While female DJs rarely receive top billing at major music festivals, local entrepreneur Tessa Young is trying to boost the role of women in the industry.

The 35-year-old in April founded Prism DJs, which quickly became L.A.’s largest boutique agency consisting solely of female DJs. Young estimated that the company, which counts 15 women on its roster, has grown revenue by 50 percent in recent months.

“I started the company because a lot of people were coming to me and saying, ‘There aren’t that many female DJs out there.’ And I said, ‘There are! No one knows where to find them,’” Young explained.

While Young had long played records on her set of Technics 1200 turntables, she didn’t set out to become a pioneering DJ. Previously, she worked as a paralegal at downtown L.A. law firm Sonnett & Associates, which was acquired by Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith, also in downtown.

But after DJ-ing on weeknights at downtown’s Wurstkuche, she said she eventually left her day job; drafted a business plan; and acquired a roughly $25,000 Small Business Administration loan from downtown’s Pacific Asian Consortium in Employment, which she used for equipment, marketing and startup costs. She has since booked DJs for companies including mobile app developer Flipagram, Google Inc. and clothiers such as Lacoste and Free People.

Her DJs typically charge between $1,500 and $2,500 for corporate events, and Young’s company gets 20 percent. The stable of DJs includes, among others, Marion Hodges of KCRW (89.9-FM).

But even though the agency has helped alleviate Young’s own client overflow, she is still in demand. Last week, her schedule included a booking at the W Hotel in Westwood and a Saturday-night gig at Sky Bar in West Hollywood.

Her vision, she said, is to continue bringing more women to the forefront of the DJ industry – and providing top-notch entertainment for her clients.

“To push that percentage up a little higher is a very exciting thing,” she said. “It’s very empowering.”

– Natalie Schachar