Shiner Profile: SuperMango Media

By: leora | Published: November 19, 2009 | Filed under: Shiner profiles, Sunshine Suites

• Company name: SuperMango Media
• Founder: Dan Allen
• Founded: January 1st, 2009
• # Employees: 5
• Resident of Sunshine Suites for: 2.5 Months

What is the most useful thing you have learned that has helped you with your business?

Coming to the realization that any business needs to have a solid team behind it, one that’s loyal, passionate and is able to succeed and thrive and run itself. Another defining moment was nailing my logline, in other words, being able to explain my company in one sentence: SuperMango Media is an interactive agency that specializes in branding and helping funny people.

What (Business) challenges have you faced and continue to face and how are you addressing them?

My biggest obstacles are financing and managing the work flow of projects. My fantastic team of graphic artists, graphic designers, photographers and developers are eager to work but we have been busy with pro bono and quid pro quo work that will help us build a solid foundation to land more clients. To motivate them, I’m securing a business loan to hire a manager to organize the workflow and ensure the freelancers get paid in a timely manner.

How has Sunshine Suites helped you and your business?

My business wouldn’t exist without Sunshine. I owe everything to Cheni Yerushalmi, the co-founder of Sunshine Suites. He’s been an incredible friend and mentor. From asking me to host the Boot Up NYC event at Webster Hall, inviting me to Sunshine’s cabin in Vermont, setting me up with work space, attending my monthly show  ¡SACAPUNTAS!, encouraging me to enroll in the  FastTrac New Venture program, setting up my Yammer account, introducing me to Edgar Zavala at the NYC Business Solutions and landing me clients, Cheni and the Sunshine community are major reasons why my company is moving forward. On a personal level, I’ve made fantastic friends at various Sunshine events (ie…The BLEND , BODEGA , etc…).

Where do you hope to be in 6 months and 1 year in terms of growth or position?

In 6 months, we would like have to have a L.A. division. In one year, we want SuperMango Media to have a presence in all the comedy hotspots in the nation (ie…Austin, Minneapolis, Boston, Chicago, Seattle, Miami, Denver and D.C.) and break into the international market as well (ie…Canada, England and Australia). Essentially, we want SuperMango Media to be synonymous with funny people. We also want to unleash SuperMango Labs which will be an open-source resource site for all comedians.

To learn more about Dan Allen and SuperMango Media check out these links:

New York Times:
“Dan Allen, a comedian who is known for knowing everyone in New York’s comedy world.”

SACAPUNTASshow.com
First Wednesday of Every Month @ The Bowery Poetry Club (8PM)