My favorite quote is: “The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about.” – Oscar Wilde My dream dinner guest would be: Oscar Wilde
Ryan Mulcock
Facilitating authentic connections in the influencer marketing space
AN EAGERNESS TO EVOLVE. Ryan Mulcock is an eternal optimist. This mentality has allowed Ryan to successfully shapeshift his company as the demands of its customers change. However, timing hasn't always been Ryan's strong suit. His startup journey began when he moved from his native New Zealand to New York in 2009, during the global financial crisis. Having studied business and media and cutting his teeth working on TV shows such as Dancing With The Stars, he hoped to find work in the entertainment space, but opportunities for new starters in New York were few and far between.
"I found myself working as a waiter for a catering company and interning at many different places, from Nylon magazine to wonderful nonprofits.”
Like most entrepreneurs, Ryan's startup journey hasn't been without difficulties. Throughout his personal life and entrepreneurial career, he has faced up to significant challenges that, at worst, he considers minor bumps in the road and, at best, opportunities for him to grow. As a child, he learned a valuable lesson to not sweat the small stuff. At 14, Ryan was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma at the same time his mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. "I had a great family environment, but this was really challenging for everyone involved. My solution was to bring an air of positivity to the space and make light of a situation that was actually pretty dire."
UNEARTHING THE OPPORTUNITY. While working at Lionsgate Entertainment and working with some of the major U.S. film festivals, the idea for Outfit was sparked. "I had to find unique characters to bring those events to life, which proved far more difficult than it should have been. It's people who make the party. In fact, that was our tagline when we launched Outfit.”
In 2018, Ryan founded Outfit, a marketplace that connects brands with influential voices for marketing amplification of their activations. When the onset of COVID in 2020 threatened to derail the business, Ryan and his co-founder, Tobias Lindvall, accelerated the evolution of the company and launched a new, purely digital arm called Outfit Live, connecting brands with micro-influencers for events online. Their agile approach saw them launch in September of that same year and go on to work with top brands ranging from Nestle to HBO.
After working directly with marketers and seeing the inner workings of the influencer and creator world, Ryan launched CreatorCart, a social commerce tool that enables influencers to sell authentically through SMS marketing to their audience. Ryan likens the platform to "Avon 2.0", allowing people to showcase the products they love and transact on them in their circles of influence. Ryan saw a growing need in the industry and was ready to provide a solution. But growing a company is not easy.
Ryan's perseverance and optimism have taken him to work with some of the biggest retail brands in the world. His journey represents an ability to go beyond the status quo and pursue his passion despite the rapidly evolving changes in the influencer marketing world. "If something looks like a rough road or a challenge, it actually excites me more,” said Mulcock. “I often like hearing 'no' because it motivates me to push through, find a way to make it work, and negotiate it to a place where we can be successful. There's an unwillingness in me to fold."
Ryan has always been a risk taker and, for as long as he can remember, was aware he wouldn't follow the traditional career path tracks. "I've always felt like there is a cap to success when you're locked into a roller coaster on someone else's ticket. I'd much rather ride my own roller coaster and be responsible for my own success and reap the benefits. And that's very much what I'm doing."
