Today we’d like to introduce you to Jeff Gund.
Hi Jeff, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
INFOLIST has been created for the purpose of sharing useful and helpful entertainment industry-related information, including jobs and other opportunities, casting information for actors and models, industry networking events, seminars, screenings and parties, and anything else that I think people in the industry (or trying to get in the industry) would want to know.
There was no initial intention to create anything – It began as me simply helping various friends and emailing them to let them know when I heard about jobs or other opportunities. From there, it has grown (quite a bit!) to many thousands of people – when it grew too big for my personal email list, the infolist.com website was launched. From there, it began to grow not only in size but in scope, and in addition to jobs, content began coming from numerous castings to networking events, seminars and workshops, and other opportunities. We’ve continued to grow at a rapid pace, so we updated the website for our 2018 re-launch to bring everyone even more opportunities in even more ways. We’ve got a mobile app coming out shortly, with even more opportunities for people, including targeted networking, geo-targeted networking, and more.
Its whole reason for being has always been to help people and to give back. The general rule for sending something out as an official InfoList posting is that it should be an opportunity for the receiver (e.g., paid job, paid casting, networking event or informational seminar with established professionals, etc.) – however, there are also numerous ways for members to also promote their own work, screenings, showcases, etc. by using the social platform on the website (especially those available to Premium members!) – so we highly encourage you to set up your profile page as soon as possible!
Plus, with the launch of the new site, we’ve added search capabilities for our Pro Members to find you directly and offer you jobs, castings, and other opportunities including lots of “real people” castings (no acting experience required!) which look for all sorts of people to be in well-paid commercials and more, whether you use a certain type of phone, drive a certain type of car, love your pet, have a particular hobby or skill, or just about anything! Many national commercials cast through InfoList for major companies ranging from Google, Microsoft, and Apple, to Disney, Verizon, AT&T, Burger King, and Nike, to name just a few – and these castings can sometimes pay many thousands of dollars for a short, fun shoot!
INFOLIST has also been producing High-End Red Carpet Networking events, where we bring in some of the biggest names in the industry as Special Guests, where you get to meet them in a fun, relaxed atmosphere (which is ALWAYS better than meeting them at a panel where you get to talk to them for 30 seconds while shoving your business card in their face…). Special Guests have included producers, creators, stars, and execs from blockbuster and Oscar-winning films, top TV shows, major video game franchises, as well as top music industry people as well.
We’ve got numerous success stories from both the live events as well as our casting and online opportunities.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I’ve been lucky in that the road has been somewhat smooth – and I’m guessing I owe a certain amount of that to the fact it was not actually started as a business which would have been dependent upon making significant revenues – its whole purpose was just to help friends and associates in the industry, so it had none of the typical pressures and issues with starting a purposeful for-profit business. But luckily, it’s grown quite a bit from its simple beginnings and has now become a full-time endeavor for me (which pays all the bills)!
I guess there’s always some issues however – ranging from finding the right web developers, finding and fixing bugs, etc.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Before InfoList, I started as a composer for film/TV/video games – and it was the networking I was doing for that which led to the formation of InfoList.
As a composer, I’ve done music and sound design for hundreds of episodes of primetime television, award-winning films, and top video games. I was making a full-time living as a composer – until INFOLIST took over!
Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
Networking is NOT about shoving your business card in someone’s face and asking what they can do for you (and I’m always surprised at how many people actually do think this) – it’s about making REAL connections and REAL friendships with people – and opportunities will arise from there. Even if a person isn’t able to hire you for something, if they consider you as a friend, they’ll be happy to let their friends and associates who are hiring know about you. That’s actually how I got my first job doing numerous episodes for a major network television show – I’ve got lots of stories with examples of this!
Pricing:
- InfoList is FREE to receive for everyone (but also has a Premium membership with added benefits)
Contact Info:
- Website: www.InfoList.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/infolist_JeffGund
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Infolist
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/infolist
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSg9xy3Pzx9XX9n_sd5d6nQ/playlists
Image Credits
Photo Credits – Al Ortega
PHOTOS:
1) Jeff Gund with Dave Anthony (co-creator of the Call of Duty mega video game franchise) and Shane Black (writer/director, Iron Man 3, The Predator, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Lethal Weapon)
2) Jeff Gund with iconic writer/director David Zucker (Airplane!, Naked Gun 1-3, Scary Movie franchise, etc.)
3) Jeff Gund with George R.R. Martin (creator of Game of Thrones)
4) Jeff Gund with Ilya Salkind (executive producer, Superman movie franchise)
5) Jeff Gund with Jason & Jamie Neese, producers on Umbrella Academy
6) Jeff Gund with Jeff Goldblum (Thor: Ragnarok, The Fly, Jurassic Park, Independence Day)
7) Jeff Gund on the Red Carpet at one of the many INFOLIST events
8) Martin Kove (“Kreese” on Cobra Kai) on the InfoList red carpet
9) Jeff Gund with Sinbad (comedian, actor)
10) Jeff Gund with the iconic Stan Lee (Marvel Comics)
