ABOUT LAURYN DANESH, FOUNDER

 Lauryn’s entrepreneurial journey started early, from growing a garden and running a front yard Farmer’s Market (complete with promotions!) at the age of 10 to competing in national DECA advertising campaigns at 17. Raised by two psychologists, a high school architecture/photography teacher, and an accountant, Lauryn grew up in an environment where serving and helping people was always second nature. So, why not have a business built on advocacy, inclusion, data-driven results, and a little tongue + cheek humor? DZL was conceived in 2016 and brought to fruition by an all-star team in 2020.

Lauryn’s career began at Brand-In Entertainment where she worked as a Sales Coordinator in brand integration for films including Some Kind of Beautiful (Pierce Brosnan, Salma Hayek, Jessica Alba), Z for Zachariah (Margot Robbie, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Chris Pine), Queen of the Desert (Nicole Kidman, James Franco, Robert Pattinson), and Lone Survivor (Mark Wahlberg, Taylor Kitsch, Emile Hirsch).

From there she transitioned to ReelFresh where she worked in advertising and promos as Director of Marketing with clients from FX, CBS (Hot in Cleveland), 20th Television, AMC, Sony Pictures, Warner Bros, and more.

At Juel Concepts, Lauryn has been involved since its inception in 2013, focusing on running operations and strategies for musicians, particularly for blues/soul/R&B artists like Hamish Anderson, Jessica Childress, and Ruby Velle. She continues her role as Project Manager with Juel Concepts, working with musicians and brands using a hybrid business model that combines brand development, marketing, and advertising. Lauryn has also served as a Project Manager for ROIG, a cross-cultural communications agency, since 2018, which has given her the opportunity to work on non-profit and government-based projects with a focus on diverse communities.

Although Lauryn had gained many insights through her experiences in the workplace, she realized one very important thing: she wanted something of her own. Tired of constantly hearing ‘No’, never being heard, and having her innovation limited, Lauryn decided to start following her intuition, building her own platform and treating people the way she knew they deserved. In January 2016, she got her first client, a Vietnemese-French restaurant in Marina Del Rey, and the rest is history.

As time led on, her first client in MdR transformed into a growing marketing and operations model that was applicable to a myriad of industries: film, music, non-profit, government, technology, and health. The most important continual learning for Lauryn was, and still is, connecting with people and having new experiences, which instilled the curiosity of solo travel. Lauryn was off to Europe where she spent most of her time from 2018-2019, experiencing and exploring culture in Italy, Hungary, France, Czech Republic, Turkey, among many other places. In 2020 she realized it was time to assemble the dream team so she could help even more people, and that’s exactly what happened.

Lauryn couldn’t have done it without all of the amazing mentors and monumental experiences that collectively shaped her into the woman she is today (not to mention her beloved pittie Diesel who inspired the name of the company). Unexpected tragedy is something very familiar to her and has driven her advocacy for equality for all, mental health, addiction, inclusion, and ethical practices. At DZL, our team strives to look at everything through a socially conscious lens and act with integrity, both internally and externally. Our inclusive clients and diverse team come together to work towards a more progressive future in the world of entertainment and service-based industries. 

For Lauryn, it’s always been about connecting with and understanding people on a human level, and if there’s anything she wants people to remember about DZL, it’s that we’re more than a brand; we’re trailblazers paving the way for genuine, opinionated, and conscious individuals and teams who want to make a difference helping others. Diversity is a strength, advocacy is a power. We’re ready to be advocates. Are you?