Could Your #AvoOnToast Get You Headhunted?

Quite possibly. But you’ll have to catch the eye of a new breed of talent scout first. Here’s how…

- Clare Thorp

Kate Moss being spotted at the airport. Usher stumbling upon Justin Bieber on YouTube and making him a star. EL James becoming a millionaire from online fan fiction. This sort of thing doesn’t happen to real people, right? Wrong. The internet has become the new hunting ground for talent agents looking for the next big thing.

And they’re not just searching for another Zoella. Instead, they’re looking for authors, documentary-makers – even wood whittlers. Yes, really. Want to catch their eye? We found out how to do just that…

The influencer manager

LOOKING FOR: More than just a curated feed. “We say we represent talent rather than influencers,” says Lucy Loveridge, head of UK talent at Gleam Futures, who manage the likes of Tanya Burr, Pixiwoo and Jim Chapman. “In my mind, an influencer creates content and does brand deals, whereas with talent, you can publish books, do live events, presenting and hosting, and develop products.”

LIKE: UnJaded Jade. She had 3,000 YouTube subscribers when she was first spotted by Danny Lowney, managing director at influencer talent agency Sixteenth. Now she has almost 277,000. “[Jade] was making videos about studying and revision. It was against the grain of what you expect from a 17-year-old YouTuber, and that impressed me,” he says. “We’ve got some accounts on our radar who have 15,000 followers, and some who have millions, but we’re looking for people we can develop and grow.”