VIE_FM_HERO

Olivia Rudensky is Rewriting the Rules of Pop Culture Marketing

October 2025

From Fan to Founder

Interview by Anna Simpson | Photography courtesy of FANMADE

From running a Miley Cyrus fan account as a teenager to leading groundbreaking digital campaigns for some of the world’s most prominent artists and brands, Olivia Rudensky is reshaping the way fan culture and marketing intersect. As a cofounder of FANMADE, a creative agency specializing in celebrity partnerships, digital strategy, and pop culture innovation, Rudensky has built a powerhouse business rooted in passion and authenticity.

Her early days as a superfan didn’t just give her a head start—they gave her an edge. That unique fan-to-founder journey has landed her on prestigious lists, including Forbes’ 30 Under 30 and TikTok’s Music Industry Power Players, and helped her earn the trust of A-list clients, such as Miley Cyrus, Hailey Bieber, NBC, and Live Nation. In this candid Q&A, Rudensky opens up about how she turned a side hobby into a full-blown career, the importance of staying adaptable, and why being a small business doesn’t mean thinking small.

VIE: Let’s start from the beginning — what drew you into the world of pop culture and the entertainment industry?

Olivia: From a very young age, I’ve been fascinated by entertainment, music, and celebs. I remember watching MTV Hits at a young age and loving music videos, as well as everything around red-carpet events, and I knew I wanted to be a part of that world someday. When I was really young, I started to see social media rising and used that as a way to dive into pop culture and understand the entertainment world and fandom. Being able to follow celebrities closely piqued my interest and brought me more into their world. It allowed me to see how artists, celebrities, and the businesses around them operate. Before social media, you didn’t really get that inside scoop into their reality, so being a teenager when social media was rising was a unique lens that allowed me to get my foot in the door of that industry, which I did through a Miley Cyrus fan account.

VIE: Starting as a fan yourself, do you think that experience shaped your approach to business?

Olivia: Yes, 100 percent. I think being a fan and being passionate is the best way to learn about something. I was living and breathing this fandom culture because it was all based on passion instead of financial need or job requirements. It started as an after-school hobby, but I began to pay attention to details that would help fuel my career in the future, such as how releasing a single works at radio vs. streaming, how to leverage algorithms, etc. I was building based on passion and fan community, and that set me up to understand the ways of digital marketing and branding.

VIE: What was the moment you realized you wanted to turn your passion into a career?

Olivia: I remember there being a Lady Gaga fan account (@gagadaily) that Gaga had interacted with a lot online, which was very rare for talent to do at the time. As a result, when creating my Miley fan account, I set goals not only to be recognized by her one day but ultimately to work for her. Having that mindset kept me professional and career-focused. By remaining attentive to different nuances and industry details, I developed my skills and built my résumé.

VIE: For someone who’s never heard of FANMADE, how would you explain what you and your team do?

Olivia: Every year, FANMADE evolves. We began by working on social media for talent, which then evolved into developing larger digital strategies and partnerships for both talent and brands, as well as managing live events. We do everything from social media management to larger marketing strategy to celebrity partnerships to influencer strategy. We can meet needs within the influencer, fandom, pop culture, celebrity partnerships, and digital spaces with a unique approach that is tailored to the client.

VIE: You have worked with some of the biggest artists and names in entertainment. How do you build trust with artists and their teams?

Olivia: Being patient and learning about the team or artist over the years—I started young and eager, and this helped me to be open and adaptable, without doing too much. Industry algorithms and behaviors are constantly changing, so my ability to keep up and evolve alongside them has given clients and teams the confidence they need to place trust in me.

VIE: What is one project or campaign you’re most proud of?

Olivia: We started working with NBC when my client Miley had her two-year New Year’s Eve party. Through this, we got to know the NBC team, and it led to them bringing us on for the People’s Choice Awards to help with digital strategy and content creation. From there, we furthered our relationship through the SNL 50th anniversary. FANMADE organized a fan pit on the red carpet where we invited SNL superfans to report live and create content. We also pitched and secured Amelia Dimoldenberg as the red carpet host, helped with talent interviews, and managed large media partnerships with outlets like PopCrave. Being able to flex so many different muscles for such a historical event is an experience I will never forget. It was also a crazy callback to almost fifteen years ago, when I snuck into SNL under the age requirement to see Miley as the host. Being there after all this time to work with them and having Miley as part of the festivities was a textbook full-circle moment.

VIE: Self-care is everything, and I can imagine life gets hectic as a founder. What is a daily ritual or habit you swear by?

Olivia: I have to walk every day. I try to get close to ten thousand steps a day, because I think walking is the best thing for your mind. Putting on some music and taking a break from my phone for a while allows me to really focus on my tasks for the day and recenter myself.

VIE: What does success look like to you, personally and professionally?

Olivia: To me, success is the freedom to do whatever you feel passionate about, in both personal and professional life. There’s nothing better than having the ability to work on projects you feel strongly about that get you excited every day.

VIE: What’s been your most rewarding moment with FM so far?

Olivia: Miley’s 2024 Grammy wins for “Flowers,” for sure. I’ve been with Miley since I was sixteen, and I’ve seen so many highs and lows throughout her career. The “Flowers” energy felt new and special in the sense that the goal swapped from chart numbers and sales to Miley just being passionate about her art and what she had to say, and that switch ended with recognition from the industry. Seeing her win that night after being ignored for so many years was truly inspiring, and being recognized as a part of that in her official post was really amazing and fueling, especially as it came at a time when FM was relatively new and risky. It felt like the perfect motivation for starting a new era alongside her.

VIE: What’s been the biggest surprise in launching and growing FM?

Olivia: Learning that a company doesn’t have to be massive to get things done. I always envisioned having a huge office with lots of employees, but when I started FANMADE, a mentor explained that I could make it into whatever I was comfortable with. That allowed me to take a step back and find a really great sweet spot of being small but big enough to take projects that my cofounder, Claudia Villarreal, and I feel passionate about.

VIE: Is there any advice you would give the reader who wants to turn their passion into a full-time career?

Olivia: Things don’t have to be overcomplicated. You can start with a small side hobby and turn it into real work (like me). There’s no real formula or rule book on how to follow your passion, as long as you start somewhere and are ready to push it into a snowball. I began at twelve years old by creating a Miley fan account that amassed 300K followers and was recognized by MC. That led to a phone call with her that got me on her management team, which then led to me starting FANMADE. It truly is a snowball effect, and all it takes is the first step.

VIE: What’s up next for FANMADE?

Olivia: FANMADE has worked with numerous A-list clients, including Miley Cyrus, Hailey Bieber, NBC, and Live Nation. One of our primary focuses right now is working with Magnum Ice Cream, assisting them in building a strong, recognizable online presence. Earlier this year, we fleshed out a campaign for the brand’s Cannes Film Festival event featuring Charli XCX, helped with overall marketing and fan strategy, and booked up-and-coming it girl Gabbriette to attend. Most recently, we assisted with a pop-up at rhode skincare’s Summer Club in Mallorca, which included custom Magnum bars.