"I Was Just Trying to Build Something Real": Jordyn Palos on Founding Persona PR at 25, Navigating 16 Years in Entertainment PR, and What Sustainability Actually Looks Like

Jordyn Palos launched Persona PR in 2010 from her Los Angeles apartment at 25 - no investors, no financial safety net, and significant consumer debt. What she had was four years of agency experience, a handful of clients who believed in her, and a clear priority: make the transition completely seamless for them.

Sixteen years later, Persona PR is a bi-coastal firm with offices in Los Angeles and New York City, a team of 10, and a roster of close to 200 clients spanning award-winning actors, New York Times bestselling authors, directors, showrunners, writers, and leading voices in the creator economy. The agency has navigated every major shift the entertainment industry has thrown at it - the rise of streaming, the explosion of social media, the actors and writers strikes, and the COVID pandemic - and come out the other side with the same philosophy it started with: do the work, be excellent, be honest, and build with the right people.

In 2015, Variety named Jordyn one of Hollywood’s New Leaders. She currently mentors students at CSUN and authored an op-ed for Variety examining how the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes impacted professionals beyond the guilds. She is also a wife and mother—and is refreshingly honest about the reality that doing everything at once, perfectly, isn’t possible.

As Persona PR approaches its 16th anniversary this May, Jordyn reflects on what it took to build something with real longevity in one of the most relationship-driven industries in the world - and why, in 2026, boutique is her greatest competitive advantage.

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Q: You founded Persona PR in 2010 at 25 from your LA apartment with no team, no office, and no blueprint for what a modern boutique entertainment PR firm could look like. For female founders building service businesses from scratch, what did those early years actually look like - how did you land your first clients, build credibility before you had a track record, and make the decision to scale rather than stay small?

I had about four years of agency experience and a handful of clients who believed in me enough to come along when I left to start Persona PR. Within my first week of leaving my job, I had a simple website, a P.O. Box, and one clear priority: make the transition completely seamless for my clients. I didn’t have investors or a financial safety net—in fact, I had significant consumer debt. A big part of my drive came from the belief that I could build a better life for myself, create stability, and take control of my own path.

The early years were extremely scrappy. I was doing everything myself, mailing magazines from a gas station post office, pitching, reporting, and invoicing. There was no real separation between work and life; I worked constantly. But that time was invaluable because it forced me to understand every part of the business from the ground up. I didn’t focus on building credibility in a traditional way; I focused on doing the work. Delivering on what I said I would, being honest when something didn’t land, and staying consistent. Over time, that built trust, and word of mouth became the foundation of the business.

My first hire was an intern I later brought on full-time, and from there, I grew the team slowly and intentionally, eventually expanding to New York City. I never set out with a big plan to scale; it was simply a response to demand. As more clients came in and the right people wanted to be part of the company and the vision, growth became the natural next step. At its core, my approach hasn’t changed: do the work, be excellent, be honest, and build with the right people.

Q: Variety named you one of "Hollywood's New Leaders" in 2015, and since then Persona PR has grown to represent award-winning actors, NYT bestselling authors, directors, showrunners, and digital creators across film, TV, theater, and beyond. Entertainment PR is a notoriously relationship-driven industry - how have you built and maintained media relationships over 16 years as the landscape has shifted from traditional press to digital, podcasts, and social? And what does "boutique" actually mean in 2026 when your clients need national and international coverage?

What’s unique about entertainment publicity is that it’s not just about media relationships, those are critical, but they’re only one piece of a much larger ecosystem. Our work requires deep, ongoing relationships across the entire industry: managers, agents, attorneys, studio and network publicists, glam teams, fashion houses, and now platform teams at companies like Meta, TikTok, and YouTube. Because our client roster spans award-winning actors, showrunners, writers, authors, and leading voices within the creator economy (to name a few), our relationships have to be equally expansive and adaptable.

Over the past 20 years since I got my start, one of the biggest shifts has been the expansion of where and how stories are told. Traditional press still matters, but it now exists alongside podcasts, digital platforms, and of course, social media. The core of relationship building, though, hasn’t changed. It’s about trust, consistency, and delivering value on both sides. That’s what sustains relationships over time, regardless of the medium.

On a global level, the landscape has changed dramatically. Our clients are filming, living, and creating all over the world, and with the rise of streaming platforms and social media, content travels instantly. Audiences are no longer tied to one market, and neither are we. As a firm, we’re constantly tapping into both national and international opportunities, building campaigns that reflect where the audience actually is, not just geographically, but culturally and digitally.

When it comes to the term “boutique” in 2026, to me it means bespoke. We’re not a 200-person, corporate-backed agency—we run each client’s publicity campaign or how I like to view it, another arm of their business, with a highly individualized, 360-degree approach. For a long time, I thought boutique meant “small” or “limiting.” Today, I see it as our greatest advantage. It allows us to be deeply involved, highly strategic, and incredibly responsive, and that level of attention is what our clients value most.

Q: You've written op-eds for Variety on workplace change, mentor students at CSUN, and sit on advisory boards - all while running a growing agency and being a wife and mother. For female founders navigating leadership, visibility, and personal life simultaneously, what have you learned about sustainability and setting the terms of your own success? And what does Persona PR's 16-year anniversary mean to you personally?

One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is that sustainability isn’t about balance, it’s about alignment. There are seasons where work requires more of you, and seasons where your personal life does, and I’ve had to become comfortable with that ebb and flow instead of chasing the idea of doing everything perfectly at once. There is no perfect. If I’m being completely transparent, it’s impossible to show up fully for faith, family, career, and friendships all at the same time. It’s a constant work in progress, and I just try to be the best example I can be and trust that it’s enough.

Setting the terms of my own success has meant getting very clear on what matters to me. I’m deeply committed to building a business that is respected, that delivers for clients, and that creates real opportunity for my team, but equally important is being present for my family and building a life that feels stable and fulfilling. What mattered to me at 30 is very different from what matters at 40. Time and experience have a way of refining your priorities. That clarity has been essential in guiding decisions, especially during more demanding seasons. I’ve also learned that you can’t do it alone. Mentorship, both giving it and receiving it, has been a defining part of my journey. Whether it’s working with students or fostering mentorship within my own firm, staying connected to the next generation and to other leaders keeps me grounded and continuously evolving.

Reaching 16 years with Persona PR feels incredibly meaningful. It’s hard to believe how quickly the time has passed. I have more wrinkles, now! When I launched the company, I was just trying to build something real, working day to day and hustling 24/7, doing whatever it took to be taken seriously and prove I belonged in the room.

To now have built something with real longevity, something that has grown alongside the industry and remained steadfast through challenging moments like COVID, the actors and writers strikes, and the devastating fires in Los Angeles last year, is something I’m extremely proud of. It represents not just the work but the resilience, the risks, and the belief that it was all possible in the first place. Sixteen years in I’m still building with the same mindset I started with, just with more perspective and greater responsibility. I feel incredibly lucky to wake up every day passionate about this career, and to do it alongside the best people in the business.

Follow Jordyn Palos on Instagram @jordynpalos and Persona PR @personapr, or visit Persona PR at www.persona-pr.com

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