WEBVTT 1 00:00:03.439 --> 00:00:06.440 Deborah, with her thirty years of being an entrepreneur and 2 00:00:06.559 --> 00:00:09.919 creating over seven companies, knows exactly what it means to 3 00:00:10.039 --> 00:00:13.160 accept the mission. When you make that decision, when you 4 00:00:13.240 --> 00:00:16.399 accept the mission to become a solopreneur, to take yourself 5 00:00:16.440 --> 00:00:19.079 and your talents to market, then you embrace a life 6 00:00:19.079 --> 00:00:23.120 of not only unlimited possibilities, but also the unknown. It's 7 00:00:23.160 --> 00:00:26.280 an elixir of fear and bravery that only someone who's 8 00:00:26.359 --> 00:00:30.519 taken the leap really understands. On our show, deb digs 9 00:00:30.559 --> 00:00:33.359 deep with her guests to highlight what you the listener 10 00:00:33.399 --> 00:00:36.600 wants to know, the stories, the whys, and the hows 11 00:00:36.799 --> 00:00:40.000 to navigate the journey to success. Get ready to hear 12 00:00:40.039 --> 00:00:43.039 from some of the most incredible mission takers from Generation 13 00:00:43.280 --> 00:00:46.560 Z to boomers. So sit up, perk up, and get 14 00:00:46.600 --> 00:00:49.280 ready to be blown away. Now here is your host, 15 00:00:49.600 --> 00:00:50.560 Deborah Drummond. 16 00:00:53.439 --> 00:00:58.200 Hello, and welcome back to another incredible episode. As you know, 17 00:00:58.600 --> 00:01:01.520 I always tell you you're something I'm. 18 00:01:01.399 --> 00:01:05.439 Telling y'all from somehow, and today let me see you 19 00:01:05.480 --> 00:01:09.480 are the most entertained. You are the most entertained podcast 20 00:01:09.560 --> 00:01:10.319 audience today. 21 00:01:10.719 --> 00:01:15.640 I'm very excited to bring Darren Darnbara to the show today, 22 00:01:15.760 --> 00:01:18.799 and I think he might have a few words to 23 00:01:18.799 --> 00:01:21.159 say about media, maybe a little bit about entertainment. 24 00:01:21.159 --> 00:01:22.719 But we're gonna have a great time together. 25 00:01:22.760 --> 00:01:25.719 And if you have landed on Mission Accepted today because 26 00:01:25.760 --> 00:01:28.400 you thought that sounded like a great title, by the way, 27 00:01:28.480 --> 00:01:30.799 you're gonna find out how Darren decided. 28 00:01:30.359 --> 00:01:33.079 To take on the mission and why he stays on 29 00:01:33.120 --> 00:01:33.560 the mission. 30 00:01:33.599 --> 00:01:35.719 That's where the good stories come from, is when someone 31 00:01:35.760 --> 00:01:38.480 decides I'm going to do something and they think the 32 00:01:38.519 --> 00:01:41.640 big bravery comes in making that decision, and then the 33 00:01:41.719 --> 00:01:44.319 journey gets fun and it also gets funky and most 34 00:01:44.319 --> 00:01:46.519 of the time my listeners, thank you so much. You 35 00:01:46.640 --> 00:01:50.159 share and post and comment and you really tell me 36 00:01:50.200 --> 00:01:52.799 what you need and I love how. 37 00:01:52.680 --> 00:01:54.319 You are sharing. 38 00:01:54.599 --> 00:01:58.319 And as you know, we are also going global and 39 00:01:58.359 --> 00:02:00.439 doing some really cool live shows and you'll see all that. 40 00:02:01.040 --> 00:02:04.799 But anyways, that being said, thank you for being here today, Darren, 41 00:02:04.879 --> 00:02:06.840 and welcome to Mission Accepted podcast. 42 00:02:07.400 --> 00:02:09.159 Thank you for having me. It's a pleasure to be 43 00:02:09.199 --> 00:02:09.759 with you here. 44 00:02:10.120 --> 00:02:11.919 Absolutely absolutely so. 45 00:02:12.719 --> 00:02:14.960 Darren, why don't you tell us a little bit about 46 00:02:15.400 --> 00:02:18.439 what you do and share with us a little bit 47 00:02:18.479 --> 00:02:20.120 about how you decided to do it. 48 00:02:20.680 --> 00:02:22.560 I was looking at your things this morning, and I. 49 00:02:22.560 --> 00:02:25.759 Didn't quite catch the story or maybe your story, of 50 00:02:25.800 --> 00:02:27.199 how you ended up doing what you're doing. 51 00:02:28.400 --> 00:02:30.840 Well, that's interesting because sometimes I don't even know what 52 00:02:30.919 --> 00:02:33.400 I do, and I find it hard to explain. But 53 00:02:33.439 --> 00:02:37.800 there's because traditionally we would explain what we do as 54 00:02:37.879 --> 00:02:41.000 being out our job or our career. Mind shifted in 55 00:02:41.039 --> 00:02:44.599 a few different directions, but also kept consistent in the 56 00:02:44.639 --> 00:02:47.719 main things that I do, which is from a young age, 57 00:02:47.759 --> 00:02:50.400 I've always been an actor, and from a young age, 58 00:02:50.439 --> 00:02:53.400 I've always been very interested in business and entrepreneurship, and 59 00:02:53.479 --> 00:02:56.599 I've managed to somehow do them both concurrently at the 60 00:02:56.639 --> 00:02:59.919 same time throughout my life. And now, you know, being 61 00:03:00.599 --> 00:03:03.599 twenty five years older than that that teenage boy, I 62 00:03:03.639 --> 00:03:05.759 see that I have consistently done that and it's not 63 00:03:05.800 --> 00:03:08.080 really flipped and flopped, but I've managed to keep both 64 00:03:08.080 --> 00:03:11.039 of those tracks running. And I used to struggle with 65 00:03:12.080 --> 00:03:14.840 that part of it, feeling like shouldn't I focus on 66 00:03:14.840 --> 00:03:18.000 one thing or the other. And actually I'm now very 67 00:03:18.000 --> 00:03:20.560 comfortable knowing that I like both, I'm good at both. 68 00:03:21.240 --> 00:03:21.800 That's fine. 69 00:03:22.800 --> 00:03:25.199 Well, I think that you know, when people used to 70 00:03:25.759 --> 00:03:27.879 we we've had that conversation and people like, you know, 71 00:03:27.919 --> 00:03:30.439 if you just do one thing, and it's like, you know, 72 00:03:30.639 --> 00:03:32.879 for a lot of creatives, and I know I am one. 73 00:03:33.000 --> 00:03:34.520 There's a lot of creatives that come on the show. 74 00:03:34.560 --> 00:03:38.280 Let's face it, whatever industry you're on, that you're or in, 75 00:03:38.360 --> 00:03:42.520 that you are creating, whether it's accounting or whether it's 76 00:03:42.560 --> 00:03:44.000 on the screen like you've done. 77 00:03:44.560 --> 00:03:47.840 I always tell people I'm a creative. I'm a creative. 78 00:03:48.159 --> 00:03:51.439 I happen to create businesses or I happen to create 79 00:03:51.560 --> 00:03:53.319 my company, or I happen to create. 80 00:03:53.719 --> 00:03:55.000 But it's the creative mind. 81 00:03:55.039 --> 00:03:57.639 I mean, someone called me an lentrepreneur and I'm like, okay, 82 00:03:57.639 --> 00:04:00.280 I'll take it if you that's great. There's a title 83 00:04:00.400 --> 00:04:02.599 for people do more than one thing at one time. 84 00:04:03.080 --> 00:04:05.159 But I think that if you have. 85 00:04:05.080 --> 00:04:09.240 A mission and your mission, you can have one mission 86 00:04:09.280 --> 00:04:10.879 and do it many different ways. 87 00:04:11.319 --> 00:04:12.479 But I too. 88 00:04:12.439 --> 00:04:14.560 Struggled a little bit with hey, maybe if you just 89 00:04:14.599 --> 00:04:17.120 focused on one thing, And I'm like, but I'm a 90 00:04:17.160 --> 00:04:19.720 creative and my brain doesn't work that way, and my. 91 00:04:19.800 --> 00:04:21.959 Job is to be satisfied in my soul. 92 00:04:22.199 --> 00:04:24.439 So I don't want to do just one thing and 93 00:04:24.560 --> 00:04:27.800 feel a yearning over here and I talked about it 94 00:04:27.839 --> 00:04:30.560 actually on a summit earlier this morning. They were talking 95 00:04:30.560 --> 00:04:32.240 to me about business, and I said, you know, a 96 00:04:32.240 --> 00:04:34.720 lot of people used to do a full time job 97 00:04:34.959 --> 00:04:37.040 and a part time job, and a lot of times 98 00:04:37.079 --> 00:04:38.920 their part time job was more fun, and they wanted 99 00:04:38.920 --> 00:04:40.800 their part time job to be their full time job. 100 00:04:41.079 --> 00:04:44.920 And now we have this world of entrepreneurship where side 101 00:04:44.959 --> 00:04:46.879 gigs are turning into their full time gigs. 102 00:04:46.920 --> 00:04:49.160 And why can't you have pleasure from two things? 103 00:04:49.720 --> 00:04:52.040 Well, and the interesting thing about what you just said, 104 00:04:52.040 --> 00:04:54.720 there is no one really does one thing. Even if 105 00:04:54.759 --> 00:04:57.319 you have one career and one salary and one job, 106 00:04:57.399 --> 00:04:59.839 you still have your off time, You still have your 107 00:05:00.720 --> 00:05:03.839 you still have your your weekends and your vacations and 108 00:05:03.879 --> 00:05:05.160 things like that, your family. 109 00:05:05.639 --> 00:05:07.720 No one does one thing all the time. 110 00:05:08.399 --> 00:05:12.839 And I think if you're entrepreneurially minded, you you have 111 00:05:12.920 --> 00:05:16.920 a lack of that desire to have one job, and 112 00:05:17.199 --> 00:05:20.199 you usually do enjoy what you do, so actually your 113 00:05:20.240 --> 00:05:23.000 leisure time becomes your work time, and they all intermingle. 114 00:05:23.759 --> 00:05:29.160 But it's it's really sort of a bit disingenuous to 115 00:05:29.160 --> 00:05:31.319 set for anyone to say they do one thing. We 116 00:05:31.480 --> 00:05:35.240 all go to the gym or hang out or watch 117 00:05:35.240 --> 00:05:38.079 TV or sleep or you know, all these different different 118 00:05:38.079 --> 00:05:40.720 areas of your life. And I think an entrepreneur just 119 00:05:40.920 --> 00:05:45.240 masters those different areas and compartmentalizes them or not depending 120 00:05:45.240 --> 00:05:47.319 on how good they are, and does all those things 121 00:05:47.360 --> 00:05:51.160 concurrently in the same way most people do different areas 122 00:05:51.160 --> 00:05:52.120 of their life concurrently. 123 00:05:52.600 --> 00:05:56.000 Yeah, no, well said, Well said, Well, you know, great observation. 124 00:05:56.680 --> 00:05:58.560 I know that. Let's talk a little bit more. 125 00:05:58.639 --> 00:06:01.600 So. You talked about being an actor or from a teenager. 126 00:06:01.600 --> 00:06:03.920 I mean, let's talk about that because you said, I 127 00:06:04.000 --> 00:06:06.680 know that you act. Obviously I was watching you this morning. 128 00:06:06.720 --> 00:06:10.560 It was amazing. And also, you have this company that's 129 00:06:10.639 --> 00:06:12.800 kind of been the same vein and you say that 130 00:06:12.839 --> 00:06:16.199 you've been entrepreneurial, you know, pretty consistently in both Has 131 00:06:16.240 --> 00:06:18.959 it always been the same or have you been Did 132 00:06:19.000 --> 00:06:22.160 you have something entrepreneurial that wasn't necessarily in your industry? 133 00:06:22.519 --> 00:06:23.920 Maybe tell us a little backstory. 134 00:06:24.519 --> 00:06:28.279 Yeah, I did have various entrepreneurial pursuits that I would 135 00:06:28.279 --> 00:06:33.600 say they've always been industry adjacent looking back, and at 136 00:06:33.600 --> 00:06:35.879 the time some of them didn't feel But when I 137 00:06:35.920 --> 00:06:39.319 look at the whole picture where I'm from, the I'm 138 00:06:39.360 --> 00:06:42.560 from a small town in North London. Having a career 139 00:06:42.600 --> 00:06:45.160 as an actor, which is what I was interested in 140 00:06:45.439 --> 00:06:49.720 when I was you know, school, early teens. I realized 141 00:06:49.759 --> 00:06:51.600 it's something I was good at in the same way 142 00:06:51.600 --> 00:06:54.120 that many people do, just through doing it at school 143 00:06:54.240 --> 00:06:58.040 or on their weekend extracurricular kind of things. But it 144 00:06:58.079 --> 00:07:01.439 never felt like a viable career. It's, you know, I'm 145 00:07:01.480 --> 00:07:04.600 a product of that negative talk that you get around 146 00:07:04.680 --> 00:07:06.759 things that you want to do that no one ever 147 00:07:06.839 --> 00:07:11.000 makes it, or it's tough, all those things, and so 148 00:07:11.240 --> 00:07:13.959 in my head I always needed a backup plan, or 149 00:07:13.959 --> 00:07:16.240 not even a backup plan, just another thing to do 150 00:07:16.319 --> 00:07:18.759 at the same time, and studying was one of them. 151 00:07:18.800 --> 00:07:21.800 And I got my you know, my qualifications, and then 152 00:07:21.839 --> 00:07:23.560 went to college and all these things, but all at 153 00:07:23.600 --> 00:07:26.319 the same time, I was always acting, and I started 154 00:07:26.319 --> 00:07:30.519 doing local amateur dramatics like many people do. The shift 155 00:07:30.600 --> 00:07:34.680 happened when I was actually asked to be in oh. 156 00:07:35.040 --> 00:07:37.959 I was given the opportunity to be a background artist 157 00:07:37.959 --> 00:07:40.839 and a commercial that my head teacher at school knew 158 00:07:40.839 --> 00:07:43.000 the producer of, and he knew that me and my 159 00:07:43.040 --> 00:07:45.160 friend were like the actor kids at school were always 160 00:07:45.160 --> 00:07:47.120 in all the school shows, and he gave us the 161 00:07:47.160 --> 00:07:48.839 afternoon off to go because he thought it'd be a 162 00:07:48.879 --> 00:07:52.000 great experience. And that really sort of changed my perspective 163 00:07:52.040 --> 00:07:55.000 because it was a professional set. We were just you know, 164 00:07:55.240 --> 00:07:56.879 showing up to be in the background. I was think 165 00:07:56.920 --> 00:08:01.279 I was like fourteen fifteen. But the lead guy in it, 166 00:08:01.360 --> 00:08:04.680 who was also the same age as me, he had 167 00:08:04.680 --> 00:08:07.319 his own TV show. He was a legitimate TV star 168 00:08:07.360 --> 00:08:10.160 that we watched as kids. It was the sort of 169 00:08:10.199 --> 00:08:11.959 show you would watch when you get home from school. 170 00:08:12.120 --> 00:08:15.920 So he was a teenage hero. And we found out 171 00:08:15.920 --> 00:08:17.399 from talking to him and so that he lived in 172 00:08:17.399 --> 00:08:19.160 our area, and so we started hanging out with him 173 00:08:19.199 --> 00:08:21.600 as a friend, just playing on our bios things like that, 174 00:08:22.399 --> 00:08:26.319 and through him, I learned about agents. I learned about 175 00:08:26.360 --> 00:08:28.600 acting classes in the evening because he was even though 176 00:08:28.600 --> 00:08:30.360 he's our age, he had an agent. He was on 177 00:08:30.399 --> 00:08:34.360 TV and he took us to his class one evening 178 00:08:35.279 --> 00:08:38.240 that was run by his agent. And that changed my 179 00:08:38.279 --> 00:08:40.440 perspective because I was in a room of several people 180 00:08:40.480 --> 00:08:43.519 that I'd seen on television and I got up and 181 00:08:43.600 --> 00:08:47.080 acted with them, and I was like, Wow, this is 182 00:08:48.120 --> 00:08:50.799 something you can do as a career, not that I 183 00:08:50.840 --> 00:08:52.279 didn't know that, it just wasn't. 184 00:08:52.039 --> 00:08:53.879 In my immediate realm. 185 00:08:54.120 --> 00:08:57.720 And then through that I got representation with a different 186 00:08:57.720 --> 00:09:02.159 agent that run an acting class. I had two editions booked. 187 00:09:02.159 --> 00:09:05.679 My second one, which was a Dr Pepper commercial, got 188 00:09:05.679 --> 00:09:08.120 paid a lot of money for it at the age 189 00:09:08.159 --> 00:09:11.639 of sixteen, and that really not like a crazy amount 190 00:09:11.639 --> 00:09:14.000 of money, but way more than what your regular part 191 00:09:14.000 --> 00:09:17.440 time job was paying. I was on a professional set 192 00:09:17.559 --> 00:09:21.399 in a professional studio around other actors, a professional and 193 00:09:21.440 --> 00:09:23.159 I was like, Wow, actually this could be a career. 194 00:09:23.639 --> 00:09:27.240 And then my perspective shifted into it being a viable career, 195 00:09:27.360 --> 00:09:29.519 but still a tough one where I know I'm not 196 00:09:29.559 --> 00:09:32.039 going to make a consistent income all those things. And 197 00:09:32.159 --> 00:09:35.000 for a perspective, yes, I booked the second audition professional 198 00:09:35.039 --> 00:09:37.519 audition I did. It was another forty before I booked 199 00:09:37.519 --> 00:09:40.559 the next job, So that was beginner's luck in a way, 200 00:09:42.360 --> 00:09:44.000 and that sort of set the path for me thinking 201 00:09:44.039 --> 00:09:47.919 I need another career to go alongside of it. 202 00:09:48.240 --> 00:09:49.840 And what I remember deciding. 203 00:09:49.480 --> 00:09:51.480 At an early age is it had to be something flexible, 204 00:09:52.200 --> 00:09:55.000 because I knew I wanted to make myself available for 205 00:09:55.080 --> 00:09:59.960 this career and I very quickly saw people lose opportunities 206 00:10:00.000 --> 00:10:01.879 because they couldn't get the day off work or because 207 00:10:01.879 --> 00:10:05.320 they were you know, had these other obligations. So I 208 00:10:05.399 --> 00:10:08.919 decided I needed entrepreneurship because it's the only thing that 209 00:10:08.960 --> 00:10:13.080 I can call the shot song. And that's where when 210 00:10:13.120 --> 00:10:17.639 I started to look for things that were at bareminghim 211 00:10:17.720 --> 00:10:20.039 contract work. It's not like I've never had a regular job, 212 00:10:20.039 --> 00:10:22.320 but it would always be on a contract basis where 213 00:10:22.559 --> 00:10:24.480 I would decide each day if I was saying yes 214 00:10:24.559 --> 00:10:29.159 or no to that job. Or it'll be things that 215 00:10:29.840 --> 00:10:32.399 were commission based, so I could decide how hard I 216 00:10:32.440 --> 00:10:34.759 worked at it or not, and I would reap the 217 00:10:34.799 --> 00:10:37.360 rewards based upon my effort. And then that sort of 218 00:10:37.440 --> 00:10:41.399 led into various entrepreneurial endeavors. And when we get back 219 00:10:41.399 --> 00:10:43.679 to that thing of have they always been entertainment related 220 00:10:44.120 --> 00:10:46.360 kind of one of the first sort of quote unquote 221 00:10:46.399 --> 00:10:50.440 businesses I ran was a nightclub promotion company where we 222 00:10:50.559 --> 00:10:54.600 would promote nightclub nights, you know, getting people to come 223 00:10:54.639 --> 00:10:58.360 to your event. Classic, but I was doing the sort 224 00:10:58.399 --> 00:11:01.440 of celebrity clubs, the ones that you couldn't get into 225 00:11:01.519 --> 00:11:04.120 but you could if you knew the right person, and 226 00:11:04.120 --> 00:11:06.240 they were structured as a business. You know, we had 227 00:11:06.279 --> 00:11:08.879 targets to hear and clients and all those things. But 228 00:11:09.000 --> 00:11:12.600 it's caused entertainment adjacent because what those nightclubs really wanted 229 00:11:12.600 --> 00:11:15.879 from me was my actor friends, my model friends to 230 00:11:16.000 --> 00:11:20.120 come to their club. And then I also ran from 231 00:11:20.720 --> 00:11:24.840 doing a lot of brand ambassador work, which is kind 232 00:11:24.879 --> 00:11:29.159 of the promotional staff, the modeling that you do exhibitions, 233 00:11:29.200 --> 00:11:31.879 pretty people handing out free things. I did a lot 234 00:11:31.919 --> 00:11:35.679 of that work in between the acting work which many 235 00:11:35.720 --> 00:11:39.039 many actors do, many models do that because it's flexible. 236 00:11:39.480 --> 00:11:42.200 And that was my first successful company really that I 237 00:11:42.240 --> 00:11:46.519 built around that industry, which was getting actors that were 238 00:11:46.559 --> 00:11:51.960 not working work in another industry that was adjacent to 239 00:11:52.000 --> 00:11:54.120 what they were doing and used their skills. And so 240 00:11:54.159 --> 00:11:56.360 I built a company called Stuck for Staff, which was 241 00:11:56.399 --> 00:12:02.159 a software as a service platform SaaS business as they're 242 00:12:02.200 --> 00:12:04.080 now called, which we didn't know that was called it 243 00:12:04.120 --> 00:12:07.960 then because there weren't many subscription businesses out there. This 244 00:12:08.080 --> 00:12:10.039 is back in the early two thousands. I did this 245 00:12:10.559 --> 00:12:13.360 and it was you know, it's a recruitment platform which 246 00:12:13.440 --> 00:12:18.399 matched people in a marketplace that they now call it 247 00:12:18.840 --> 00:12:20.720 off staff that work in that industry, and we end 248 00:12:20.759 --> 00:12:23.679 up having the largest database of those staff in the 249 00:12:23.720 --> 00:12:25.399 country for sure, but probably the world. 250 00:12:26.799 --> 00:12:27.600 Oh my goodness. 251 00:12:27.879 --> 00:12:30.679 Well, and we might as well lead right into what 252 00:12:30.720 --> 00:12:34.960 you're doing now, yeah, because it sounds similar, but not, 253 00:12:35.519 --> 00:12:37.080 why don't we share with the audience what it is 254 00:12:37.080 --> 00:12:37.759 that you're doing now? 255 00:12:38.480 --> 00:12:39.279 Yeah? So right now. 256 00:12:39.399 --> 00:12:43.960 I started a company called wheel Audition, and it's been 257 00:12:44.039 --> 00:12:46.720 running for about nine years now. What Wheel Audition is 258 00:12:46.720 --> 00:12:50.799 is a platform, a marketplace, a SaaS business, a subscription 259 00:12:50.840 --> 00:12:55.000 as a service business see the theme here, that helps 260 00:12:55.120 --> 00:12:58.879 actors find scene partners to do their auditions. 261 00:13:00.080 --> 00:13:01.399 It's very very niche. 262 00:13:01.440 --> 00:13:05.200 My last business is also very niche, but this one 263 00:13:05.279 --> 00:13:08.679 operates on a similar model. Really, it's a similar structure. 264 00:13:09.240 --> 00:13:11.799 And one of the reasons I like these types of 265 00:13:11.840 --> 00:13:16.679 business is they're technically infinitely scalable depending on how many 266 00:13:16.679 --> 00:13:21.559 customers you can reach. And so when we had the 267 00:13:21.639 --> 00:13:24.960 idea for the problem, which was how to actors find 268 00:13:24.960 --> 00:13:29.519 someone to read their lines with, it made sense to 269 00:13:29.600 --> 00:13:33.759 me to apply that old business model that I built, which, 270 00:13:33.799 --> 00:13:36.759 by the way, we rebuilt from scratch. It's not a 271 00:13:36.759 --> 00:13:41.000 technology you could really apply, but the concepts I applied 272 00:13:41.039 --> 00:13:43.240 over I deal with different people and that kind of thing. 273 00:13:43.320 --> 00:13:46.440 But the concept we applied over which is an international 274 00:13:46.440 --> 00:13:49.159 marketplace of people wanting to help each other out on demand. 275 00:13:49.240 --> 00:13:52.200 So what we audition is is basically like an Uber 276 00:13:52.279 --> 00:13:55.240 for actors, but through video chat. So when you need 277 00:13:55.279 --> 00:13:57.639 an actor, you log on and you pick someone that's 278 00:13:57.639 --> 00:14:00.559 available right now to come on a video chat like 279 00:14:00.559 --> 00:14:03.759 we're doing now to help you read your scripts. And 280 00:14:03.919 --> 00:14:07.639 what you're getting is a professional, qualified, reviewed actor that 281 00:14:07.879 --> 00:14:12.559 understands the business that can help you out. And if 282 00:14:12.600 --> 00:14:15.159 you're not in the acting world, if you're not in entertainment, 283 00:14:15.399 --> 00:14:18.440 you might say, well, why is that necessary. Well, there's 284 00:14:18.480 --> 00:14:21.879 been a few shifts in recent years. Acting has largely 285 00:14:21.919 --> 00:14:25.399 gone from an in person audition process where you go 286 00:14:25.799 --> 00:14:28.559 to an appointment in an office like you've seen Joey 287 00:14:28.559 --> 00:14:32.240 from Friends do, and wait in line and go for 288 00:14:32.279 --> 00:14:34.279 your appointment and read with the person in the office. 289 00:14:34.639 --> 00:14:38.720 Has largely gone into a system where you tape yourself 290 00:14:38.759 --> 00:14:42.159 on your iPhone or your camera and you send it in, 291 00:14:42.240 --> 00:14:45.120 which means you no longer have the other person who 292 00:14:45.120 --> 00:14:49.320 would be the casting director or the casting's assistant, and 293 00:14:49.360 --> 00:14:53.679 that created a burden on the actor to not only 294 00:14:53.720 --> 00:14:55.879 have to set up their lights and their camera and everything, 295 00:14:56.120 --> 00:14:59.440 but also have somebody there to read with them. Do 296 00:14:59.519 --> 00:15:03.039 the other line, what most people end up doing was 297 00:15:03.080 --> 00:15:06.240 asking their roommate, asking their girlfriend, asking their mum. And 298 00:15:06.279 --> 00:15:10.080 that's not the best person for the job. It's it works, 299 00:15:10.480 --> 00:15:13.159 but it's not the best person. And so I was 300 00:15:13.159 --> 00:15:15.200 looking at well, I was having that issue, and I 301 00:15:15.240 --> 00:15:18.240 lived in Hollywood. I lived in an apartment building of 302 00:15:18.480 --> 00:15:21.240 about thirty to forty apartments where probably half of them 303 00:15:21.240 --> 00:15:25.360 were actors. I know loads of people in Hollywood, and 304 00:15:25.600 --> 00:15:29.080 I still found it tough to find someone to do 305 00:15:29.120 --> 00:15:34.120 that with me at the time I needed, you know, 306 00:15:34.240 --> 00:15:37.840 a convenient time for me. And so I was like, 307 00:15:37.879 --> 00:15:39.759 if I'm having this problem where I live in the 308 00:15:39.799 --> 00:15:43.399 most actor centric place in the world, in the middle 309 00:15:43.440 --> 00:15:45.960 of a city that every second person is an actor, 310 00:15:46.480 --> 00:15:50.919 what is someone in Nebraska feeling, What is somebody in 311 00:15:50.919 --> 00:15:53.360 Indonesia or in a smaller island feeling. 312 00:15:54.279 --> 00:15:55.080 Who do they ask? 313 00:15:55.519 --> 00:15:58.440 And so that's how the system was born, is let's 314 00:15:58.440 --> 00:16:00.960 connect actors around the world to help each other out 315 00:16:01.320 --> 00:16:02.360 through this marketplace. 316 00:16:04.159 --> 00:16:08.600 I love that story for many reasons. One is we 317 00:16:08.679 --> 00:16:11.000 hear over and over again. You know, find a solution 318 00:16:11.080 --> 00:16:16.519 to a problem that exists, and many people miss opportunities 319 00:16:16.639 --> 00:16:19.679 unless it's really a part of their inner world. And 320 00:16:19.720 --> 00:16:23.440 then the concern is, yeah, it's my problem, it's my 321 00:16:23.559 --> 00:16:27.679 industry's problem. Is it big enough? Is it scalable? And 322 00:16:27.799 --> 00:16:30.960 how do you scale? So, I mean that's a whole 323 00:16:30.960 --> 00:16:32.159 other conversation. 324 00:16:31.799 --> 00:16:35.600 Which, well I can answer those questions really quickly. We 325 00:16:35.679 --> 00:16:40.200 often get asked, well, sorry, I hear the statement, I 326 00:16:40.240 --> 00:16:44.039 can't believe no one thought of this before, right, And 327 00:16:44.120 --> 00:16:46.600 there's it's interesting when someone says that to me because 328 00:16:46.639 --> 00:16:48.759 first the usually I say, you know, we've been doing 329 00:16:48.799 --> 00:16:49.480 it for nine years. 330 00:16:49.519 --> 00:16:50.720 They're like, wow, no I didn't. 331 00:16:50.960 --> 00:16:55.840 So firstly they they think it's newer than it is. Secondly, 332 00:16:56.879 --> 00:16:58.559 why did no one think of it before? Because you 333 00:16:58.600 --> 00:17:02.799 imagine the skill set it needs to build an e 334 00:17:02.840 --> 00:17:07.000 commerce platform like this, and the desire and the drive, 335 00:17:07.799 --> 00:17:11.559 but to also know the problem exists at an intricate 336 00:17:11.640 --> 00:17:16.200 level and understand the market you're talking to. Not many 337 00:17:16.240 --> 00:17:19.839 people fit that mold that can do both of those things, 338 00:17:20.039 --> 00:17:23.720 and here's there are that want to So there would 339 00:17:23.759 --> 00:17:25.960 be many people thinking, oh, I wish there was something 340 00:17:26.000 --> 00:17:28.119 like this and wouldn't do it. There'd be many people 341 00:17:28.119 --> 00:17:30.559 with a skill set, they wouldn't even know the problem existed. 342 00:17:31.119 --> 00:17:32.839 Yeah, and then. 343 00:17:32.839 --> 00:17:36.079 If you take the few that have both those skill sets, 344 00:17:36.240 --> 00:17:38.559 the desire and the drive and the hard work it 345 00:17:38.599 --> 00:17:41.960 takes to launch, that takes most people out. So you're 346 00:17:42.039 --> 00:17:46.119 niching on your niche. And then the other part of like, 347 00:17:46.759 --> 00:17:50.599 you know, find a solution to a problem. I do 348 00:17:50.680 --> 00:17:53.799 agree that's one of the best ways of business. But 349 00:17:54.039 --> 00:17:57.559 all of the businesses I've run, especially this one and 350 00:17:57.599 --> 00:18:01.079 the last one, I was fixing problem that people didn't 351 00:18:01.079 --> 00:18:04.920 even know they had. And that is part of the 352 00:18:04.960 --> 00:18:07.599 struggle of a new business and also the challenge and 353 00:18:07.640 --> 00:18:10.160 the exciting thing. And so you'll hear a lot of 354 00:18:10.240 --> 00:18:12.400 business advice out there that will say to you, you know, 355 00:18:12.480 --> 00:18:14.480 make sure you go out of market, test your product 356 00:18:14.519 --> 00:18:17.359 before you build anything before ask people do they want it. 357 00:18:17.480 --> 00:18:19.920 If I'd have asked people if they wanted this, they 358 00:18:19.960 --> 00:18:24.480 would have probably said no because to them, their dad 359 00:18:24.599 --> 00:18:28.279 or their boyfriend is good enough. They don't know they 360 00:18:28.279 --> 00:18:30.599 need a different solution. And then there's a bunch of 361 00:18:30.599 --> 00:18:34.279 people beyond that that they their problem wasn't Who do 362 00:18:34.359 --> 00:18:36.960 I get to read their problem was I need more auditions. 363 00:18:37.880 --> 00:18:41.119 So they're coming from a place of scarcity anyway, So 364 00:18:41.359 --> 00:18:44.119 someone saying hey, if this existed, would you use this? 365 00:18:45.240 --> 00:18:47.039 They come from a place where I don't even have 366 00:18:47.200 --> 00:18:50.880 enough auditions to think about that. But I want that 367 00:18:50.960 --> 00:18:53.839 person to be part of my business four years later 368 00:18:54.039 --> 00:18:56.480 when they are in a place where they need that. 369 00:18:57.039 --> 00:18:59.279 And so really with this business, we had to just 370 00:18:59.319 --> 00:19:02.920 be confident build it. It's one of those build it 371 00:19:02.960 --> 00:19:06.400 and they will come. And I always loved that quote. 372 00:19:06.440 --> 00:19:08.319 I don't know if this is a true quote or 373 00:19:08.359 --> 00:19:10.319 it's one of those internet memes that goes around, but 374 00:19:10.359 --> 00:19:14.000 I like it regardless. Apparently Henry Forward said if I'd 375 00:19:14.000 --> 00:19:16.079 have asked the people what they wanted, they would have 376 00:19:16.119 --> 00:19:17.079 said a faster horse. 377 00:19:18.960 --> 00:19:19.240 Right. 378 00:19:19.759 --> 00:19:23.759 Yeah, they didn't know they needed a car. 379 00:19:24.680 --> 00:19:27.119 And I think that's with a lot of businesses. You 380 00:19:27.160 --> 00:19:29.000 don't know you need it, You don't know you need it, 381 00:19:29.039 --> 00:19:29.920 You don't know you need it. 382 00:19:29.799 --> 00:19:30.319 Till it's there. 383 00:19:30.359 --> 00:19:33.720 And you could probably walk around your kitchen alone the 384 00:19:34.079 --> 00:19:36.640 things that you produce or find things that you use, 385 00:19:36.920 --> 00:19:39.200 and we don't think when I'm using this kitchen tool, 386 00:19:39.240 --> 00:19:41.599 I'm stealing do you know what I mean, Like the 387 00:19:41.640 --> 00:19:44.640 first person to think of a potato piller, like Wells 388 00:19:44.920 --> 00:19:45.599 with the knife. 389 00:19:45.839 --> 00:19:47.759 That's with the knife, right, Why do you need a 390 00:19:47.799 --> 00:19:48.519 specific thing? 391 00:19:48.920 --> 00:19:52.519 Yes, but until someone nailed it down and then you know, 392 00:19:52.720 --> 00:19:54.720 my goodness, like the story of the woman who made 393 00:19:54.759 --> 00:19:57.720 white out right, just a teacher looking to create something 394 00:19:57.759 --> 00:20:01.000 to cover mistakes. And you know, Scots knows. I'm sure 395 00:20:01.000 --> 00:20:03.920 her bank account is of plenty. I would just say, 396 00:20:03.920 --> 00:20:05.839 it's it's not knowing. 397 00:20:06.720 --> 00:20:09.519 I met the person whose grandfather created cat size. 398 00:20:09.559 --> 00:20:11.960 You know, there's little things in the in. 399 00:20:11.000 --> 00:20:15.519 The road that light up the reflective stock business. And 400 00:20:15.599 --> 00:20:18.039 it's like you wouldn't wake up one day and think, 401 00:20:18.680 --> 00:20:20.960