Today we’d like to introduce you to Richard Botto.
Hi Richard, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
From a very young age, I was interested in the arts, especially theater and film. Not just the various crafts associated with each medium, but the business end as well. Because it ran in the family, so to speak, I ended up pursuing pharmacy in college. But I also took many writing and acting classes during that time as well and began performing in various plays and shows on campus. There was one professor, one who suffered zero fools, who was always complimentary of my writing and other creative skills. He was the one who convinced me to make the move out of pharmacy school and into the arts. Soon I was doing small theater around New York City.
I held various jobs along the way to pay the bills, but I also launched a billing tech company that ended up to be quite successful and for which we had a nice exit. This allowed me to launch RAZOR Magazine, which was a national men’s lifestyle magazine that competed against and routinely outsold institutional titles such as GQ, Esquire and Details. We had a hugely successful run with our readership growing literally growing month over month and hitting a peak with our last issue. Unfortunately, this was at a time where advertisers were stealing from their own print budgets to buy digital advertising. And although we were ahead of our time and the only men’s magazine with a digital component, these advertising buyers were simply aiming for mass as opposed to data-driven pinpoint opportunities available today. And as a single title publisher, we simply couldn’t survive the environment, even with the peak readership and subscriptions.
The experience was an overwhelmingly positive one, however, and informed the next few moves of my life. First, I had met a plethora of stars, agents and publicists in the entertainment industry. This alone wasn’t going to truly help me in any way to break into entertainment – they only knew me as the publisher of a magazine – but as someone who is remarkably curious, through the years running the mag, I received a master’s degree of sorts on how the entertainment business operates. This gave me the confidence to move forward pursuing a career in acting, screenwriting and producing.
While all businesses are fueled by relationships, none are more tribal than entertainment. So I set out to make as many connections as humanly possible. Quite quickly, I found myself producing a film called ANOTHER HAPPY DAY which was written and directed by Sam Levinson. We had a terrific cast – Ellen Barkin, Demi Moore, Thomas Hayden Church, Ezra Miller, Kate Bosworth, Ellen Burstyn, and George Kennedy in his final role – and shot the film in the middle of nowhere in Michigan with mostly a local crew. This film and the aftermath would be where the embryonic idea for Stage 32, the company I currently own and run, would first develop.
When you shoot an independent film, it’s like summer camp. Everyone is going to love each other forever. We’re going to stay in touch forever. Then everyone goes their separate ways and goes on with their lives. Occasionally you may touch base with someone, but that’s usually the way it goes. In this case, the tax incentives which had driven so much filming and prosperity to local actors, writers, and crew went away. People were desperate for work. They turned to me out in Los Angeles. And, of course, I tried to help where I could, but as mentioned, this is a tribal business and most of these incredibly talented people didn’t have relationships in L.A. outside of me.
At the time, most industry creatives and execs were using Facebook to connect. But when I asked people if they were getting any business out of Facebook, the answer was universally no. Pictures of kids, salads, dogs, yes. Jobs, no. But I also certainly recognized the power of social media if harnessed correctly. From my tech days, I also knew something else: anything that’s successful on a broad scope can be successful in a niche scope as well. I knew there needed to be a social media platform that was just for film, television, and digital content creators and pros to connect, discuss the industry, and to come together to launch, develop, and film projects. But that wasn’t enough, I wanted to make sure that everyone had access to world-class training. And, also paramount, I wanted to make sure the platform acted as a marketplace between content creators and beyond the gatekeepers to those who can get the content financed, greenlit, and/or produced.
Thus, Stage 32 was born. I put my own money into the pot and built the first iteration. And then, I convinced 100 of my industry friends to join the platform and offer feedback. I also asked them, if they liked what they saw, to invite at least 5 of their friends or peers. In the spirit of embracing a collaborative spirit necessary to survive in this business, that’s an ask that we still make today. That small community of 100 members has now grown to over 800,000 members worldwide in just about every country on the planet. The education library I hoped to build is now the world’s largest for film, television, and digital creatives and pros anywhere in the world, with over 1500 hours of premium education. We have become education partners with such prestigious brands as Netflix, Cannes, the American Film Market and dozens more. And we did create a robust marketplace working with over 2,000 executives worldwide who view Stage 32 as a platform to find vetted, superior content and talent, which, of course, makes their job easier.
It’s been a remarkable journey. And every day, I look forward to the next steps.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
When you’re an entrepreneur, there’s no such thing as a smooth road. And, if you’re serious about the pursuit, you wouldn’t want it to be. You learn nothing if everything comes easy. And if you’re constantly telling yourself that everything is fine, you’re simply setting yourself up for failure.
I knew going in what some of the challenges would be. For one, I was a virtual unknown coming into an industry that, candidly, abhors change in any way. This was an industry that on the creative side ran on fear and on the business side ran on a formula. But, my belief was that technology was going to be the variable that would cause a seismic shift to not only how this business operates but how it was going to expand in a global sense. That proved to be very accurate. That’s not to say that fear isn’t still prevalent in creative decision-making or that there aren’t still formulas on the business end, but the convergence of technology and entertainment has certainly changed the narrative. And I’m thrilled that Stage 32 is playing a very big part in that story.
But none of it was easy. To make the engine run, we needed creatives and professionals worldwide to see the value in the platform. We needed to turn those early advocates into evangelists. We needed those evangelists to carry the word forward. In short, we needed a community that was built and supported by the community itself. From Day One, we made our mission clear, we made it inclusive, we made it uplifting, and, and this isn’t common with most online communities, we insisted it be positive and progressive.
By doing all this, our community grew quickly and activity on the platform increased in form. That allowed us to tackle the next problem, credibility within the industry. While we were busy making relationships with those we wanted to teach or provide mentorship on our platform, we could point to the strength of the community as validity to our strength and show them the value and impact their time spend would have. We began signing on executives to work with us at a rapid rate and started producing high-level impactful education which garnered some early press, including an article in Forbes. Suddenly, the reaching out was coming in our direction instead of the other way around. We had reached a tipping point and with that came the credibility we sought. That’s continued to grow to this day.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Stage 32 is an online platform and marketplace designed to democratize the entertainment industry Stage 32. By leveling the playing field for all film, television and digital content creators and professionals worldwide, Stage 32 provides networking and training opportunities as well as direct access beyond the gatekeepers.
Since we launched in 2011, the Stage 32 community has grown to over 800,000 entertainment creatives and professionals worldwide. In addition, we’ve curated the world’s largest educational library with over 1500 hours of webinars and classes designed to help all film, television and digital content creators and pros hone their craft and navigate the industry.
We work with thousands of industry professionals that provide development services, mentorship, and consulting through the platform. We connect creator with decision-maker acting as a marketplace for the industry.
Our partners include Netflix, Cannes, the American Film Market, Variety Insight as well as hundreds of production companies, streaming platforms, film festivals, film commissions and more.
I have an incredible team that works alongside of me. They all believe in the mission and live it not just on a daily basis but with every interaction. They not only see the value in what we’re trying to accomplish but get to live it daily through the thousands and thousands of successes our members and executives have experienced through utilizing the platform.
Additionally, almost all of them have experience in film, television, or digital either on the content or business side. Many of them have vast experience developing and producing projects. To me, this is a wildly important aspect and something that has allowed us to elevate ourselves to our premier position in this space. They get what it’s like to be a creative in this industry – the rejection, the isolation, the constant fight. But they also get the business side and the challenges executives face during every part of the development, production and distribution process. As a result, they are remarkably empathetic. And I believe, unlike broad-based social media companies, you can FEEL that throughout the platform – from the social media community, within the resources we offer, and through our open and transparent communication with every single member and customer.
The cultivation and evolution of that environment is something I couldn’t be more proud of.
Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
To be successful, you have to be visible. Most people who meet me think I’m a total extrovert. But I have an introverted side that I’ve put many years of work into that allows you to draw that opinion of me today. I recognize, fully, that it’s not easy for everyone to put themselves out there, but you must. And if you want a career in entertainment, doubly so. You can’t build the vital relationships in this business if you’re hiding in the corner. How you do this dovetails into my next piece of advice.
Educate yourself by listening to the RIGHT voices. We live in a world full of “experts” and “mentors” who, thanks to broad-based social media, have managed to game the system – from buying followers and likes to making fake accounts, to building websites with BS testimonials – and, as a result, have gained currency along the way. It’s incumbent upon you to do your homework. Listening to the wrong voices and accepting false information as gospel can set you back in a real and debilitating way. It takes two seconds to do a little digging. A little negligence can do a world of damage.
Once you start surrounding yourself with the right voices, you’ll find yourself in the company you want to be in. People actually doing shit, not just talking or bitching on Twitter. Also, as you surround yourself with the right voices, you’ll find yourself more confident. And when you get more confident, you’ll stop hiding in the corner. You’ll be willing to get yourself out there.
And don’t let it stop there. Be as curious as humanly possible. I’m a voracious reader. I can’t wait to learn the next thing and the next thing and the next. But believe me, I vet before I give my time, even when it comes to the next book or article I’m planning to read. That’s become easier over time. My list of trusted sources has grown. I highly recommend following a similar path.
And finally, and in line, cut the negative voices out of your life. There’s enough negativity in the world. Cut out the people who drag you down, who don’t support your vision, your choices, your path.
Misery does indeed love company. No one says it has to be your company.
Pricing:
- Stage 32 is free to join and create a profile
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @RBwalksintoabar
- Facebook: stage32
- Twitter: @RBwalksintoabar
- Other: richardbotto.com, stage32.com
Image Credits:
Benjamin Paul Benoit
