Why I’m co-founding TrimTab Media (and why it matters)

I think the best way to tell this story is to start at the beginning.

It started early

In grade school I was the video geek – in high school, the “AV guy.” I learned how to shoot and edit video, and worked on all sorts of projects, from music videos for local garage bands to coverage of events. During my last 2 years of high school I took several environmental science and literature classes offered by “The School of Natural Resources” within my small-town high school – and they made a huge impact on me. The classes offered both a scientific and philosophical approach to addressing the social and environmental issues that we face. We’d read about climate change and loss of biodiversity, and then go outside and work alongside the Dept. of Fish & Game and do fish counts of endangered Coho Salmon along the local rivers.

My first documentary

In my last year of high school, over 7,000 acres of redwood forests were purchased by a timber company and scheduled to be logged – these forests were visible from my hometown and literally in the backyard of my parents’ home. A grassroots fundraising effort had been launched to purchase the land from the timber company. With my teachers and classmates, I produced a short documentary that addressed the impacts logging would have on the local ecosystem and watershed. This short film was used as part of the fundraising campaign, which ended up raising over $25 Million to purchase the land, which was eventually designated as a state park.

I was floored that my video had helped this dream become a reality, and decided that my calling was to produce documentary films.

Film school in LA

I spent 4 years in film school at Chapman University in Orange County, learning about broadcast journalism, documentary production, and how to tell a story. I had the opportunity to work on several documentaries in film school, and for my thesis, I produced a 50-minute documentary about our food system called “Sustainable Table: What’s on Your Plate?” The film went to over 20 film festivals nationwide, won several awards and received a wide following by activists, who used the film in local organizing efforts. I was riding high on the success of my first “real” film, and moved to Los Angeles proper to continue my film career.

Working in LA

After moving to LA, I quickly learned how difficult it was to make a living working on documentaries exclusively. I worked for several post production studios where I cut my teeth on commercials, infomercials, feature films, and developed my skills as a professional video editor for 3 years. I continued to produce short documentaries and projects for non-profits when I could. My passion for creating change-making media was becoming a part-time gig, and I wanted it to be my full-time work. I realized that I wanted to start my own production company – and having worked exclusively in the creative world – I didn’t have the business skills to do this successfully. So I applied to the GreenMBA program, a sustainable business program in the San Francisco Bay Area with the intention of developing these skills.

Learning to transform business

The GreenMBA was another game-changer for me. I thought I was going to learn about spreadsheets and forecasting – which I did – but the program’s emphasis on transforming business through effective leadership and making a positive impact on the world inspired me even further. I began meeting with my co-founder, Iliani, with whom I share many values, and we decided to form a creative agency that works with businesses and non-profits that are doing good for the planet and its people – TrimTab Media.

TrimTab Media

I believe that communication is imperative for success in business, and that by using the power of story, transparency, and social media, values-driven businesses and non-profits can reach their customers and supporters at a deeper level – a values level. By making a human connection with their customers and supporters, change-making organizations can have a greater positive impact on the world.

Businesses can have a profound positive, or negative impact on the planet.

We’d like to help those that intend to have a positive impact succeed, outperform their conventional competition – and transform the world into a better place. Our vision at TrimTab Media is a world in which business is the driving force behind the health and sustainability of the planet and its people. Nothing excites me more than applying my skills to help our clients become more successful – and ultimately reach their visions for a sustainable future.