Athlone's Nathan ‘building reputation’ with his influencer agency

By Rebekah O'Reilly

Athlone's Nathan Green is aiming for the stars with the launch of his new influencer marketing company.

The 23-year-old didn't follow the beaten track to reach his current destination as founder of the influencer marketing company, Luainara.

He spent years working in the Midlands, where he build strong connections with Athlone Chamber of Commerce and the wider business community through roles in the Sheraton hotel.

He started working as a food and beverage assistant there, and after 3 and a half years at the hotel, covered bases from sales to customer relations and everything in between.

"I don't have a degree, I always say The Sheraton was my university," Nathan said. "I learned so much during my time there, from sales and negotiations, to guest relations and handling complaints. All those things go into a running a business.

"I wouldn't have the discipline if it wasn't for that. It taught me so much about customer service, sales, and relationship-building."

Nathan also spent two years working behind the scenes in local media, where he garnered skills of event organisation and dealing with high level clients.

"Those experiences gave me the confidence to try my own thing," he said. "I was juggling so much, I said ' why don't I give it a shot and go out on my own?' - I put the money together and eventually made the call."

The name Luainara carries a strong connection to Nathan’s adopted home.

Inspired by Áth Luain, the Irish name for Athlone, Nathan wanted the town that's played such an important role in his adult life to be part of the company he was building.

"Luain comes from Áth Luain, but I also took it from the Gaelic meaning of moon and stars because I’ve always liked the idea of humans landing on the moon," Nathan said.

"I wanted to have a part of Athlone in my company name because I’ve spent the majority of my adult life here. I would consider myself Athlonian, so I wanted to have that connection."

While the company has its roots in the Midlands town, Nathan says the Irish identity behind the name has also helped as he begins building international relationships.

"When I started operating globally, I realised people really embraced the fact that there was a bit of Irishness in the company name. It became something people connected with," he said.

The idea for Luainara was sparked in October last, when Nathan had a conversation with Laois makeup influencer James McInerney about his lack of representation.

"He was telling me about travelling to San Francisco, Indiana, LA, and Barcelona for work, and I said to him 'Please tell me you have an agent to manage this all?' He said he was looking for one, and I said, 'Would you consider me?'

"He knew how I worked and how organised I was, and we have worked together over the last six months. That partnership was really what started Luainara."

Since then, Nathan has secured international campaigns with well-known brands like TEDxAthlone, Airbnb and MAC cosmetics, as well as comedian Andrea Woods and beauty creator Josey Zhou.

Nathan was recently involved in the creation of 'Donate Your Voicemail', a campaign launched by Samaritans Ireland.

Encouraging people across Ireland to record a new voicemail message that lets callers know that, while you can't pick up right now, Samaritans can, on 116 123, day or night, the campaign has received backing by musicians Bressie, The Corrs, Kodaline and Aaron Rowe. Nathan refers to it as one of his proudest career milestones to date.

"It's the first major campaign I've run," he said. "It meant even more because I've been a long-term advocate for Samaritans. To be able to give back on such a large scale through my own company is a really proud moment."

Nathan was previously involved with Samaritans, serving as an inspiration behind its 24/7 campaign through his vow of silence fundraiser for the Samaritans 24-Hour Challenge in 2024.

"Samaritans were there for me at several low points. Just being able to pick up the phone and have someone listen without judgment made a huge difference," he said.

One of the biggest challenges of building his own company is establishing his name in a niche market.

"The biggest challenge is selling without a brand behind me," he said. "I've worked for very well-established organisations. Now, I have to build that reputation myself."

On the future of Luainara, Nathan said he hopes to keep expanding his roster and building relationships.

"I'm mainly working in beauty at the moment, but we're expanding into lifestyle, travel, fashion, and equestrian," he said.

"Every penny put into this business has been my own. Everything I've built came from hard work. I'm looking forward to seeing how I can build relationships and long-term connections over the next year."