Behind the Spotlight | How FilAm Founder Evegail Andal and Matter Media Group Are Shaping the Future of Influencer Talent

Filipinos are no strangers to the spotlight, with a growing presence in both mainstream media and the influencer space. But behind every star is a powerhouse team making it all happen—and that’s where people like Evegail Andal come in. As the CEO and Founder of Matter Media Group, Evegail is a trailblazer in the world of talent management, curating the careers of top influencers and digital tastemakers. In this interview, we dive into her journey, the inner workings of a boutique management firm, and how her company is shaping the future of media and brand building through talent that truly matters.

1. Tell us about yourself, Evegail. 

I’m Evegail Andal. I was born and raised in Los Angeles. I grew up in North Hollywood and went to St. Genevieve High School. I thought I wanted to be a child psychologist, where I studied at Mount Saint Mary’s for a year. I ended up transferring to Cal State University, Northridge (CSUN) to study Journalism with an emphasis in Public Relations and a minor in Psychology. Growing up in LA, I was enamored with the red carpets, events, and at one point, I even wanted to be a newscaster. 

I was bouncing around doing internships while in college and worked with amazing companies where I found my footprint in the digital industry. Eventually, I ventured out on my own and started a company called Matter Media Group, which is a talent agency that focuses on creators. We represent creators across the U.S. and internationally as well. We help them in a 360 format – we manage them from procuring business opportunities for them to creating different businesses with them, along with other opportunities that are outside of the digital spectrum. 

Before starting my company in 2016, I was in a weird position. The department at my current company was dissolving and I was interviewing at larger management firms and I wasn’t sold to work at any of these companies. One day, I was driving on the five (freeway) going towards downtown from the valley. My grandparents are buried at Forest Lawn in Burbank, which I was passing during my drive. As I drove past the cemetery, I asked them for a sign! I asked them what I should do. That’s when I decided to start my own company. I took part of my grandmother’s name, Maternidad. That’s how I came up with Matter Media Group! It’s also because it’s the relationships that we build that matter the most. The word “matter” stood really strong with my mission and my values and it stayed true to me. I'm so family oriented. So I'm very proud of the name. 

2. How did you get to where you are today? 

I got into this industry before the birth of Instagram and during YouTube’s prime. I was obsessed with social media and blogs, whether it was on Blogger or Friendster. I started to realize that I was in love with building connections and how to really figure out this new digital world.When Myspace came about, I was helping friends create their backgrounds or their pages and doing all of the personalizations. I learned HTML coding on my own and that’s when the world of YouTube started to become bigger. Back then YouTube was more of a place for people to share their pets and just really cute animal videos. During that time, I was really fond of a lot of the different beauty creators. So watching all of these original creators, I wanted to really work on the brand side. I started working at NYX Cosmetics, and I was there for over three years. I spent time building out their social media strategies. 

I really leaned on my relationships with these creators. I used my NYX Cosmetics email to get in touch with these YouTubers and bloggers and built that relationship on behalf of the brand. I was introducing them to the mission of the brand and the story behind them. From there we were able to establish a real relationship which then helped elevate the brand even more. The brand started to create a significant YouTube Community in beauty, which became so big that we created the NYX FACE Awards. It was so fun because we were able to see people create their own looks and challenge them. They were creating content which got the audience involved to vote for the top contestants. We started to get all these amazing numbers and reports, and we were appalled at how crazy this was. The numbers showed that there was such a huge community behind the YouTube screen. 

People were starting to understand that creators started to have a power behind their voice and they weren't just creators. They were storytellers! From that point on, I came to the realization that I love what I’m doing at NYX and I love the talent side. So I started working in different brands and started trying to implement certain strategies that I learned from my love for the digital world and the brand. I took what I learned from NYX, and tried out so many different things on other brands. But of course, brands are so different –  they respond and communicate with their audience differently and also their consumers are incredibly different. 

There was one call that I got from a friend of mine, which shifted my entire career path. She asked me if I wanted to be a talent manager. I honestly had no idea what that entailed and what the purpose was. I am a big sports person, so my friend broke it down for me: Every athlete has a manager and that's what you would be for these creators that have a platform and have a following. I explored the conversation for a week so I could really sit with it and understand what I was going to get into if this was really an opportunity that I wanted to be involved in. I took it because I wanted to really bring diversity to the roster. A lot of the talent that was represented were beautiful girls, and it’s the same faces that we are used to seeing on mainstream media. I just didn't see myself being represented there. I made it very a personal choice for myself, that if I were to come on, then I need to represent diverse women and men and figure out how I can build these opportunities for everyone. 

3. When and why did you decide to start Matter Media Group? 

I started the company in 2016 and I had eight clients that I was representing throughout the time of me being a manager. Now, we have 45 different clients. I don’t focus so much on the numbers, but more so, the connection that my team and I  have with our clients. 

As a team, we really vet potential clients and make sure that we all believe in their content and understand that they have the same mission as we do. The same goes for our team members.  When I employ someone, I bring them on, I stress the importance – that this company doesn’t only focus on monetary winnings, but we prioritize our clients’ brand longevity. Being a creator and a business goes hand in hand. You have to understand these creators’ stories and passion, rather than trying to change them and have them be more commercial. At some point, it gets a little gray when creators want the money and fame only, and that's where we cut ties. Honestly, it's just not something that I want to continue to build off of if that's what they want to do. It's incredibly important for us and for me, personally, to just continue to represent talent that really carry out that voice and have so much to share that is valuable for this next generation and even for their current audience. 

4. You mentioned that representation matters and that’s something you wanted to focus on. How has the landscape changed over the years? 

It's changed so much! The industry itself has shifted incredibly differently from where it started. We see someone like Bretman Rock who's taking over completely and that's him just being him.  He started on Vine or Snapchat showing himself as going to school, dealing with the bullies, dressing up – he was being himself and now he’s embraced for his originality. . He's one of the most loved Filipino creators that I know of and is incredibly respected. It's people like him that paved the way for a lot of different creators that want to be just authentic. 

5. What is the biggest obstacle that you've had to overcome?

One thing that stands out the most is obviously, finances. Being self-funded is very tough, especially if you want to continue to scale and grow as quickly as you can. It’s very challenging to keep up with the industry and make sure that you have the funds to do it. I have been so blessed to have the income that we have to actually make sure that everyone has a job. We have a team of eight and that's been so amazing. It’s incredible to see our team members grow from assistants to coordinators, from coordinators to managers to directors. We've been fine and that's the one thing that I've been incredibly grateful for. 

6. Are you allowed to share some of your clients?

Initially, we represented primarily beauty, fashion and  lifestyle creators like Alisha Marie, Aja Dang, and Mia Sayoko, but that has really evolved into a Melting Pot of different people. For example, our client, Aja Dang, started out in beauty, but now she touches on finance and tech. She's still doing lifestyle and she'll talk about makeup and skincare, while teaching women about financial literacy. Our clients have truly evolved. Our clientele is very versatile. 

7. Do you have any Filipinos on your current client roster? 

Yes, to share a few, we represent Kimberly Tish . She calls herself the Filipino Martha Stewart of the Internet! We represent Stan Fukase, who’s based in Japan and Kiana Bonollo, a North Carolina based fashion designer. Bonollo is known for recreating Met Gala dresses and she does everything by hand! We also represent a Bay Area couple, Koko and Symba. Koko does a lot of cooking videos, while Symba is focused on the basketball front as he is a huge Warriors fan. We also represent the singer, Anatalia Villaranda, a contestant on season 12 of The Voice. Villaranda is also an automotive enthusiast.    

8. What are your thoughts on seeing more Filipinos in the media?

I get excited knowing the fact that there are other Filipinos out there that are in the spotlight. I'm starting to see more Filipinos on television, in movies, and online. 

9. What advice would you give to folks who want to get into the influencer world?  

If you want to be a Creator, you have to be determined to keep creating. You need to be consistent and do not give up. You cannot be upset over numbers because that's the one thing that people think are going to determine you as being a great creator and that's the definition of a good creator, but that’s really not it. Build your own voice and be yourself, be as authentic as you can be. Build a community. Just keep up with the trends and try new things! 

Creators can do everything. But if you could be an expert in one that's awesome. If you're a hair expert keep doing hair content and then if you also want to tap into mukbangs, do that. 

10. What's one of the biggest lessons that you've learned so far?

One thing I have learned recently is trusting your gut. If you feel like a certain thing or an opportunity doesn't sit right for your client, you need to rely on that. That's been super important for me to continue to remember.

11. What does it mean to be Filipino-American? 

I feel like even at this age, I'm still learning about my roots. Being a Filipino American woman CEO in the competitive talent industry means leveraging a rich cultural heritage and unique perspectives to stand out. My background provides a distinctive approach to client relationships and inclusivity, while embracing and highlighting my cultural roots by building meaningful connections, strengthens competitive edge.

12. What are you currently working on? 

We're working on a ton of different projects for our clients. Existing  podcast shows like Pretty Basic, Pretty Not Smart, Making Moves, and Basically Unfiltered. We do have a few brand partnerships that are coming out that are stabilizing into products. We have a few live shows that we’re prepping for this year and for 2025! 

13. Where can people find you? 

On our website and on Instagram at @mattermediagroup and my personal account is @evegail24. 

Whether it's for a client of ours, someone else that's really trying to be in this industry, or even someone who is thinking about creating their own company or establishing their own footprint somewhere, it's a dream to be here and also to be someone that has a story that could be told. I love sharing it with people. I look forward to having other people join the company too, whether it's a client or a team member and having them experience it too.

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Written by Jennifer Redondo

Co-Founder and Co-Author of In Her Purpose

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