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The time period “entrepreneur” typically refers to anybody who begins an organization. Nevertheless it finest applies to those that construct companies which might be tough to neatly outline. Bettie Levy matches squarely into the latter class.
A music trade veteran and the founding father of BCL Entertainment, Levy wears many hats, from occasion producer to model strategist to CEO. Her work spans company occasions that includes A-list expertise to high-level model partnerships between main firms and cultural icons.
Briefly, she’s a celeb matchmaker — simply not for courting. If a model desires Ludacris in a JIF marketing campaign, Busta Rhymes at a launch get together or New Youngsters On The Block at a personal get together, Levy is your girl. Now, she’s able to share her story in hopes of inspiring others to carve their very own unconventional paths.
A proud Boston College alum, Levy all the time believed she would someday begin her personal firm. However like most faculty college students, she didn’t have each element found out. What she did know was that she beloved music and reside occasions.
That keenness led her to pursue an internship at Sony Music throughout faculty, which helped crystallize her path.
“It introduced all my pursuits collectively,” Levy says. “And it was essential to have that company expertise.”
Levy continued to construct her résumé throughout the music trade, beginning her profession at Columbia Information after graduating from faculty, adopted by Epic Information. When Sony Music CEO Don lenner left the corporate to launch IMO Leisure, Levy was requested to hitch.
“I went from the large constructing at 550 Madison to a loft within the Village,” she remembers. “I used to be now studying concerning the startup world.”
At IMO, Levy was tasked with producing new enterprise for the corporate.
“It gave me the liberty to strive new issues,” she says. That freedom translated into relentless chilly calls and emails in the hunt for the subsequent partnership. “I used to be reaching out to firms I assumed could be nice to work with on this new manufacturing and label house,” Levy explains. The method bolstered a lesson that may form her profession: something is feasible with persistence — and robust communication.
The timing mattered. Levy was arising because the voicemail light, and e-mail and textual content grew to become the dominant modes of enterprise communication. Clearly and convincingly conveying her point in writing grew to become one of the crucial vital abilities behind her success.
Picture Credit score: BCL Leisure
Constructing a basis
After working at each a longtime company and a fast-growing startup, Levy had the instruments to pursue her longtime purpose of beginning her personal enterprise. However she was deliberate concerning the course of.
“I didn’t need to begin an organization and instantly ship out e-mail blasts selling myself and my enterprise,” she says. “I needed to construct relationships and develop the consumer base from the bottom up. I knew in my intestine that ultimately I’d develop to the purpose the place I’d be prepared to speak about it, however I had a number of work to do first.”
From the start, Levy knew authenticity and a private contact could be the inspiration of her firm.
“I bear in mind somebody asking me, ‘The place’s your 50-person employees and your workplace on Madison?’” she remembers. “Sixteen years later, that’s nonetheless not the vibe.”
In the present day, BCLE operates throughout practically each nook of the leisure trade, working with actors, artists, athletes, and everybody in between.
“We take a really hands-on strategy to discovering the appropriate expertise for what the consumer is in search of,” Levy explains. “Whether or not it’s an occasion or a partnership, the method is similar.”
Due to her time at Sony, and IMO, Levy entered entrepreneurship with preexisting celeb relationships — however BCLE was removed from an in a single day success.
“We began with smaller initiatives, constructed on current relationships, and grew from there,” she says. “It’s not like we had been reserving huge acts for astronomical charges on day one.”
Delivering at scale
In the present day, BCLE operates on two main fronts: partnerships and occasions. On the partnership aspect, Levy has helped to architect offers similar to musician Darius Rucker’s multi-league attire line with Fanatics.
“The road began as a collaboration between Darius, Fanatics, and the NFL throughout all 32 groups,” Levy says. “Through the years, it has expanded from the NFL to all 30 MLB groups and into the NCAA. We simply launched NHL in Fall 2025, and we are going to continue to grow. Anticipate extra thrilling information in 2026.”
That aspect of the enterprise is rooted in relationship-building and a deep understanding of the transient. Occasions, although centered on an identical purpose, include a completely completely different set of calls for.
“It’s every part from venue procurement to logistics, set manufacturing, and décor,” Levy explains. “It’s a must to take into consideration the message you’re making an attempt to convey. If it’s a fundraising occasion, for instance, how do you encourage folks to donate?”
For Levy, success in occasions comes all the way down to teamwork and an obsession with element.
“You may’t depart something out,” she says. “One missed ingredient can create a catastrophic domino impact.” Behind each meticulously designed gala, branded shoot, or charity initiative is a grind most individuals by no means see. “There’s this notion that it’s one massive get together,” she provides. “That notion is as a result of I completely love what I do and have constructed. The truth is I’m answering my cellphone at three or 4 within the morning and possibly sleeping an hour or two.”
Levy’s affect stretches far past the occasions she produces. She’s deeply concerned in causes that matter to her, partnering with organizations similar to Room to Learn, the Dolphins Most cancers Problem, and the Tempo Girls’s Justice Heart.
“At my core, I really like making folks pleased,” she says. Whether or not she’s turning round a mission with barely any lead time or shepherding a months-long manufacturing from first brainstorm to curtain name, the work is pushed by one fixed: the enjoyment it delivers. “I really like being on web site and watching all of it come collectively — seeing the happiness it brings,” she says.
Company, non-public, or charitable, each occasion issues. And for Levy, doing the work effectively — and doing good within the course of — stays the purpose.
The time period “entrepreneur” typically refers to anybody who begins an organization. Nevertheless it finest applies to those that construct companies which might be tough to neatly outline. Bettie Levy matches squarely into the latter class.
A music trade veteran and the founding father of BCL Entertainment, Levy wears many hats, from occasion producer to model strategist to CEO. Her work spans company occasions that includes A-list expertise to high-level model partnerships between main firms and cultural icons.
Briefly, she’s a celeb matchmaker — simply not for courting. If a model desires Ludacris in a JIF marketing campaign, Busta Rhymes at a launch get together or New Youngsters On The Block at a personal get together, Levy is your girl. Now, she’s able to share her story in hopes of inspiring others to carve their very own unconventional paths.
