Today we’d like to introduce you to Will Trowbridge.
Hi Will, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I grew up without TV in rural New Hampshire. Now I live in Los Angeles and run a creative agency. This did not happen by accident.
I am one of four kids, all of which love the arts. My sisters are among other things incredible painters, sculptors, block printers, and knitters. Although I also enjoy creating with my hands, I gravitated early in life to movie making with my parent’s handy-cam.
I remember playing with snowboarding clips on my family’s computer. Probably around 2002. Clicking forward and backward through the frames in slow motion. I was obsessed.
Youtube became a thing my sophomore year of high school. The platform allowed my friends and I to make videos after school each day, upload them at night, and get incredible live feedback the next day in each of our classes. We honed our craft and ended up with a ridiculous library of content by graduation.
I went to college at the University of Vermont because I wanted to snowboard. After my first year, I realized all I wanted to do was make movies… and I was in Vermont. Between film theory classes, I continued to create video content and seek out opportunities to immerse myself in the entertainment industry.
I was fortunate enough to nab an undergrad summer internship at The Walt Disney Studios which introduced me to Los Angeles. I drove across the country and fell in love with the city. After graduation, I moved out full time and like many didn’t exactly land on my feet. I stumbled around, freelancing on different productions and helping friends with projects. After pretty much going broke, I landed a mailroom job at 3Arts in Beverly Hills. After a short time, I started to miss being creative. After all, that was why I moved to LA in the first place. So I quit and joined Disney as a digital producer.
I spent close to five years at Disney working up through their digital department. Writing, directing, and producing content for their social channels, driving content strategy for brands such as Disney & Pixar, as well as serving as an in-house creative director for their branded content team.
After Disney, I worked for Netflix managing brand & editorial strategy for the streamer’s comedy brand, Netflix Is A Joke. While there, the company and comedy community rallied around the brand and in just three short years grew a social following north of six million.
My time at Netflix and Disney (and even New Hampshire) all prepared me for what I do now. I left Netflix earlier this year to start an LA-based creative content agency called “Saylor.”
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It wasn’t exactly easy, but I am so thankful for all the highs and lows. I’m so privileged to have gotten each opportunity that has led me to starting my own company.
For example, I struggled when I first got to LA. Just like so many who move here from smaller parts of the country. I didn’t know that many people and the friends I made were also kinda unemployed. But I worked hard! Because I had to. If I failed, I was going back home. Not to the valley. Nope. Back to the New Hampshire woods.
As you know, we’re big fans of Saylor. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Saylor officially launched in March of this year. Saylor is a creative content agency that specializes in telling stories that generate conversation, brand love, and audience growth. We primarily work in the social content & strategy space but we’re already expanding into new exciting areas.
Instead of moving full-time staff from project to project, we build our client’s custom teams from scratch. Agencies are really just people. I believe those people need to be experts in a brand’s audience/content needs to truly elevate their project, strategy, or brand challenge.
We root everything we make in platform and audience strategy to ensure our clients maximize the reach of each of their initiatives.
We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
In marketing, the definition of success typically changes with each campaign. That said, I believe each project is a “success” if we make entertaining content, drive a ton of conversation, and the client has an incredible experience.
Contact Info:
- Email: hello@saylor.la
- Website: saylor.la
- Instagram: @sayloragency
Image Credits:
https://www.instagram.com/sophkuller/ https://www.sophiekuller.com/
