Today we’d like to introduce you to Gregory Frank.
Gregory, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
After film school at UC Santa Barbara, I landed an unpaid internship at a Hollywood studio now called Covert Media (District 9, Fury). I spent ten months working there while sleeping on couches before my boss and mentor, Elissa Friedman, got me on the payroll. Over the next two years, I climbed my way up to an executive position in marketing, before the company drastically downsized following a box office flop.
I had been working weekends helping my entrepreneurial friends launch new businesses via Kickstarter so, almost by accident, I found a new job at a marketing agency that launched campaigns professionally. Then 26 years old, I spent 18 months learning from the agency’s founder, Chris Olenik, who became a mentor to me as we raised $17M for 60 client campaigns. I wanted to get back to my roots of storytelling via content, so in the spring of 2016 I left to create Early Bird Studios: the first Kickstarter video production company.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Using my savings to start a business by myself was a blessing and a curse that was anything but smooth. It forced me to pave my own, longer road compared to entrepreneurs with partners or financing, but it was the road I needed to grow both personally and professionally. From building a realistic business plan and correctly setting up the legal framework to finding the right vendors and locking in paying clients, the list of required start-up challenges is a lot by yourself.
But the true struggles are dealing with the unpredictable fallen trees in your path. For example, we’ve dealt with clients who have gone out of business before finishing payment and competitors using our original footage in their demo reels. Once I started to surround myself with the right long-term partners and clients, things smoothed out dramatically. Most importantly, when those unpredictable trees inevitably fall again, it helps to be blessed with a group of lifelong friends and family that have my back, especially my incredible wife and life partner.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Early Bird Studios – what should we know?
Early Bird Studios is the top video production company for startups and product launches. We take one investment and affordably create all the content a business needs to succeed in modern marketing. From Facebook ads and Instagram stories to brand videos and product photography, our process overdelivers shareable content that engages with targeted viewers and converts them into brand loyalists with measurable ROI.
Our foundational specialty is Indiegogo & Kickstarter video production, but we also strategize and produce content for boundary-pushing, mission-driven brands. We’re known for hands-on collaborations with our clients. If you’re looking for a template videographer – that’s not us. We combine extensive market research with our best practices to craft authentic brand stories.
What sets us most apart from others is our team. There is no other video production agency or studio servicing startup clients and crowdfunding campaigns that have Oscar-contending directors shooting on cinema-level cameras, visual effects artists from Netflix and Hulu, or a CEO & Producer that’s not only guided 125 brands to market as a content creator and as an advertising agency executive but has successfully brought his own product to market.
I’m proud of all the work we do to help other entrepreneurs reach their goals, but I’m most proud of my team for their ability to band together and create stunning content in the face of adversity. Try shooting a full-day, run-and-gun production in downtown Los Angeles for a client that could only afford to make two left shoes for their footwear line.
Where do you see your industry going over the next 5-10 years? Any big shifts, changes, trends, etc?We operate in a unique cross section of content production, consumer technology, and crowdfunding, all of which are experiencing seismic shifts:
Content production has become more affordable and efficient since we first started, but those trends will continue to the point where humans will not be editing videos in the near future. Artificial intelligence will ideate stories, seamlessly execute cinematography, and quickly post-produce high-end content. It is hard to imagine but it is coming.
Consumer technology has obviously changed drastically with the IoT revolution but, while there are more awesome products coming, I actually think this space has peaked due to concerns about privacy, saturation, and protecting intellectual property. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see a reverse in trends where the next generation of consumers don’t want every product to be charged and WiFi-enabled with an embedded listening device or camera. I sure don’t.
Crowdfunding is undergoing rapid maturation. Gone are the days when you could post a cool idea and raise millions of dollars on the back of a press hit. Backers are savvy, the platforms are taking more responsibility in helping creators deliver, and us marketers are getting better at telling transparent stories from those who want to honestly use this system for good. We’re not far off from a crowdfunding world where the delivery of rewards comes with a money-back guarantee.
No matter what changes are on the horizon for these industries, we believe in the power of content when crafted for good people with great ideas. So no matter where future stories need to be told, Early Bird Studios will be there.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.earlybirdstudios.com
- Phone: 323-984-8481
- Email: [email protected]
Image Credit:
Aeschleah DeMartino, Michael Gauthier, Roddy Tabatabai
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