College can be overwhelming with classes and extracurricular activities, but Kelsey Davis believes managing her own business is as important as pursuing her college degree.

Davis, a sophomore television, radio and film major, runs CLLCTVE, a media agency that creates content for brands nationwide.

“I didn’t think I should be jeopardizing my monetary gain in order to benefit my academic one,” said Davis. “I felt like there was a way to do both — I just couldn’t do it by myself. That was when CLLCTVE came into play.”

The Atlanta native first came up with the idea of creating the agency in the spring of her freshman year with two friends, Kenny Buckner and Cole Smith.

Davis had started off creating content independently, but eventually had to form a team when her academic schedule got too hectic.

“I didn’t value my work because I’d just edit it and post it,” Davis said. “But then I realized that people were hitting me up all the time and it was one of those points where the demand was higher than the supply.”

With increasing demand for her work, Davis decided to increase the price of her work, and now rarely ever works for free. The CLLCTVE team consists of five college students.

“Our goal as an agency is to produce premiere, professional and quality content without brands having to pay premier prices,” Davis said. “Though our team consists of college students, what makes our agency different is that we strategize as well as produce all of our content.”

CLLCTVE has worked with Coca-Cola, Sky Zone Trampoline Park, the YMCA and several other brands. Many of the agency’s clients come largely from the team’s former internships, jobs and connections in general.

CLLCTVE’s services include branding and strategy, photography and videography, and graphic design and animation.

Davis credited her strong support system for helping her manage work and school,.

“I’m very ambitious and if given an opportunity, I go for it,” Davis said. “Honestly, it’s my friends, team and mentors that stop me from doing too much — they balance me.”

Davis’s favorite project so far was covering Raurfest, a show put on by Atlanta singer/rapper Raury and sponsored by Coca-Cola. His team needed someone to shoot the show and when Davis received the call, she couldn’t say yes fast enough.

“This whole process has humbled me so much and has given me so much appreciation for my team, mentors and professors,” Davis said. “As cliche as it sounds, the sky really is the limit.”

Published on October 18, 2016 at 9:02 pm

Contact Saniya: ssmore@syr.edu