About Us
About Us
VAR540 Entertainment's main objective is to invest in people, movements, and ideas across a wide array of platforms. Regardless of which platform you are defined as, we want to ensure that your vision and artistry is never compromised. As a consulting firm, our company specializes in the areas of music & live entertainment, talent management, professional & amateur sports, media, and business development.
Meet The Founders
Kevin Smith
Co-founder
When difficult takes a day and impossible takes a week, you will need a reliable asset such as Kevin Smith in your corner. Kevin is a proud graduate of Alabama A&M University who brings 15 years of sales, consulting, account management, and business development experience to the table. His priority focus with VAR540 is to ensure that clients of all genres are able to exceed their personal and professional goals in the most strategic and efficient way possible. Kevin’s secondary focus is to build the sports division for VAR540. As a former student athlete and semi-pro basketball player, Kevin has witnessed the obstacles that are present for athletes who are not properly informed or guided throughout their playing careers. In addition to his service with VAR540, Kevin serves as the National Director of Sales & Strategy for the Women’s Basketball Development Association. The WBDA is the world’s largest professional developmental league for women with over 40 teams located in the United States, Mexico, and Canada.
Nick “Tense” Garris
Co-founder
“Legacy is a mark that lasts forever.” The ambition to define his mark has motivated Nick “Tense” Garris along his 15 year career in business and IT. As Tense navigated throughout his career, countless marks were created which laid the foundation for improvement on all levels. In his current role as a Lead Development and Process Manager, Tense has joined forces with an elite team that shares his same vision of leaving their marks on the world. Tense’s brilliant mind and thought process brings a dynamic to the team that can never be duplicated. Breaking down an idea or vision into its purest form and sculpting it for maximum efficiency is what he brings for any client. His philosophy is “Nothing can be perfect until you know all of the ways to break it. I fix things. I work in IT. My job is to make it work. I believe this applies to all facets of life. This is why I can see art in everything. Whether its music, sports, or technology, you name it, the whole world is my “Matrix”. I am just trying to get everyone else to see it that way. My Ultimate Legacy.”
Brandon “Granz” Sparks
Co-founder
Granz wakes up in the morning with music flowing through his veins & goes to sleep thinking about how he can change the landscape of music forever. Granz's #1 dream as a little kid was to become the CEO of a record label; he always wanted to be a music executive. He looked up to Def Jam label heads Russel Simmons & Kevin Lyles, Uptown's Andre Harrell, and Laface's LA Reid & Babyface to name a few. Granz started rapping to pursue his dreams & launched the group VAR-City which included his cousin Self-O.N.E. & other childhood friends. He credits RZA from Wu-Tang Clan as his mentor and inspiration behind the creation of VAR. Now that Granz is no longer an artist, he spends his days focused on establishing VAR540 as a multimedia powerhouse. Granz is responsible for overseeing the music division of VAR540 which consist of booking studio time, A&R for artist projects, marketing execution, etc. Granz has 20 years of experience in the music industry and will always be a lifetime lover of music.
