nominated for Best Narrative Short at a film festival.
I also produced a Comic Web Series called ‘Crime Cleaners’ which we are currently shopping around. It is really cool.
Every day in filmmaking makes up my best experience because I see this as a vacation. People take vacations, and come in from all over the world to Hollywood and take these studio tours to get a glimpse of what filmmaking is like. I, on the other hand, am a part of the crazy world with crazy locations, makeup, explosions, big lights and bigger egos. It isn’t an everyday experience to a third of the world so I feel lucky to be a part of an industry I am absolutely in love with. The good, and the bad.
Do you have any upcoming projects that we haven’t mentioned?
At the moment, we have a number of entrepreneurs lined up for future episodes. We have a guest who has built a fashion house that only uses sustainable materials. We have a guy who has made a name for himself in the upholstery business. We have a girl who was featured in Forbes magazine under 25 top photographers. Really awesome stuff coming.
Complete this sentence, if I had an opportunity to do anything I want, I would do ___________?
Hmm…I would give Helena Bonham Carter an Oscar. Haha. She deserves one already.
But on a serious note, I want to create more content that inspires people. I love documentaries and so I will love to explore that world. The Come Up has given me a little taste to what it is like meeting real people and hearing their stories and so I will love to create more shows to give voice to more people because there is so much to learn and there are billions of people to learn from.
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