James Andrews

James Andrews is the founder of Authenticated Ventures, a venture advisory designed to build better companies, launch new ideas and illuminate influential people through experiences, content and investment advisory. At the center is The Authenticated, a 300+ membership community made up of influential creative entrepreneurs, brand builders, investors and innovators in culture. The Authenticated has a city tour, mobile/web platform and creates content and community opportunities. Post COVID, The Authenticated has created weekly “virtual Jeffersonian dinners” and produces monthly salons and summits in live stream on a number of topics and themes. Andrews previously founded Social People, a strategic digital agency that was acquired in 2013. Social People worked with clients Nike, Beats By Dre, The Grammy Awards, CNN, Equinox and Lexus on global social media initiatives.

Before launching Social People, Andrews was VP, Ketchum PR and built their global social media practice area for clients Monster.com, FedEx, GeekSquad, Nokia, and Wendy’s. In 1999, Andrews built and sold email newsletter SoulPurpose.com to Urban Box Office, a digital entertainment company. At the center of the NYC dot-com boom the company went on to raise $40m and hire 320 employees in 15 months. Andrews formative years were spent as a senior marketing executive at Columbia Records in the mid 90’s, helping develop artists like Nas, The Fugees, Destiny’s Child and Lauryn Hill become household names.