The Queen of Confidence: Serena Kerrigan

Serena F*cking Kerrigan. If you haven't heard her name, start getting used to it because she is building her empire and taking the social media world by storm. Take a second and think back to your first night of freshman year. College is a place to reinvent yourself, and on this night in a bar at Duke University, "Serena F*cking Kerrigan" was born. From that day on, Serena created the powerhouse persona she continues to radiate today. Fast forward and now at 26, season one of Let's Fucking Date (her Instagram live dating show) just wrapped and the Queen of Confidence is just getting started. I had the opportunity to chat with Serena about her journey and tips, read below to find out more.

How did you build your empire?

I quit my job in February and said I was leaving to build my empire. Did I know what that empire was? Absolutely not. I knew that I wanted to make incredible, impactful content that empowered my audience to be unapologetically in love with themselves. I started building it by first, believing in myself, and second, creating content. I realize that you’re not all of a sudden going to have a perfect BIG idea that takes off.

Trying Out Different Things

The way to get there is by trying different things. I started doing a lot of Instagram Lives, I first had a show called Quarentini’s with SFK, it was every day at 6:30 pm where I sat on my couch and drank and answered questions, sometimes I would interview celebrity guests, you get it. But that wasn’t the idea that stuck. What DID stick what that it evolved into an Instagram Live dating show every Friday at 8:30 pm EST called Let’s Fucking Date. But it’s evolving and growing every week. I did NOT expect LFD to take off as it did. I really think it was the right place and at the right time. Other than my sparkling personality and the format of my show, it really was the first live reality show on Instagram. It was also the fact that no one was doing anything on Fridays and people really wanted a sense of community and purpose. The show gave people something to look forward to. I look back on the earlier episodes of the show and it was a mess compared to my season finale that was sponsored by Bumble. You have to allow yourself to grow and not see mistakes as mistakes but as lessons. If you had told me years ago I would have blown up from a live dating show during a global pandemic I would have been like “I think that we need to get you to therapy. ASAP!” Anyway— I am so excited about the positive impact it has made on my community. It has created great energy around virtual dating.

What is a typical day (or week) like for you?

A typical day looks like: I wake up, check my phone, I work out immediately (I need to get it out of the way first thing in the day) I have an OWYN coffee protein shake, I have a team meeting every day at 10:30 am where we go over the agenda for the day. Recently I’ve been doing a lot of confidence coaching (you can sign up here!) I love meeting my audience and really helping them on their journey to confidence and inspiring them to realize that they have complete control over their identity and the way they see themselves.

What did you study in college and did you always know that being a confidence coach/content creator was what you wanted to do?

I studied visual media studies and English at Duke. I always knew that I wanted to be working with a visual medium— I originally thought I wanted to be a filmmaker and I ended up working at Refinery29 right after I graduated because I loved the idea of working at a digital company and that I would be able to make and produce right out of the gate. I didn’t realize that SFK, a persona that I used for myself in college could turn into a brand all about confidence. I never envisioned that trajectory at all. It was really through my work at Refinery and all the different content I was making, especially one series called Taboo where I discuss taboo subjects. I realized very quickly that I was able to create an environment where people were talking about things like abortion or being gay in a religious household, topics that are very difficult to discuss openly and I felt I was able to make them feel comfortable very quickly. This made me realize that nothing is truly taboo, you should be able to talk about things in your life without shame. Through this experience, I really discovered my passion for empowering others, which I now carry into my confidence in coaching sessions and throughout the SFK brand.

Is it surreal for you to see the brand and business grow as much as it has in the last couple of months?  

It’s funny— sometimes yes, and sometimes no. I am relentless, I am someone who is constantly thinking about the next thing before the present thing is even complete. I work fast and hard and I see potential in myself, my team, and this company that we’ve built. My mentality is usually “I’m not doing enough” which is bullshit because I need to work on being more in the moment and being more gentle with myself. Great things do take time to make. This is just the beginning, I have only scratched the surface.

What advice would you give to someone who is just starting out in the industry?

Create, create, create! To anyone who wants to be in the social media, creative, influencer, or production space— you have a phone, you have social media, you have time and you have space to do it! There’s no excuse. I had to carry a bulky-ass camera around when I was 15 to create my first short film, you have an iPhone!

Just do it. You’ll never know.

To learn more about Serena Kerrigan & SFK LFG LLC, click here.