Build smart strategic partners to help drive your mission. Share space and wealth with people who share your brand DNA; your global impact will be that much stronger.
Erroll Angara’s background spans over 20 years in the legal and financial industries. Prior to joining INDISTRY TV, Erroll spent 13 years with the Wall Street Watchdog FINRA (Financial Industry Regulatory Authority). As Associate Director in FINRA’s Office of Dispute Resolution, Erroll worked with senior executives on strategic initiatives to expand FINRA’s arbitration program across 71 cities in the United States, including San Juan, PR and London, UK. Erroll provided leadership and oversight on operational effectiveness for the division; training and data management for FINRA arbitrators; and building strategic partners with national organizations, media and industry stakeholders.
In her current role as Chief Operations Officer, Erroll leads the day- to-day operational activities at INDISTRY. With a focus on operational efficiencies and success, Erroll is responsible for building infrastructure and processes to ensure INDISTRY delivers high-quality service and scalable growth for the network. She oversees financial administration, talent recruitment, and interfaces with partners including legal, accounting and Board Members.
Where did the idea for your company come from?
We’ve watched everything shift to digital right before our eyes in the last 5-6 years. TV networks were impacted; they’ve had to create new business strategies or adjust their business model in order to adapt to the fast-moving changes. With Millennial consumers cutting the cord and choosing to watch on-demand content on multiple devices, this opened a whole new set of challenges (and opportunities) for both content creators and brand advertisers.
Moreover, the world watched the success of such platforms like Netflix, Hulu and Amazon, as they went from licensing TV shows and movies from Warner Brothers studios, Disney and others, to becoming their own in-house studio producing original content, including award-winning programs. The shift to digital has also resulted in challenges for the music industry with record labels losing market share due to streaming platforms like Spotify, Pandora and others. And then the rise of YouTube over the last decade as a video marketing platform where anyone and anything can be seen in the world. With 30 million visitors a day, YouTube is the “go-to” place for consumers and artists (34% total users are Millennials) come to share their voice and showcase their talent, and where brands market to the world. For independent artists seeking exposure on YouTube, the challenge is that, if they want to connect with an audience in any meaningful way, they do so by competing with 1.3 billion YouTubers worldwide and 5 billion videos getting viewed every day.
We wanted to change that. We believe there is tremendous talent in the world – musicians, filmmakers, entrepreneurs with great ideas and others – that need distribution for their work and/or waiting to be discovered, but need a little help getting exposure without the fierce competition.
INDISTRY TV was born with this mission in mind: to become a premier interactive media platform for emerging talent in music, TV and film, and the tastemakers that help discover them. We are the first streaming platform where audiences around the world can engage, shop, and socialize as they watch content. Not only are we a global platform that gives content creators distribution; we also allow our audience to participate in helping to shape and curate the content. They tell us what and how they want to watch. They help us discover new music artists. By giving our audience the power of choice, we believe they’ll be better engaged and invested in “their” platform.
What does your typical day look like and how do you make it productive?
I’m up at 5a and spend my first hour in meditation. The silence and solitude of an early morning gives me a chance to be present and mentally prepare for the grind head. It also gives me a chance to set my agenda for the day without interrupting emails and phone calls. Having some clarity and an open mind first thing in the morning usually helps set the tone for my entire day.
How do you bring ideas to life?
I have the good fortune of working with some highly creative people on our team. Ideas come in droves and the challenge for us as a young company is always trying to find the balance between relevance, execution and resources. When deciding which ideas to implement we ask ourselves, “which of these makes sense for our business today and how do we pull it off without breaking the bank?”
Everyone in leadership weighs in. Collaboration is important. Some of the best ideas don’t come from one person; they are born out of a creative vetting process that everyone participates in. When our people get inspired, ideas come to life organically. At INDISTRY, one idea is “everyone’s” idea. We come to the table with diverse thoughts and perspectives and often challenge each other for more interesting and ‘fired up’ conversations. Respecting this process allows us to collaborate more creatively. Once we’re ready to move forward and roll up our sleeves, it usually involves hours of planning calls and a whole lot of coffee.
What’s one trend that excites you?
I’m excited about new technologies and programs in the music space that give artists exposure for their work. Platforms like Spotify, Pandora, and YouTube have been around a long time; but with newer platforms like SoundCloud, Bandcamp, Audiomack and Music X-Ray, new independent artists now have a destination to upload, share and promote their music while engaging and growing their fanbase. The idea that artists don’t have to be signed with a label anymore to do well excites us. To help artists further, INDISTRY offers a dedicated Emerging Music Channel to talented artists we discover, offering them resources and support that enhance all the things they’re already doing to promote their music.
What is one habit of yours that makes you more productive as an entrepreneur?
I read a lot and try to stay current on the latest news, trends and updates in entertainment and the digital landscape. I also like to know what consumer brands are doing, who is innovating, and how consumers are behaving online as technology is evolving. I think if you’re well informed, you’re more likely to stay ahead of the curve, always.
What advice would you give your younger self?
I would tell myself, “Be patient. Rome wasn’t built in a day.” In today’s digital age, everything is fast moving with information right at our fingertips and resources at the click of a button. Our minds have been conditioned to think that everything in life, including building a business, comes at the same rate of speed. The reality is, sometimes the things that take longer are better for you and have staying power. We saw this first-hand while waiting for the right investors who would understand our value proposition, help us execute on our business model, and more importantly, share in our vision. If we moved too quickly with the wrong partners, we may not be as far along as we are today. Be willing to work hard but also, be patient in finding the right strategic partners to help. Your dreams will take shape, but first build wings so you can fly.
Tell us something that’s true that almost nobody agrees with you on.
People judge you in the first 5 seconds they meet you. Whether we know it or not, right or wrong, we make assumptions about people based on things like appearance, verbal communication, body language or eye contact. Though we try not to, it’s human nature. Being aware of this allows us to be proactive in our interactions with people and to ask questions like, ‘what impression am I creating here’ and ‘am I conveying my most authentic self?’
As an entrepreneur, what is the one thing you do over and over and recommend everyone else do?
I ask open-ended questions. Most of the time you’re able to learn more about a person or situation if you widen conversations without limiting the information people are willing to share.
What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business?
We believe in the power of partnerships, specifically those that are synergistic to who we are as a Brand and who share the same creative and purposeful vision that we have. In 2018, we entered into a year-long partnership with Virgin Hotels Chicago. As their exclusive streaming partner, we create highly curated and exclusive events around musical performances, film screenings, artist showcases and more, giving 9M global Virgin customers access to INDISTRY’s entertainment platform. We enjoy creating lifestyle content with an iconic partner like Virgin whose business strategy includes a focus on community, the arts, and living in a healthier world. This collaboration is a mutually beneficial partnership that we believe make a larger impact for both of our businesses.
As such, we saw huge success in Chicago this year and are now looking into an expanded partnership to add INDISTRY live events at new Virgin properties in 2019.
What is the best $100 you recently spent? What and why?
I recently invested in an Echo Spot Speaker with Alexa. I love that I can get the weather, my calendar and music (in that order) just by voice activation. I think anything hands free is money well spent.
What is one piece of software or a web service that helps you be productive?
With our team and partners dispersed in different cities (and time zones) across the country, Slack has been extremely useful for allowing us to connect easily and quickly in real time. Thru the app, we collaborate on projects, share information, make planning decisions, and allows us to address pressing items immediately. Like a “chat room” with different channels and groups created by you, Slack makes communication and info sharing more creative and efficient.
What is the one book that you recommend our community should read and why?
“If I Could Tell You Just One Thing” by Richard Reed
Reed gives you some of the best life/business advice he’s learned from notable entrepreneurs, athletes, politicians, celebrities, etc. You gain tangible lessons and might even see how more alike, than different, you are with people.
What is your favorite quote?
“What would you do if you knew you could not fail?” – Robert H. Schuller
This quote is prominently placed on my desk where I can see it every day. It reminds me that achievement depends more on determination than skill, and that failure is a word that describes a deficiency. It does not describe who you are.
Key Learnings:
- Find that critical time in your day to take care of yourself whether thru meditation, physical fitness or other way to recharge your mental and emotional batteries. Remember, you’re no good to the world if you’re not good to yourself.
- Be willing to wait for the right time, right partner, right situation before jumping in with both feet. Anytime you move too fast too soon, you risk crashing and burning.
- Build smart strategic partners to help drive your mission. Share space and wealth with people who share your brand DNA; your global impact will be that much stronger.
- Be willing to hear out diverse perspectives and be challenged on yours. Some of the best ideas are created in a room with differing views, and your best people will shine when you give them that platform.
- Learn something new everyday. Never get tired of learning.
Connect:
www.indistrytv.com
Carlyn runs the day-to-day publishing operation here at ideamensch and interacts with our awesome customers and entrepreneurs. She is likely editing this with a cat on her lap.