Ross F. Grogan
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER - CREATIVE TECHNOLOGIST
PRODUZEN
In 2018 I was seeking my next project and identified an industry pain point, budgeting software. Legacy software was arcick excell spreadsheets, siloing valuable information that would influence realtime decisision if clarity could be cultivated. So I launched Produzen in 2019, a FinTech startup focused on next-gen budgeting and machine learning product management software. Business intelligent tools offering new real time insight for the entertainment industry.
Building a Wireframe
For several months I taught myself Figma, Invision and other BI tools to help develop a working prototype wire frame. Working in Agile and A/B testing with confidential bidding producers within the industry.
Building a Team
Bootstrapping to get the best of the best to help ensure success, I engaged with a Technical Co-found, an A-list Bidding Producer, Data Scientists and UX/UI design team to start the build. But this needed capital and we had a short runway.
Market Research
Looking at the current market landscape and offerings we identified ourselves a a premium product with significant ROI for our customers. Identifying that the TAM/SAM/SOM made us a viable opportunity for investors. But the content industries are niche and it became clear VC funds looking for unicorns were not going to be the solution. We were working with Mike Jones at the VC firm Science. And on the day I got an introduction to Mark Cuban, The NBA shut down from COVID.
COVID HITS: FILM INDUSTRY SHUT DOWN GLOBALLY
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COVID HITS: FILM INDUSTRY SHUT DOWN GLOBALLY *****
SO WE QUICKLY HAD TO PIVOT…
Produzen Community
SLACK CHANNEL
Ready for our Series A when Covid hit. I quickly pivotied Produzen to supporting the industry by creating a SLACK Channel community. We saw this an an oppotunity for lead capture to drive brand awareness and future sales.
Weekly Newsletter
Updating the Produzen Community on industry news, thought leadership insight and future Produzen events.
Produzen Panels
Our industry was struggling and infromation to help support our community needed to be decimated to the masses. I personally curated a panel series bringing on thought leaders throughout the industry to address this crisis, and others.
Panelists: Kristen Rutherford - Group Creative Director, TBWA\Chiat\Day | Paul Albanese - MD Broadcast Production, David&Goliath | Michael Karbelnikoff - Executive Director/Founder, ALL DAY EVERYDAY | Rebecca Wray - Executive Producer, Durable Goods | Jason Cohon - Executive Producer, Zoic Studios | Ross Grogan - Co-Founder, Produzen (moderator)
Panelists: Reonna Johnson - Co-Founder, Three's A Crowd | Lewis Williams - EVP / CCO, Burrell | Lincoln Stephens - Co-Founder / CEO, Marcus Graham Project | Carol Dunn - Executive Producer, Human Worldwide | Digby - Director / Partner, Baby Lion Media | Ross Grogan - Co-Founder, Produzen (moderator)
Panelists: Christa Skotland - Executive Producer/Head of Production, Arts & Sciences | JP Colombo - Head of Production, Reset | Alex Hughes - Head of Production, SMUGGLER & division7 | Megan Pfaffenroth - Head of Production, World War Seven | Jenni Sprunger - Executive Producer/Head of Production, Bullitt | Ross Grogan - Co-Founder, Produzen (moderator)
Panelists: Lucas Foster - Producer| Sean Haner - 1st AD / Executive Producer | Jon Heaney - Covid Safety Coordinator | Ross Grogan - Co-Founder Produzen (moderator)
BUILDING AN AUDIENCE
Produzen Community members experienced a flawless onboarding process, behind the scenes we had created a complex lead capturing and journey tracking system.
The Journey
We were able to capture valuable data on each new member, tracking interactions and retention in real time.
Reporting
Our campaign reporting gathered key data points on engagement.
Lead Capture
In a very short timeline we built an 5000+ audience of tangible sales leads across the industry.
THE IMPACT OF COVID
Raising capital in the turmoil and instability of Covid’s impact on the industry became a detriment to the progress and our ability to keep our dev team in place. Our runway simply ran out.