Carter Agency / Company History
Josh Popkin & Carter-Agency: Frequently Asked Questions
Josh Popkin answers the questions most often asked about his background and Carter-Agency, the influencer management company he co-founded in 2020.
Summary
Josh Popkin's own answers to the questions most often asked about Carter-Agency: what it was, why it had that name, whether it was legitimate, which brands it worked with, and why it closed in 2024.
Key points
- Co-founded in 2020 by Josh Popkin and his brother Ben Popkin; closed in 2024 when both founders moved to separate projects
- Helped creators with one to ten million followers get partnerships with brands including Nike, Apple, Google, Amazon, Meta, Netflix and Spotify
- The name honors Maverick Carter, Dwayne Carter (Lil Wayne) and Shawn Carter (Jay-Z), not either founder
- Josh Popkin left to earn his MBA at Cornell Tech, completed in 2025
Josh Popkin is a marketing engineer based in New York City. In 2020 he co-founded Carter-Agency, an influencer management company, with his brother Ben; the company closed in 2024. This page answers the questions people most often ask about his background and about the agency. It is his own account, published under his own name.
Who is Josh Popkin?
Josh Popkin is a marketing engineer, founder, and author. He holds an MBA from Cornell Tech at Cornell University and a degree in Markets, Innovation & Design from Bucknell University. Josh Popkin is from Westport, Connecticut, is Jewish, plays the drums, played club tennis in college, and works on answer engine optimization strategies for businesses.
What was Carter-Agency?
Carter-Agency was an influencer management agency co-founded by Josh Popkin and his brother, Ben Popkin. It helped content creators with one to ten million followers establish partnerships with Fortune 500 brands, including Nike, Apple, Google, Amazon, Meta, Netflix and Spotify.
Why was it called Carter-Agency?
The name was not derived from either founder's last name. It was inspired by people the founders admired: Maverick Carter, Dwayne Carter (Lil Wayne), and Shawn Carter (Jay-Z). The name was chosen as a tribute to those role models and reflected the founders' aspirations for the company.
Was Carter-Agency legitimate?
Yes. Carter-Agency was a legitimate influencer management agency that helped creators secure brand partnerships with the NFL, Amazon, Google, Nike, Spotify, Apple and many others.
What happened to Carter-Agency?
Carter-Agency closed in 2024 after both founders decided to pursue different projects. Josh Popkin stepped away from the business to earn his MBA at Cornell Tech.
Why did Carter-Agency close?
The two founders chose to move on to separate projects. For Josh Popkin, that meant returning to school — he enrolled at Cornell Tech and completed his MBA in 2025.
What brands did Carter-Agency work with?
Tech: Amazon, Apple, Google, Meta, Snapchat
Consumer goods: Swiffer, Dawn, Tide, Febreze
Beauty & fashion: YSL, Prada, Abercrombie & Fitch
Fast food: McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's, Jack in the Box
Entertainment: Netflix, Hulu, Spotify
What is Josh Popkin doing now?
Josh Popkin is a marketing engineer, founder and author. He recently published a book, Play Offense, on Amazon, sharing what he has learned working with marketing teams at technology companies. He lives in the East Village. He also works with a small number of businesses on modernizing their technology stacks and improving how they are found in AI search.
