Meet: Alex Auguste CEO/Founder of GoodKnocking Entertainment Group

Tampa, Florida will always be one of my favorite cities. From the close beaches and nightlife, to the educational offerings and community events, you can always find something to do in Tampa.

I may be a little biased in saying Tampa is one of the best cities for young twenty-something’s “life-mapping” because this is the city that granted me my start. Along with today’s featured entrepreneur, I attended the University of South Florida as an undergraduate student.

With the decline of job security many degree-holding individuals are taking leaps of faith to create fulfilling streams of income. This is where Alex Auguste, Founder of GoodKnocking Entertainment Group, fits in. Alex began to share his talent over ten years ago as a college radio host. Today he has a team of nine individuals, is an online contributor, and currently writing a book in addition to expanding his business.

Building a foundation as an entertainment executive takes time and determination. Read Alex Auguste’s motivational story below:

Name: Alex Auguste, CEO/ Founder of GoodKnocking Entertainment Group

Location: Tampa Florida
1) What kind of start-up do you operate? I operate a startup that has pivoted to a media production company that is preparing to launch a series of podcasts, vlogs, online content, and events. We’re a small group, actually just having expanded to a total of about 9 people. Before that, it was only me.

2) Why did you start this business? What inspired you?

I wanted to solve the problem of creating content, but as the projects got bigger and bigger, it really became a matter of representation. Not so much of Black representation, but the sub-culture of young Black professionals both in my city as well as around the country. It appears we’re too old to be relevant, yet too young to be accepted into more tenured spaces. We have crucial conversations that can impact and are impacted by the generations after us as well as before us.

I was inspired by the amount of ground work I was able to make with the brand name long before it developed into an actual business.

3) Do you solely make income from your start-up?

This is my income. It’s my career.

4) What does success mean to you?

I can say that success used to mean that I was the first name brought up, that I had become an authority nationwide in what it is I do. It used to mean being #1 across every survey, poll, and general consensus. That was a very vain definition of success. Success to me is developing a process (or a series of processes) that can be recreated and deliver the same, high-quality, highly sought-after product. It’s not one moment, but its a ripple or a sequence of small wins that continue to happen.

5) What keeps you going?

I’ve wanted to quit so many times. I’ve asked myself, “is this the best that I have?” or “Is this it?” and because I am asking those questions with uncertainty, I know that I am not done. I haven’t seen the finished, final product. I haven’t tried all my variables before I draw a conclusion. Being a start-up and a small business owner, there is a lot of experimentation. Because I know I’m not finished, I keep on going and as I keep on going, I just keep getting better.

6) With so much competition out there how do you remain relevant?

When I host events, I always say that if 5 people come out, I will give 5 people the best night out at an event I could possibly give. It’s about quality. People who feel like they’ll only deliver their service or product in front of 500 – they want to be relevant. They’re missing the point of how you keep people coming back. You deliver as though you’re doing so to an individual, not a collective. It keeps the product on a much different quality.

7) Are there any sacrifices you have made to operate your business?

It’s all a sacrifice. Entrepreneurs can have what would be given to them – 401K, Paid Vacations, Health Benefits, Endless Resources, a fixed schedule – but the choice is to have a vision of your own that you want to create on your own. All of that, even a normal social life, is sacrificed.

To contact Alex Auguste- Click Here