Similar to a famous entertainer, the road to becoming a successful entrepreneur is paved with endless potholes, expensive investments, hard work, reoccurring uncertainties, tears, sleepless nights and coffee-aided, zombie-esque days.
However, the worst shared experience between entertainers and entrepreneurs is the attachment of human leeches to burgeoning careers, startup businesses, public notoriety and/or professional accomplishments. In the entertainment industry, these individuals are called “groupies,” and in the business world, they are called “hangers-on,” “sponges” and “dead weight.”
Groupies can come in the form of men and women who either want to use the artist’s fame to promote their own endeavors and/or careers, or to gain perks such as comped trips, attention, bragging rights, invitations to high-profile events and social status. Furthermore, groupies tend to lack dreams and goals of their own, and are often simply looking for a “free-ride” to the top of the financial ladder.
Sponges often appear in the form of individuals who haven’t achieved professional success on their own, and seek to use another’s platform to launch ulterior endeavors – without helping to advance the goals of the entrepreneur from whom they’re sponging. Most sponges largely misrepresent themselves, exaggerating skills they do not possess and typically pose more of a liability than an asset.
Not to be confused with individuals who wish to be mentored or collaborators who aspire to one day pursue their own passions, leeches are uninterested in helping to build the entrepreneur’s brand and/or contribute to their overall success while acquiring said skills and experience. For them, it’s a one-way street of “taking” and never giving back.
Every entertainer and entrepreneur will encounter at least one groupie or sponge along the pathway to success. While most are easy to spot, others can only
From Los Angeles:
One Thing Entertainers and Entrepreneurs Have in Common
3 Ways You Can Protect Yourself from “Leeches”
By Brittany “Bella” Graham