Pictured: Jessie Reyez and Byron Wilson

There's a personal story to how Byron Wilson started in his music manager career, and that touch still guides him. He started 1851 House out of the basement of the Vancouver residence (naturally at 1851 east 41st Ave.) where he lived with his best friends. One of those friends was the first artist he worked with, Canadian rapper SonReal.

Now, he has a full team looking after five artists, including breakout Canadian R&B/pop singer Jessie Reyez. In 2016, a young and hungry Reyez sent her music to Mauricio Ruiz on Facebook. It wasn't long before she had her first breakout hit, "Figures," and the two of them managed her together for six years. (Ruiz has since moved to L.A. and started The Manager's Playbook podcast.) "Jessie is a giant," Wilson says. "And Jermi Thomas is the best A&R in the game."

This year, Reyez released her third full-length album, PAID IN MEMORIES, and recently launched a tour that will take her through the United States, Canada and Europe until the end of 2025. It's already sold 100,000 tickets, Wilson says. That's his proudest moment of the year, and it's a reflection of the journey he and Reyez have both taken over the last decade: "If you believe in something, be relentless and never stop being curious."