We’ve all seen one too many episodes of Entourage or Selling Sunset to not recognize that part of Los Angeles’ luxury and glamor is the “need to know ” iconic events that anyone who’s anybody gets an RSVP for. In a city meant to be immortalized, there’s a knee-jerk need to post a glossy photo booth picture, take a sweeping video of a Hollywood Hills view, or order too many rounds of an event’s personalized cocktail before calling your Über and doing it all over again next week.
The big question on everyone’s mind remains, how did we get here? As much as attendees may think otherwise, these events don’t plan themselves — there’s usually someone on the other side reeling in requests for a life-sized ice sculpture in the middle of a summer heatwave or ordering those monogrammed napkins you just can’t get enough of.
WTB Agency is one of the exclusive teams behind these unforgettable moments, and at the helm is the company’s Co-Founder and Creative Director, Akansha Mirchandani. We got the opportunity to chat with her about the event management business, what makes WTB so special, and everything else you’d love to know about the industry of entertaining the entertainment industry.
First off, congratulations on a wonderful year! WTB has been doing some incredible things.
Akansha Mirchandani: Thank you! We’ve been so lucky to create such a wonderful business out here. A lot of people don’t know that we officially launched at Los Angeles Fashion Week in 2022, so we’re definitely doing a lot of incredible work very early on as a company.
Amazing, so all of this growth in just one year.
AM: Well, I wouldn’t say it all started a year ago. It’s definitely been a learning process basically since I left Mumbai to study in LA after high school. So there’s been a lot of growth for me personally since that moment and also with the idea for this company basically since then as well. It was always a dream of mine to work in the event space and I really wanted to revolutionize how experiential events and marketing can be, but I can’t say it happened overnight. We all really put so much work and effort into making WTB what it is today.
Speaking of that timeline, how did you come up with the WTB Agency? What was that process like?
AM: So I had been working with Aliana Rubins at her company Aliana Events since 2018. I started off freelancing for her and realized I was incredibly passionate about the work she and her business partner Art Osa were doing. The more I got involved the more I realized that we would all work so perfectly together and I started thinking of a way to expand this business into something that I could really put my own creative spin on. I approached them both with a proposal to join forces and WTB Agency was the brainchild of that idea.
And the rest is history.
AM: It feels like it, for sure. Since our Los Angeles Fashion Week debut, we’ve put on events for so many wonderful people and companies like REM Beauty, Sephora, Revolve, Pretty Little Thing, BIA, Selena Gomez, and J Balvin just to name a few. It’s been an enormous amount of growth and learning, and we keep on expanding into other verticals which is really exciting as well.
Those are definitely some big names. It feels like you guys have tapped into the elite event scene in Los Angeles. Is it one of those things, where “when you’re in, you’re in” or how does the referral process even work?
AM: I think it’s really a testament to our work, if anything. These kinds of experiences are so visual and tactile that people notice when they’re produced well and thought out. So I feel like our team gets these big opportunities because our clients are happy with what we do, and the people that attend these events notice the quality of what we do as well. So we’ll get these organic client referrals and that just reaffirms everything for me.
That’s so great to hear. Could you give us a little inside look into what goes into making all of these events that get the WTB stamp of approval?
AM: So we’re not just event organizers. We’re partners throughout the entire event process. We do creative design, brand strategy and immersion, and event production. So from the minute that we chat for the first time about an idea you can expect a very hands-on approach that’s really made to benefit the client in all aspects. Yes, we’ll put together the event, source furniture, a venue, and all of that which entails traditional event planning, but we also really work with you to bring another level to these experiences. We’re looking to manifest a story through our work. Your story. And that takes a lot of different faces depending on what the client wants, but it’s always such a wonderful feeling when they’re happy with the final product.
You mentioned expanding. Are there big moves coming up for WTB Agency that you can tell us about?
AM: Yes! We’re looking to launch our digital department here in the near future and looking to start an in-house sponsorship division as well. There is so much within our agency that I’m very excited to share here in the near future.
How can people keep up with WTB Agency’s work?
AM: Check out our instagram @wtbagency for a look at what we’re doing in real time!
