Entertainment <\/p>\n
\n\tLeah Kateb\u2019s fans include millions of \u201cLove Island USA\u201d viewers \u2014 and Tobey Maguire. <\/p>\n
\n\tDuring a panel at Variety\u2019<\/em>s Entertainment Marketing Summit presented by Deloitte, the reality TV star said that she met the actor, who told her he was a \u201creally big fan.\u201d \u201cI was like, \u2018This is insane. You\u2019re Spider-Man. I\u2019m a big fan.\u2019 And he was so much fun, and he\u2019s so nice. And I feel like everyone I meet is so nice.\u201d <\/p>\n \n\t\u201cAnd I don\u2019t care what anyone says, he\u2019s the best Spider-Man,\u201d she added. <\/p>\n \n\tThe star-studded closing panel also featured Ariana Madix, Patrick Ta, Bobby Berk and Shareef O\u2019Neal, during which the entrepreneurs discussed how they each built a brand, scaled their platforms and used social media fame to propel their businesses.<\/p>\n \n\tAlongside Variety <\/em>moderator Marc Malkin, each panelist opened up about their journey to becoming an entrepreneur. An Emmy-winning design expert and television host, Berk\u2019s design firm first began as an online business, then grew into a furniture store before ultimately expanding. Berk also did nine seasons of \u201cQueer Eye,\u201d which he calls a \u201chuge catapult for many, many things.\u201d Social media, too, has been a \u201chuge plus\u201d for his business, he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tTa, founder of Patrick Ta Beauty, started his brand six years ago following 14 years as a celebrity makeup artist. For him, the products allow his audience to \u201cexperience a little bit of my artistry.\u201d With the launch of his brand, TikTok gave Ta more ways to connect with his audience and the opportunity to share different types of content with them. \u201cI launched my number one blush duos five years ago, but it was only three years ago when they actually started getting traction\u2026 TikTok rebirthed me as a person, and me as a brand.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tBoth Madix, who co-founded the sandwich shop Something About Her, and Kateb, the chief creative officer and re-founder of perfume brand Skylar, took the leap to the business side of things following successful stints on reality TV; Madix first made her debut on Bravo\u2019s \u201cVanderpump Rules,\u201d while Kateb amassed millions of followers thanks to an appearance on \u201cLove Island USA\u201d (which Madix also hosts). In their own ways, both have taken advantage of the \u201cunique opportunity\u201d that comes with being on the shows, explains Madix \u2014 the fact that audiences \u201cget to know you on a different level.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tFor Madix, that has meant that everything she\u2019s done has felt \u201ca little bit of like an extension of myself as well.\u201d The same is true for Kateb, who saw that fans were interested in her lifestyle content, and specifically what perfume she wore. After she posted a video breaking down her favorite scents (which included Vanilla Sky from Skylar), she had a meeting with the brand. \u201cFrom there, they just were like, \u2018We need you a part of this brand.\u2019\u201d Kateb also teased a future product, noting that she wasn\u2019t going to stop at fragrance. \u201cEveryone knows me for my layering routines, so we\u2019ve been cooking, literally and figuratively,\u201d she said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tO\u2019Neal, an influencer and the creative director of Shaq Brand, got candid about deciding to share about his health issues, and particularly heart surgery, on his social media. He explained that the announcement, at the time, was \u201cpretty hard to think about.\u201d \u201cI just came out of high school, I was the number one player in California, going to UCLA, and I had such a big following\u2026 We weren\u2019t going to announce it at first; we were just going to just go MIA, go missing for a few years and get back. But I told my mom, \u2018I want to document this. I want to post it.\u2019 I want to show people that everything\u2019s not perfect, that I can come back from this,\u201d he recalled.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI didn\u2019t know the impact it was going to have on people. Still to this day, people come up to me and they say, \u2018You\u2019re such an inspiration.\u2019\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n