The Risk Everyone Warned Me Against—And Why It Worked
- 22 hours ago
- 2 min read
By Alexandra Olivia Engelson
Magic & Moxie Productions is my answer to what happens when women stop asking for permission and start building the worlds they want to live in. And today, it’s also the shared vision that my team and I are building together, one daring choice at a time.
In 2025, I made the decision to evolve Magic & Moxie into a multi-division storytelling company rooted in one mission: to make brave voices impossible to ignore.
My biggest leadership lesson this year was this:
Dreams expand when you stop shrinking around other people’s comfort zones.
Earlier this year, I planned to invest in a friend’s company. Ultimately, we realized it could jeopardize our friendship. That moment forced me to take a hard look in the mirror: Why wasn’t I investing in myself at that level?
So I redirected that investment inward—into building a home for creatives where the team is valued, where walking into rooms as the only woman is no longer normalized, and where stories by people of color, Deaf creatives, and queer artists aren’t the exception but the foundation.
That commitment was tested immediately.
My inner circle told me that hiring an assistant, especially when the company wasn’t yet generating significant revenue, would drain resources. I ignored the fear-based advice and put the call out anyway.
300 (!) applications came in.
I personally read every email, reviewed every submission, and responded individually to every candidate we weren’t moving forward with.
After 15 interviews, I met three extraordinary women, each bringing something vital and irreplaceable, each expanding my vision of what Magic & Moxie could become.
I went back to my inner circle for guidance, but they couldn’t choose either. Then I had the idea to hire all three.
Of course, that’s when the doubt poured in.
“You’re crazy.”
“It’ll never work.”
“Don’t expand too fast.”
“Three people means three people to manage.”
So I trusted the one compass that has never failed me: my gut.
I brought all three on as Executive Assistant / Associate Producers, with the promise that together we would discover what roles they want to play in the company, what they want to say as artists, and the kinds of stories they want to champion.
Two months later, we’ve expanded into four new projects, sharpened our creative identity, clarified our values, and found our place in the landscape we’re building.
My biggest leadership lesson this year?
Trust your intuition, especially when it scares other people.
Magic & Moxie isn’t just my production company anymore. It’s a home for courageous storytelling, a community for underrepresented voices, and a blueprint for what happens when women invest in themselves—fully, unapologetically, and with vision.
And we’re only getting started.
Connect With Alexandra
Company Instagram: @magicandmoxieproductions
Personal Instagram: @aoengelson
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