The All-Women Dream Team Agency Celebrates 10 Years in Public Relations

“The Dream Team started as a dream,” Laura Mejia Cruz, co-founder of The Dream Team Agency, told Billboard.

As many startups do, initially it was just Laura and Susan Stipcianos-Gallego who, after working in major corporations like Sony Music Latino, Ocean Drive Magazine, Universal Music and Estefan Enterprises, they decided to branch out and start their own venture: The Dream Team Agency, a boutique Latin public relations agency specializing in television, print, radio and online. The team recently celebrated its 10-year anniversary.

“We were young and excited,” Susan, co-founder, said. “We had this idea and we’re like we have to get to work and we did.”

Laura added, “We didn’t have an office so we worked out of Susan’s house and one day someone said to us, ‘you’re the dream team because you bring the best of both worlds.’ Susan has the corporate experience and I’m more of the creative, the one who daydreams with the agenda.”

The small but mighty team, now composed of eight women, all Latinas, Susan and Laura decided to stay as a boutique agency because, “coming from the corporate world we knew that those elements of being in a corporate weren’t easy. We like to get very specific and have one-on-one time with our clients. Our company has always had the ability to hand pick and enjoy every single project,” Laura said.

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The Dream Team Agency’s longtime partners include musicians like Natalia Jiménez, who has been with them nearly eight years now, Ricardo Arjona, Silvestre Dangond, Gian Marco and Carlos Rivera. Corporate clients include The Miami Marathon and Victoria’s Secret. Furthermore, the agency’s management beauty division handles brands such as CoverGirl, Loreal Paris USA and Estee Lauder in the Hispanic Market.

“We always try to do everything the best way possible, in good light. As Latina women, it’s our time and it’s ok. We’re still together 10 years later and that is already a great accomplishment,” Susan said.

What were some of the challenges you faced in the beginning, specifically as women?

Obviously, one of the challenges in the beginning is that you start small and we were used to work in big companies where everything is stable and have many other people that work with you. And when you branch out by yourself, you have to do it all. The important thing is that we were really hungry to learn and we were really hungry to learn as a duo.

Also, another big challenge was proving how two women were going to deliver the results and bring what the client needs to the table. But us women are very passionate. It’s a very women-oriented agency so the passion replicates. Every time you work with us you get the best of the team because we’re 100% involved in everything. We have a mix of backgrounds that are very strong.

You’ve worked with multiple artists. Give an example of a campaign that you’re particularly proud of?

Every project is different. Natalia Jiménez has been a project of love. As a woman, she’s done it her way. Her management. Her way of negotiating. Staying true to her style. Her México de mi Corazón album was an amazing comeback for Natalia in Mexico. And we’re very proud of the musical campaigns that we’ve done with St. Jude. Musical relationships include Luis Fonsi and most of the times, the first time an artist has engaged with St. Jude was because of us. That’s something that we’re proud of.

In our International Women’s Day feature, you mentioned that the Latin music business “still has a glass ceiling for women” do you see that changing any time soon or what needs to change in order to fully shatter that ceiling?

We’re very proud of all the women that are breaking ceilings. Rebecca León for example what she did with J Balvin and now Ozuna. We’re proud of what she’s accomplished. I think nowadays, women are leading the way for other women and women are empowering others. Look at the Superbowl, two Latina women saying here we are. It’s a process, we’re still very dominated by male components but now women are letting everybody know that they’ve always had the power to bring elements to the table and deliver results.

What advice do you give women who are thinking of starting their own business but maybe haven’t found the resources or motivation to actually do it?

Start small, be driven, know excactly what you want to do and pick and choose what you’re good at. This is part of the learning process. You have to have a clear path, set goals, short and long term and get ready to confront obstacles. Learn through experiences and navigate through this world of “what if”. You have to decide to start one way or the other.

What’s next for The Dream Team?

I would love an American act to say that they want to be in the Latino market and do it the right way. We want that person to give us a chance. They need the right PR team so why not us? But, as of right now, we’re just happy that we still have things happening for us. We will continue to do what we love … that’s our goal every single year.