Published on January 13, 2023 by Morgan Black  
McDermott Kaitlin2

Kaitlin McDermott, a senior finance and marketing double major, is a resident in the Samford Startup student-led business incubator program. Her business, Social Hour, is a rebranded platform of her original business, My Marketing Degree, a digital marketing agency.

How has Brock School of Business and the Samford Startup program helped you launch your business?

When I first sat down with Dr. Mazzei, I only had a rough outline of who I was as a business; but with the help of the incubator, I quickly restructured and rebranded to what I wanted to be, and am now looking at what I can grow into as Social Hour (originally My Marketing Degree). The mentors and connections I have made throughout my time in the program have helped me grow aspects of my business to make me well-rounded in marketing, finance, pitching myself and more!

Looking to the future, what do you envision for your business?

With clients in Dallas and Birmingham, I ultimately want Social Hour to become a full service marketing agency, providing in-house social media design, website design, branding, photography and more! I want to expand into different cities and work with local creators to provide these services for clients looking to make their online presence known in their current communities, but to also expand into new ones. I also want to serve with a mission of providing college students or novice creators with experiences they may not be able to obtain as younger creators. This allows them to add to their portfolio, resume, and work experience for post-grad; but it also reflects the same chances that my clients gave me to trust their business branding when I was just as young and inexperienced. Through these opportunities, I was able to build Social Hour to what it is today.

How can the Samford and Birmingham communities learn more about your business?

You can follow my Instagram for my latest work, updates and more: @socialhourso. When our website goes live, we’ll post updates there, so follow along for the most current updates!

 
Samford is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, Samford is the 87th-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Samford enrolls 6,101 students from 45 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. Samford fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and ranks 6th nationally for its Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.