The Brooklyn Boardroom with J. Christopher

Brooklyn Boardroom: The Bootcamp to Build Your Business. As an attorney, professor and producer with over 20 years in the entertainment industry, J. Christopher created the Brooklyn Boardroom to share his ongoing dialogue with Hollywood insiders (studio/network execs, writers/producers, agents/lawyers and CEO's) about the hidden creative and business methods that produce the magic on-screen.

Private Equity Expert on Strategic Investments in the Entertainment Industry 09/02/2020

Private Equity Expert on Strategic Investments in the Entertainment Industry Corporate Finance and Private Equity Expert, Corey Martin, Esq., provides a primer on capital markets, investment strategies, and corporate transactions in the media, tech and entertainment industries. He sheds insight on how to make strategic investment decisions in a fluid business environment. Corey Martin is Managing Partner of Granderson Des Rochers LLP (“GDR”), an entertainment and media focused law firm with offices in Beverly Hills, California, and New York, New York. Mr. Martin is also Chairman of the GDR Corporate Department, where he oversees all corporate transactional matters involving the firm’s clients. Mr. Martin's clients consist of companies and talent representing music, film & television, digital media, sports and technology. Mr. Martin’s practice areas of expertise include Mergers & Acquisitions, Private Equity, and Corporate Finance. In addition to corporate transactional legal services, the GDR Corporate Department also provides strategic consulting and advisory services. In connection with its consulting and advisory services, the GDR Corporate Department supports entertainers, athletes, and celebrities seeking to achieve their entrepreneurial ambitions by structuring the formation of their companies and aligning them with venture capital, family office, and private equity investors. TIMECODED DISCUSSION THEMES: 15:43 Mergers & Acquisitions Explained - What does "M&A" stand for? 17:11 Private & Public Equity Investments - The difference between the two 21:01 Raising Capital - Corporate finance involves raising capital (equity and debt) 24:35 Initial Steps Before Fundraising - Perform due diligence on you and the business 32:05 Joint Ventures - Agreement vs. entity approach 38:03 The Importance of Relationships - What sort of strategic value will you be able to extract from one investor vs another? 44:52 Crowdfunding for Capital - Pros & Cons 46:17 Strategic Investments = Growth - It takes a village and an accelerant to go the next level CONNECT https://www.instagram.com/bklynboardroom/ https://twitter.com/BKLYNBOARDROOM https://www.brooklynboardroom.com https://www.facebook.com/brooklynboardroom/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/industryesquire/ /episode/index/show/brooklynboardroom/id/15855872

UTA Agent on What it Takes to be in the Representation Business 09/02/2020

UTA Agent on What it Takes to be in the Representation Business United Talent Agency agent, Dean Fluker, gives his perspective on the professional expectations of being a talent agent, the current television/film content market, and the challenge of packaging literary projects with talent in a Covid-19 environment. Dean Fluker is a Talent Agent at the leading global talent and entertainment company, United Talent Agency (UTA). He represents a large cross-section of artists. He began his career in entertainment as a concert talent buyer for the Student Commission on Programming Entertainment at the University of Iowa. He was also a trainee at ICM Partners and an agent at Jeff Berg’s Resolution before joining UTA. Prior to entertainment, Fluker started his professional career in politics as a Field Organizer and Youth Vote Director on the 2008 presidential campaign for then-Senator Barack Obama. In 2009, he joined the Obama Administration as a political appointee, where he served for 3 years, working on President Obama’s healthcare bill and First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! Initiative against childhood obesity. TIMECODED DISCUSSION THEMES 6:39 Developing Client Opportunities in TV - Actively casting projects & looking at material 9:24 The Talent Agency Structure - Talent & literary departments create the foundation 11:21 Talent Agent: Visionary & Entrepreneur - You have to have a short term POV and a long term POV 16:23 Remember: Respect. Empower. Include. - Don't do anything you wouldn't want to see on the cover of Time magazine 25:17 Core Principal: Passion - Passion about what you do and who you represent 34:03 The Economics of Covid-19 - Talent's value will not change 43:44 Staying Relentless, Humble & Hungry - Sometimes you need to slow down and "read the room" CONNECT https://www.instagram.com/bklynboardroom/ https://twitter.com/BKLYNBOARDROOM https://www.brooklynboardroom.com https://www.facebook.com/brooklynboardroom/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/industryesquire/ /episode/index/show/brooklynboardroom/id/15855695

"Empire" Writer on Building a Career in TV & Film 08/12/2020

Yahoo Partnerships Exec on How to Best Monetize Your Digital Platform 07/08/2020

Yahoo Partnerships Exec on How to Best Monetize Your Digital Platform Yahoo Partnerships Executive, Nikki Thompson, brings her expertise on digital platforms to the Brooklyn Boardroom. She walks us through the different kinds of monetization strategies that are available for digital platforms, and recommends that the key to success is finding a great engineer. Nikki Thompson is the Director of Multicultural Content at Verizon Media. Her responsibilities include spearheading strategies to grow audiences, acquiring and retaining diverse audiences, and outputting more multicultural content. TIMECODED DISCUSSION THEMES: 3:14 Data Collection & Conversions - Selling data makes you a big game player 5:35 Advertising Revenue Streams on Digital Platforms - Traditional display & Pre-roll 8:55 Finding the Perfect Balance Between Practicality & Monetization - Users will not dig for content 10:44 Which Monetization Strategy is Best for Your Platform? - Display, Pre-roll, Search 13:15 The Anatomy of Search Engine Advertising - Once a sponsored ad is clicked, monetization occurs 16:03 Creating Organic Audiences Through Native Advertising - Native ads have the lowest barrier to entry 19:41 How to Get Started in Native Advertising - Facebook vs. third-party site 21:58 Finding a Great Engineer - Take a chance on people who build apps 25:22 How Much Traffic is the Right Amount of Traffic? - At least a million monthly visitors will attract advertisers 28:13 Key Differentiators Between the Major Search Engine Players - Yahoo vs. Google vs. Bing vs. AOL 32:28 How to Advertise Your Company on a Major Search Engine - Small subsyndication companies 35:06 Programmatic Ad Networks - Liason between advertisers and publishers 39:14 Print Advertising - Luxury brands love print 41:48 Verticals - What is it and why do I want it? 42:58 When the Audience is Most Engaged - Seasonality, hotspots, and reputations in future partnerships 45:29 'Impressions' are Key Within the Event Space - Luxury vs. traditional partners 48:55 Buying & Selling Domains - The domain game /episode/index/show/brooklynboardroom/id/15133055

Recruiter's Tips on How to Land (& Keep) Your Dream Gig 06/26/2020

Recruiter's Tips on How to Land (& Keep) Your Dream Gig Netflix Talent Acquisition Executive, Erica Sewell, walks us through everything she's learned from her 20+ years in the business. Her advice on how to land (& keep) your dream gig comes at an ideal time as many struggle to find, and maintain, steady work in the COVID-19 era. Erica Sewell is a creative talent leader with a diverse work history in the realms of entertainment, technology, higher education, foundation, arts, music, digital media, fashion, and retail. She has professional experience in Talent, Global Recruitment, Development, Creative Partnerships, Employer Branding, Inclusion & Diversity, and Program Management. Erica currently works in Talent Acquisition at Netflix. TIMECODED DISCUSSION THEMES 1:32 Background - How Erica found her place in Content Creative Talent Acquisition at Netflix 5:28 Work Culture – How the work environments in fashion, agencies, and Netflix compare 9:45 Voicing an Opinion - How much to say and when to say it 10:32 Unexpected Career Paths – How a job can be different than you might've expected 12:20 On Diversity & Inclusion – Inclusivity in the entertainment industry 15:25 Socioeconomics - Comparing the number of African Americans on screen vs. in the boardroom 16:25 On Privilege - The financial burden of attempting to be a successful black executive 19:13 Recruiting Skills – The importance of being well versed in the key areas 23:50 On Recruiting – The type of personality recruiters look for when hiring 26:00 The Right One – Common traits to look for when you found the right person for the job 31:00 The Work Competition - Pitfalls people fall into when working next to powerful and smart colleagues 33:11 On Mentoring - The importance of finding a mentor or a friend in the industry 34:48 On Geography – Industry relationships in NY vs. in LA 37:29 On Politics - How to survive a politically charged environment 38:58 Toxic Situations - How to properly deal with toxic situations 43:00 COVID-19 – Ways to adapt to the pandemic and build important relationships online 49:12 Workshop - Tips when reentering the workforce and resume workshops /episode/index/show/brooklynboardroom/id/14973683