Entrepreneurs as DJs: A Side Hustle to Promote Creativity

Graphic by Agnes Lee. Images via CNBC

Fun Fact: David Solomon, the CEO of leading multinational investment bank and financial services company Goldman Sachs, also goes by the name DJ D-Sol. His daytime suit and tie transforms into headphones and t-shirt at night and on the weekends.

The crossover between business and beats poses an interesting dynamic, where typically right-brained people channel their left brain. Of course, Northwestern students have seized this trend: lofty entrepreneurs or economics students have a side passion or hustle that shows they think beyond problem sets and create more than just case competitions. 

Matt Schnadig, a junior studying Economics, started The Table, a startup that brings breakfast and late-night food at convenient times to campus. He, along with three other students, have since invested in a cart to sell their bacon, egg and cheeses and smoothies. This past fall, Schnadig began creating his own music. 

“I've always been really into music, and over the past few years, I have become more interested in the electronic music scene,” Schnadig says. “Most of the music I listen to is hour-long sets. Hearing the often seamless transitions that DJs make in the sets was really fascinating to me, so after years of wanting to try it, I used my first paycheck this summer and bought a cheap mixing device.”

Although Schnandig bought his for $150, mixing devices can sell for up to thousands of dollars. In order to DJ and create your own music, one must have enough money to invest in the proper equipment. Working in investment banking and earning a high paycheck certainly makes that easier. 

According to neuroscientist Kiminobu Sugaya at the University of Central Florida, “ music increases dopamine in the nucleus accumbens, similar to cocaine.” Music, no matter what kind, also affects the amygdala, which controls emotions. For example, music can help decrease fear.

Both of these ways that music affects the brains underscores why a passion for DJing may be beneficial to someone in business, a trade with bold risks and high stakes.

Image via CNBC

Schnadig highlights the way that music can help ease the stresses of business culture, saying “it has now become a fun break from everyday life and is often quite therapeutic for me.”

Junior Sam Kim has been a resident of The Garage since his freshman year and is a member of The Little Joe Ventures Fellowship, which provides programming, domestic and international trips and $5,000 stipends for entrepreneurial students. As a hobby, Kim learned how to produce music. He downloaded Logic Pro X and started watching Youtube and Lynda videos to teach himself production. This self-starting approach to mixing captures the essence of being an entrepreneur. However, Kim does not necessarily see an overlap in his two interests.

“I think business and music don’t really intersect as much as they are analogues – artists, labels and everyone else involved is in it more or less to make some money [along with expressing themselves],” Kim says. “In order to be successful amongst so many people making music, artists now have to work harder to further differentiate themselves.”

Yet Schnadig finds an overlap between his startup and music: “When I mix, I try to break down the different aspects of the song to get a better understanding of it and figure out what will make the current song transition to the next one and why the two fit together – like a puzzle. [The] same thing applies to business. You have to be very detail-oriented and focus on the small, seemingly insignificant things, which will ultimately allow the business to succeed in your big-picture goals.”

On the other hand, Karam Hansen, a junior studying journalism, does not make his own music, but is a local campus DJ. He works for a promotion business that sets up bar nights for Northwestern students and runs his own parties to make money. He does not consider this running his own business.

“I don’t think that you decide to become a DJ,” he says. “I was introduced to it, loved music enough and had a passion for parties, so I spent the hours necessary to become good at it. DJing is 70% music selection, 20% technique and 10% crowd reading. So, one needs to dedicate time [to DJing] to be able to consistently get jobs.”

The creativity and dedication needed to produce your own music coincides with the innovation and hard work needed to be an economics major and entrepreneur. It’s no surprise that hearing that someone just released their new Soundcloud playlist on campus occurs as frequently, if not more, than hearing about a new student business like MedKit or EO Bikes.