“Non-exclusive / self-represented speakers are my people. I preserve what you love about being independent & remove complexity, overhead, and naivete.”
Blake Mycoskie, Founder, TOMS
Someone hands Blake their business card and says “I’d love to have you speak at my event.”
“Sounds great. My in-house speaker’s agent, Amy, will reach out.”
Moments later, Blake sends me a quick text with a photo of the card and a voice note:
“John has been an engaged follower of the TOMS journey since Day 1 – would love to do this if the dates/budget allow.”
“Thanks! Will reach out ASAP.”
I add John to the event host inquiry list I’m building for Blake. I look John up on LinkedIn and Instagram. I visit John’s site. I create a custom email outreach thanking him for thinking of Blake and letting him know something personal I’ve observed about him and his company from his social media presence, thanking him for being an engaged supporter of TOMS since the beginning. I ask him about the date of his event and offer to speak to him about what he’s trying to achieve with the event and how Blake might fit into that mix. I include a link so he can self-schedule a 10-15 min Hello at his convenience, and indicate I’m happy to provide details via email if he’d prefer. All this happens within 1 business day of receiving this inquiry.
John is impressed. Blake is delighted. Both parties feel seen, supported, and in good hands.
Deep exhale.
I’ve also recently sent out an email update to my 538 individual contacts – agents I’ve cultivated relationships with over the years, through all my private speaker’s agent work for VIP’s. I announced Blake’s new keynote and upcoming initiative, along with his pricing and commission offer to this network. I’m respected by my counterparts in the industry and my outreach encourages them to add Blake’s profile on their site and keep it updated. They think of Blake when there’s a prospective event that could be a match. They send inquiries and offers which I explore for Blake. Agents who reach out become part of Blake’s own bureau and agency list.
I work directly for Blake, freelance, handling his inquiries from all sources – my role is to optimize his non-exclusivity as a speaker and encourage offers from around the globe.
Without adding overhead, without creating complexity, without having to add this specialized work to the plate of his busy Chief of Staff.
Amy Gray, Founder, New Leaf & husband, Alf Wilson
My clients are highly-visible VIPs, just like you:
Apple Co-Founder, Woz
Referred by his friend Kevin Mitnick. I launched and ran his paid speaking career 2006-2020.
World’s Most Famous Hacker, Kevin Mitnick
Became his personal speaker’s agent after he left representation at a top 3 talent agency in the USA. I launched and ran his speaking business 2001-2012, and we remained close friends and colleagues until his passing in 2023.
TOMS Founder, Blake Mycoskie
Became his personal speaker’s agent in 2018 – to present
5x TED Main Stage presenter, actor, model, & athlete, Aimee Mullins
Became her personal speaker’s agent in 2010 after she left one of the largest bureaus in the USA – to present.
Wharton’s AI for Business expert, Kartik Hosanagar
Referred by Adam Grant, best-selling author and Wharton’s Youngest Tenured Professor. I became Kartik’s personal speaker’s agent in 2020 – to present.
James Beard Outstanding Restaurateur 2019, Kevin Boehm
Referred by Will Guidara, best-selling author, Unreasonable Hospitality. I became Kevin’s personal speaker’s agent in June 2025 to present.
Have you reached the point where my expert self-representation could offer tremendous value? Check out the milestones below. If so, let’s confidentially connect.
When My Services Become a Gamechanger
Speed Pass
- 50k+ followers on Instagram OR LinkedIn – with focused content that strongly appeals to a business audience.
- 250k+ followers on any other social media platform – with focused content that strongly appeals to a business audience.
- A non-fiction book via a reputable, traditional publisher (not self-published) being released in the US in the next 12 months: Title and cover must clearly signal a bottom-line benefit to a corporate audience.
- You are / were a Founder, CXO, or VP at a for-profit venture that is widely known and respected in the United States – and you are planning to retire soon or have done so in the last 12 months and want to foray into paid speaking.
Confidential Conversation
If you fit the requirements, or are within shouting distance, please set up an exploratory conversation by clicking HERE.
We can have a fully confidential, ZERO pressure, intro conversation to learn more about one another.
Amy Gray, Founder, New Leaf
You choose independence. I make it easy.
With an in-house speaking business run by your own private speaker’s agent you gain:
- Lower commissions.
- Transparency on all contracts, financials, inquiries, and offers. You are the contract signatory and all payments flow directly to you.
- Relationships with direct-booking hosts, plus all bureaus and agencies around the globe.
- An easy way to cross-sell your products and services. Bundle in bulk book purchases. Grow your followership, mailing list and email list.
- A loyal member of your in-house team – someone who works for you, not an outside employer, and knows your priorities. I treat your inquiries with kid gloves which makes them feel great about YOU.
- Control over your positioning in the market and how your value is conveyed.
- Confidentiality around sensitive information: Inquiry volume, confirmed bookings, and overall availability. This privacy offers vital leverage in negotiations. Only your trusted internal team knows your bottom line.
Me and Woz on the steps at MIT after iWoz came out
How I remove the negatives of self-representation
Eliminate the downsides:
- Inquiry response can be overwhelming and result in a transactional / automated form / robotic reply style that kills high fee offers.
A high visibility speaker will attract hundreds, sometimes thousands, of inquiries each year that don’t result in an attractive offer. They come in via text, phone, email, webform, LinkedIn, Instagram, and more — it can be very overwhelming for those who don’t do this as their full-time job. For speakers at $25,000+ per speech, typically just 5-15% of inquiries evolve into a solid firm offer. That means lots of hustle, in a myriad of directions, with a marathon mindset. I specialize in that mindset.
BOTTOM LINE: I have a bespoke, hospitality mindset. Inquiry response is hospitality embedded in emails and phone calls between me and those who ask about you. I ‘open the door’ to greet your visitors. Not all will come inside and become ‘house guests,’ but each will have a strongly positive impression of you and the person who responds on your behalf. - Your staff is already busy.
If you have a staff member juggling this work on top of an already full plate, it won’t get the depth of attention it requires to flourish.
BOTTOM LINE: This work is my top priority. - Overhead and management drain time and money you could focus on other priorities.
If your current staff is paid salary, hourly, or via retainer, to handle this for you, you have overhead costs and management responsibilities. In addition, there is no crucial motivation for them to secure the highest fee possible for your services or encourage more offers from the bureau and agency network. Having ‘skin in the game’ creates energy and motivation to deliver the best financial offer possible vs. a good enough offer.
BOTTOM LINE: My work is a turn-key, low-risk profit center for you. I am autonomous, highly motivated and play very well in the sand box with those already on your team. - The needed skillset is RARE.
Hiring staff with proven paid speaking expertise is difficult: You need someone who has handled the speaking work – from inquiry to offer to delighted client – over hundreds of bookings and many years for elite level speakers at high fees. This combination is rare – and most work directly for a top speaker bureau or talent agency. They are tied to non-solicitation / non-compete clauses that typically last a year – which is a long time for them to be not working for YOU. An experienced, savvy agent from a top bureau or talent agency earns $200,000 – $300,000+ in commissions each year, so unless you can compensate at that level, you’ll likely need to train your own in-house agent.
BOTTOM LINE: You don’t need to search for your needle in a haystack – and you don’t have to offer guaranteed earnings. I take the risk with you, plus I’m already fully experienced – after ten years as a keynote buyer and 24 years as an elite in-house agent. - Speaking industry ‘insider’ knowledge is even more rare.
Your in-house team must possess expertise in negotiations, what speaking topics attract the best buyers, keynote pricing, commission protocol, best practices for contracts, cancellation policies, payment terms, what booking entities are reputable vs. known ‘sharks,’ best practices for speaking calendar management, nurturing relationships with hosts and agents worldwide, and so much more.
BOTTOM LINE: I already have streamlined systems, effective templates, deep industry knowledge, and a personal email list of more than 500 speaking agents worldwide. - Scope creep is challenging for the uninitiated.
As you approach an event, additional requests and hidden activities crop up. It requires active vigilance and a combination of tact, boundaries, and nuanced communication to handle these items. If your staff is too rigid – you’ll develop a negative reputation. If your staff is too permissive – you’ll run yourself into the ground with extra commitments. Knowing the right balance is crucial.
BOTTOM LINE: I operate in a calm, capable, and kind manner that makes you look great – while boosting earnings (sometimes those extras can be packed as a premium upgrade!) and protecting your time.
WHAT I DO
I’m the leading expert in self-representation/non-exclusivity and I join your team as a fractional member, to run & optimize your speaking business.
Who LEANS ON ME
Highly visible VIP’s who prize non-exclusivity and independence but also want the protection and savvy of a professional agent who works for them.
Who respects me
All reputable event hosts, speaker bureaus, and talent agencies. I am fair, kind, and operate with integrity always. I’ve done thousands of deals on behalf of my clients and welcome opportunities from everyone who operates with the same principles.