Russian-born venture capitalist Chase Sabina shares his journey of transitioning his business, The Hinterland Group, from a marketing consulting company to a private equity firm.

He began his career as a social media personality in 2012 through the blogging platform Tumblr, amassing millions of followers with nearly 1.5 million views per month. In 2015, he began actively posting content on Instagram, where he produced, shot, and directed creative ad campaigns for both influencers and global brands. His notable campaigns include partnerships with Brooks Brothers and Google for the Google Home Mini.

His extensive experience in ad campaigns and marketing led many companies to consult with him on how to make the most out of their content. Sabina accommodated them for a while but realized transforming his marketing agency into a full-fledged marketing consulting firm was a profitable move. This strategy worked for Sabina and his team until Covid-19 hit globally.

Sabina had to reevaluate where the company's resources were allocated. He realized two things would happen in a post-Covid world — consumer-facing brands would have an influx of customers willing to spend their money on goods, and companies recovering from the ill-effects of Covid-19 wouldn't have sufficient operating capital to market their products.

He came up with a solution beneficial to his firm and prospective clients. Using his skills and experience in marketing and ads campaigns, he offered businesses the human capital needed to launch their brands and products successfully. But, instead of accepting payments for the campaigns, his company would invest money into the clients' businesses to cover other operating expenses. In exchange for the human and financial capital, Sabina's company would receive deferred payments, equity, and board seats. Unknowingly, Sabina's strategies allowed him to transition yet again from a marketing consultant to a private equity fund manager.

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