Clorinda Siag

December 1, 2018July 25, 2019

The Trendster Entrepreneur

Clorinda Siag is a fashionista, an influencer and the founder of Trendster, an online platform that connects brands and influencers for ultimate social media impact. In this time and age, anything online sells like hot cakes and Clorinda certainly knows what she’s talking about. Insight met with the young and beautiful entrepreneur who shares with us her secrets of success and tells us where the media and online world is heading…

You co-founded Trendster. Could you talk to us about the online platform, what it’s for and how it all began?

Trendster is an online platform that connects brand and influencers for ultimate social media impact. It allows brands to search for influencers that best suit their brands through in-depth data as well as managing the campaign for A-Z, including post approvals and scheduling. It all began very recent, I was working at Cairo Fashion Festival and was working with influencers on a daily basis. The dreadful task of finding influencers for a brand was extremely difficult. I would have to look through an unfiltered data base or on the other hand search manually through Instagram. I found myself asking why this was such a time-consuming task and why there wasn’t a solution that would help marketers like myself select influencers based on their target audience.

What challenges do you face as an entrepreneur? Does it ever get too stressful?

One of the most challenging obstacles I face while working on Trendster is the fact that sometimes I need to test out features, models and all different aspects of the business without perfecting it beforehand. I learned that the hard way, no matter how perfect something might seem to me at the end the consumer is king. As a perfectionist, or a person who spots out faults at the first glance, I find it very challenging to let this go and finally discover the true meaning of an MVP (minimum viable product). As for the stress, it gets very hectic, long hours are an understatement we call it a 24hour work day. But what really helps is being surrounded by a community of startups and entrepreneurs like me all pushing forward and striving to succeed and make a difference.

How does Trendster help promote emerging content creators?

Trendster’s vision is to provide emerging content creators with opportunities to help them pursue their passion. We strive to empower these influencers to continuously create content that resonates with their audience and connect them with relevant brands. The platform puts them on a stage to showcase their amazing work, be recognized and monetize their work. Instagram has billions of users, it is extremely hard to seek out the perfect influencer, so the platform was done in a way for brands to seek out and identify the best emerging influencers.

So far, what achievement in this field are you most proud of?

We have created multiple campaigns for some of Egypt’s biggest brands and worked with tons of influencers and celebrities. What I am most proud of is the of 500+ influencers who have joined together and started the Trendster Community. Within this community we give our influencers perks and activities to help co create content together and support each other.

What would you say were the keys to your success?

The keys to my success would have to be perseverance, it takes a lot of time and effort to start your own company and take up the risk that comes with it. A lot of people think that it’s all about the skills. And of course, we do need to have skills in order to have a business. But it’s also about the determination to move forward with your business.

How does Trendster help promote emerging content creators?

So far, what achievement in this field are you most proud of?

What would you say were the keys to your success?

The keys to my success would have to be perseverance, it takes a lot of time and effort to start your own company and take up the risk that comes with it. A lot of people think that it›s all about the skills. And of course, we do need to have skills in order to have a business. But it›s also about the determination to move forward with your business. Confidence-building is a significant part of being a successful entrepreneur. Everyone has their own methods. But for me my company has become part of who I am and what I want to achieve. I am a very lucky to have an amazing Co-founder Ali Ezzat who together we were able to kick off Trendster and build up the dream of what I see it becoming in the next couple of years. Finally, I would also like to highlight the importance of continuously learning. Lifelong learning is the foundation of being an entrepreneur. No matter how much I know, I still learn something new every day. I go through blog articles and podcasts. With all the changes that are going on in digital marketing especially, it’s important to continue to refine your craft.

How do you stay motivated?

Work can get very hard sometimes it’s important to not forget your hobbies or what you love to do. The most thing that keeps me running and full of motivation would have to be meeting new people, running and a little Netflix and Chill. I also make it a habit to celebrate small successes. As a team we always have our mind on the end goal but that could be a long road, so we have come up with a method of setting milestones for these big goals with smaller goals and we make it a point to celebrate achieving them. Another key source of my motivation is to surrounding myself with other entrepreneurs that are going through similar obstacles.

What would you like your name to be associated with? / When people hear your name, what would you want to be the first thing to come to mind?

I would like to be an inspirational figure for women in the middle east pursuing their dreams. Whether it is in the entrepreneurial field, creative field or any other field they see fit. Being a woman in the region we need to have inspirational figures to show us that we can achieve what we set our minds too. Sometimes it seems unattainable, believe it I know, but we cannot let that overcome our ambitions.

What’s your golden advice to ultimate success for our readers?

If being an entrepreneur is your calling, you must commit to your business. If you don›t do it 110% and have one foot in the door and the other out, the business might very well fade. What you focus on grows.

If your attention is elsewhere, then so is your business. I think about my business and how I can best improve it from the time I get up to the time I go to sleep (and on the weekends). It›s crucial to mentally commit to your company.