John Eck
John Eck is an accomplished executive with a track record of leading organizations through transformation, complexity, and growth while maintaining a strong personal connection to the teams and missions he…
entertainment
Entertainment is the business of capturing attention and holding it. The founders in this section do that in every medium imaginable. Film. Music. Gaming. Live events. Streaming. Comedy. The companies that make the things people do when they’re not working. Or when they’re supposed to be working.
These interviews cover the full entertainment spectrum. Content creation. Production. Distribution. Ticketing. Fan engagement. The technology that powers it all and the creative minds that dream it up. Entertainment sits at the intersection of art and commerce, and that tension makes every conversation here interesting.
The founders here are candid about the challenges. Content saturation. Piracy. Platform dependency. The economics of attention in a world where everyone has unlimited options and limited time. Building in entertainment means competing with literally everything else someone could be doing. No pressure.
You’ll find insights on content strategy, audience building, monetization models, and the creative process behind the things people love. Whether you’re building an entertainment company, working in the industry, or just curious about how your favorite content gets made, these interviews are worth the time.
Mark McClafferty
Mark McClafferty began his career in the entertainment industry working at ABC in the Program Research Department, as its Director. Three years later, Mark accepted his initial creative position at…
Igor Reiant
Igor is a Co-Founder of the Dyninno Group of companies and CEO of Entertech, a high-tech company operating in the entertainment market. It develops algorithms and provides casting professionals with…
Lukasz Jeziorski
Lukasz Jeziorski is the founder and CEO of PlumResearch, an expert with over 15 years’ experience in tech industries. He started the company from scratch and built it up into…
Joel Karsberg
The CEO of Kreativ Inc., which he formed in 2017 in cooperation with award-winning Bunim/Murray Productions, Joel Karsberg presently resides in Los Angeles, where he serves as the company’s president…
Brooks Powell
Brooks Powell is the CEO and founder of Cheers. Brooks is a graduate of Princeton University, where he first started Cheers, and later won the University’s inaugural Tiger Entrepreneur Award….
Julia Tunstall
Julia Tunstall, Co-Founder of A Bar Above, brings more than a decade of business experience to the “dry” side of the bar tool and mixology content company. Having spent years…
Daniel Chan
Dan Chan is a master magician and is often seen performing at exclusive Bay Area society and corporate events internationally. Chan is referred to as the “Billionaire’s Magician” (having performed…
Danielle Nolan
Step outside your comfort zone, do something that pushes you beyond what you think you can do…When you do something you’ve never done before it makes you think differently, studies…
Joshua Lisec
Choose a target market where you can sell to the decision-maker directly, not their affiliates, colleagues or family. Joshua Lisec is the founder of The Entrepreneur’s Wordsmith LLC, the…
Kavita Channe
If people aren’t laughing at your dreams then you’re not dreaming big enough. Kavita Channe is a sports and entertainment TV host and producer, TV personality, entrepreneur, philanthropist and…
Marc Smookler
Don’t sweat the mistakes—big or small. They happen and the sooner you get over it, the sooner you can get back to being productive. Austin-based Entrepreneur Marc Smookler founded…