Meet Industry Newcomer, J.J. Colao

J.J. Colao founded Haymaker Group in 2014, with no previous PR experience, and funded the business with credit card debt in its earliest days. The agency now boasts a staff of five professionals, and clients like Grubhub, Etsy, Handy, and SeatGeek. Prior to founding Haymaker, Colao worked as a young staff-writer at Forbes, where he cranked out more than 35 magazine stories, 200 web articles, four features, and a cover story, along with a variety of video interviews featuring subjects like Sean “Diddy” Combs and AOL founder Steve Case. At Haymaker, he has built the firm by consistently delivering extraordinary results for clients. When he’s not managing Haymaker, Colao also finds time to mentor Columbia University entrepreneurs and run the New York Media Meetup, an 1100-member organization that hosts reporters from outlets like The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and The New Yorker to discuss the craft and business of media.