Inspirational Women In Hollywood: How Tammi Pickle Is Helping To Shake Up The Entertainment Industry
Nothing comes easy- I have had to work extremely hard to help build and create a successful company, nothing in life comes easy, you need to work for all that you have.
Don’t give up- There are always bumps in the road while trying to achieve success. If you give up, then you will never know how far you can take it.
As part of our series about Inspirational Women In Hollywood, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Tammi Pickle, VP/Partner of Elite Connections International. The family-owned high-end matchmaking agency has been in business for 27 years matching high net worth and celebrity clients. Tammi has had 22 years of experience making thousands of successful matches. She helps advise and coach her clients daily while using her background in Psychology. She also gives back through her nonprofit called Party with a Purpose, helping the homeless and needy teens and youth in Venice, CA.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to get to know you a bit better. Can you tell us the story of how you grew up?
I was born and raised in Thousand Oaks CA. I loved sports and being active, I played tennis, softball, ran track and enjoyed snowboarding. I love my community and I decided I wanted to stay and raise my boys in the area. I now enjoy working and being with my boys, playing baseball daily, running with them to the park, playing tennis and skiing with them. We try to stay busy every day with sports, activities, adventures and making wonderful memories like I had when I was a child.
Can you share a story with us about what brought you to this specific career path?
My mom is an amazing entrepreneur and started our high-end matchmaking company, Elite Connections International 27 years ago. We help match high net worth professionals and high-profile celebrities in and around Beverly Hills, CA, nationwide and internationally. I received my degree in Psychology, and I knew I always wanted to help people. I fell in love with what I do when I started meeting and matching my clients. Creating successful matches means everything to me. I love working with people while forming a friendship and bond all while finding the love in their lives is so rewarding.
Can you tell us the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
Before my mom started this company, she joined a matchmaker and that is when I made one of my first matches. I was 13 and I helped pick out my stepdad for her. She went on one date and they have been happily ever after since.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
When I was just starting out, I got an email from a client stating she wasn’t interested in meeting a specific client I had set her up with again because he was dorky, socially awkward and couldn’t look her in the eyes. I then sent it to my other matchmaker to advise them on the feedback but accidently sent it to him instead. I will never make that mistake again. I always fill in my clients on the other persons feedback, but I typically sugar coat it a bit as to keep everyone’s ego intact.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
My Mom has taught me all I know about the business and I am beyond grateful for her for giving me this gift of being able to help people every day find love in their lives. We have opened many nationwide and international offices. We have traveled the world and some of the most fun offices we opened together and visited were London and NY.
You have been blessed with great success in a career path that can be challenging. Do you have any words of advice for others who may want to embark on this career path, but seem daunted by the prospect of failure?
There are always bumps in the road. Stay positive, never give up, stay upbeat and you can overcome and come out on top if you believe in yourself.
What drives you to get up every day and work in TV and Film? What change do you want to see in the industry going forward?
I have been a part of many television and news programs. I enjoy spreading the word through those platforms. I want to see more influential people using their power for good.
You have such impressive work. What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now? Where do you see yourself heading from here?
For the last 22 years we have been running a nonprofit called Party with a Purpose. We throw bi-annual charity events and raise money to provide necessities for needy and homeless youth through Safe Place for Youth in Venice, CA. We will continue to help others. We also have a dating advice book coming out soon.
We are very interested in looking at diversity in the entertainment industry. Can you share three reasons with our readers about why you think it’s important to have diversity represented in film and television? How can that potentially affect our culture and our youth growing up today?
Of course, we need diversity in all aspects of our lives but especially programs and movies that shape our children and youth. What they see will shape and expose them to the real world. That is why I always have my kids help with our nonprofit. Seeing homeless teens and the way they live opens their eyes to a great big world out there and showing why it’s important to help other people. We need to teach our children there is a great big world outside of their bubbles. Entertainment is a great place to show the masses of how real life is.
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why. Please share a story or example for each.
Nothing comes easy- I have had to work extremely hard to help build and create a successful company, nothing in life comes easy, you need to work for all that you have. Don’t give up- There are always bumps in the road while trying to achieve success. If you give up, then you will never know how far you can take it. You can’t make everyone happy- Sometimes people are unrealistic or unhappy with a match I have made. It doesn’t always happen right off the bat and if they don’t understand that so be it. You can only do your best to help someone. Work hard- Your internal drive will drive your business. How hard you work will show in the success of your business. My clients appreciate how hands on I am with them with matching, giving advice and helping them navigate throughout the dating process. That’s why we are so successful because we work hard for our clients every single day. People pleasing business takes compassion and patience- Helping people find love in their lives is tricky. Their heart and soul are out there on the line and you need to be very supportive, compassionate, helpful, and thoughtful of everyone’s feelings.
Can you share with our readers any self-care routines, practices, or treatments that you do to help your body, mind, or heart to thrive? Please share a story for each one if you can.
I make myself get off the computer and phone and spend time outside in nature. My boys and I love riding bikes, kayaking, hiking, playing baseball and enjoying life and nature as a family. Being active and outdoors helps me leave my work behind and I can focus on my children and our bond together and that fills my heart.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“Let all that you do be done in love”, 1 Corinthians 16:14. I always tell my boys to treat people the way you would like to be treated and those are words I live by every day.
You are a person of huge influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be?
Finding a way to give back to a great cause and people that need your help. Volunteering with an organization that gives back to the community in big and important ways. Leaving this place better than when we came.
Is there a person in the world whom you would love to have lunch with, and why? Maybe we can tag them and see what happens!
I am a big fan of Leslie Mann. Everyone says she is my celebrity doppelganger. I think she’s hilarious, genuine and seems like a great time. I feel like we could be friends.
Are you on social media? How can our readers follow you online?
IG @Tammipickle @eliteconnections_ Facebook www.facebook.com/tammipickleeliteconnections/ www.facebook.com/EliteConnectionsMatchmakers/
This was so informative, thank you so much! We wish you continued success!
About The Interviewer: Growing up in Canada, Edward Sylvan was an unlikely candidate to make a mark on the high-powered film industry based in Hollywood. But as CEO of Sycamore Entertainment Group Inc, (SEGI) Sylvan is among a select group of less than ten Black executives who have founded, own and control a publicly traded company. Now, deeply involved in the movie business, he is providing opportunities for people of color.
In 2020, he was appointed president of the Monaco International Film Festival, and was encouraged to take the festival in a new digital direction.
Raised in Toronto, he attended York University where he studied Economics and Political Science, then went to work in finance on Bay Street, (the city’s equivalent of Wall Street). After years of handling equities trading, film tax credits, options trading and mergers and acquisitions for the film, mining and technology industries, in 2008 he decided to reorient his career fully towards the entertainment business.
With the aim of helping Los Angeles filmmakers of color who were struggling to understand how to raise capital, Sylvan wanted to provide them with ways to finance their creative endeavors.
Inspirational Women In Hollywood: How Tammi Pickle Is Helping To Shake Up The Entertainment… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.