WEBVTT - Stacey Bendet Eisner on the Sun Valley Scene, Female CEOs and Her Tech Startup Creatively 0:00:08.160 --> 0:00:12.520 Welcome to Strictly Business Varieties, weekly podcast featuring conversations with 0:00:12.600 --> 0:00:16.599 industry leaders about the business of media and entertainment. I'm 0:00:16.640 --> 0:00:20.600 Cynthia Littleton, co editor in chief of Variety. Today I'm 0:00:20.640 --> 0:00:23.560 recording this from the site of the annual summer camp 0:00:23.600 --> 0:00:27.840 for business moguls, the Allen and Company Conference in Sun Valley, Idaho. 0:00:28.360 --> 0:00:31.920 My guest today is Stacy Bendett Eisner. Stacy is a 0:00:32.000 --> 0:00:35.159 star CEO in the fashion world as the force behind 0:00:35.200 --> 0:00:38.519 the Alice and Olivia brand that has grown so rapidly 0:00:38.560 --> 0:00:41.760 over the past two decades. As of last year, She's 0:00:41.800 --> 0:00:46.120 also a tech entrepreneur as the founder of Creatively Professional 0:00:46.200 --> 0:00:50.200 online network designed to help connect freelancers and creative industries 0:00:50.200 --> 0:00:54.000 with employers and Stacy and her husband, Eric Eisner, have 0:00:54.080 --> 0:00:57.080 been regulars at the Allen and Company gathering for years. 0:00:57.680 --> 0:01:00.400 With her love of bold colors and prints, she cuts 0:01:00.480 --> 0:01:03.480 quite a colorful figure here, but she also fits right 0:01:03.520 --> 0:01:06.200 in with the group of prominent CEOs that includes her 0:01:06.240 --> 0:01:09.800 father in law, former Walt Disney co chief Michael Eisner. 0:01:10.440 --> 0:01:13.840 As the Titans of Industry gathered, Bendett Eisner took a 0:01:13.880 --> 0:01:16.440 moment to sit down with me at Java on fourth 0:01:16.680 --> 0:01:19.319 a coffee shop down the road from the conference, to 0:01:19.360 --> 0:01:22.240 talk about the heavy environment and Sun Valley and her 0:01:22.319 --> 0:01:26.160 ambitious business goals. It's all coming up right after this 0:01:26.200 --> 0:01:41.600 break h Stacy Bendett Eisner, CEO and creative director of 0:01:41.680 --> 0:01:45.320 the retail brand Alice and Olivia and also the founder 0:01:45.440 --> 0:01:50.240 of Creatively, a very interesting new networking platform specifically for 0:01:50.360 --> 0:01:53.480 people in the creative industries, which will talk a lot 0:01:53.520 --> 0:01:56.520 about what's going on with Creatively in a little bit. 0:01:56.560 --> 0:01:59.760 But I wanted to start because we are in beautiful 0:02:00.120 --> 0:02:04.240 ming downtown catch him, Idaho, right down the road from 0:02:04.280 --> 0:02:08.600 the site of the Allen and Company Annual business Conference 0:02:08.680 --> 0:02:13.800 for business moguls, tech titans, captains of industry and politics. 0:02:14.320 --> 0:02:16.920 This is an annual event that brings a lot of 0:02:16.960 --> 0:02:21.040 influential people together for retreat to talk about business, to 0:02:21.120 --> 0:02:24.720 talk about heavy things going on in the world. And Stacy, 0:02:24.800 --> 0:02:27.720 you have been attending this for a number of years. 0:02:27.720 --> 0:02:30.000 What in your perspective is the value? What do you 0:02:30.040 --> 0:02:32.320 see as the value of getting all of these minds 0:02:32.360 --> 0:02:37.560 together in kind of close quarters, beautiful the Sawtooth Mountains setting. 0:02:37.960 --> 0:02:40.480 What's what do you see? What is the kinetic energy? 0:02:40.560 --> 0:02:43.400 That comes in that from this grouping. Well, I've actually 0:02:43.440 --> 0:02:45.920 been coming here for fourteen years. My first year here, 0:02:45.960 --> 0:02:49.040 I was pregnant with my daughter Eloi, which is so 0:02:49.120 --> 0:02:51.560 crazy to think about right now, or thirteen years because 0:02:51.560 --> 0:02:55.000 she's turning thirteen. And I think that you know, you 0:02:55.160 --> 0:02:58.960 bring all of these moguls who work so hard, who 0:02:58.960 --> 0:03:01.240 are so intense to gather in a setting that's all 0:03:01.240 --> 0:03:04.880 about family. It's almost like adult camp, um, and it 0:03:04.960 --> 0:03:08.920 kind of relaxes everyone. But it also brings all of 0:03:08.919 --> 0:03:12.079 these amazing minds together. And I think just great ideas 0:03:12.160 --> 0:03:15.040 sort of you know grow here. UM. I think when 0:03:15.040 --> 0:03:16.920 you you know, you never know who you're gonna you're 0:03:16.919 --> 0:03:20.120 going to run into, you never know who you're gonna meet, UM, 0:03:20.160 --> 0:03:22.799 And you also end up having these really wonderful friendships 0:03:22.840 --> 0:03:25.760 that have been created during this week here every single year. 0:03:25.800 --> 0:03:27.560 I mean, there's so many people that when I walk in, 0:03:27.639 --> 0:03:29.840 I'm just you know, it's like this warmth, like it 0:03:29.880 --> 0:03:32.360 feels like family and you're so excited to see. But 0:03:32.480 --> 0:03:36.440 I think that, um, it's sort of this very organic 0:03:36.520 --> 0:03:39.920 way to network. UM. And I think so many sort 0:03:39.960 --> 0:03:42.640 of partnerships and investments and you know, you hear about 0:03:42.640 --> 0:03:45.000 the big deals being made here, like the time I, 0:03:45.080 --> 0:03:47.600 you know, father in law made the deal between uh, 0:03:47.680 --> 0:03:51.360 you know, ABC and ESPN and Disney and and you 0:03:51.360 --> 0:03:53.640 hear things like that, But there are so many smaller 0:03:53.680 --> 0:03:56.360 things that have been both in the world of philanthropy, 0:03:56.400 --> 0:03:58.840 both in you know, just ideas like I remember one year, 0:03:59.040 --> 0:04:02.480 like Mark Zuck met Corey Booker and decided to donate 0:04:02.480 --> 0:04:04.840 a hundred million dollars to like schools in New York. 0:04:04.960 --> 0:04:07.760 Like those kind of things really happen here. And I 0:04:07.760 --> 0:04:10.920 think that's what's so beautiful about what the Island Company 0:04:10.920 --> 0:04:14.440 has created. It's it's interesting because of course we're coming 0:04:14.480 --> 0:04:17.760 off a year when in like like many other things, 0:04:17.800 --> 0:04:21.120 the Island Company Conference couldn't happen, So you had a 0:04:21.200 --> 0:04:24.839 year where you didn't have that mingling, that the random 0:04:24.920 --> 0:04:27.720 factor of running into somebody around a corner in the 0:04:27.760 --> 0:04:31.640 beautiful alpine village setting of the of the Sun Valley Lodge. 0:04:32.040 --> 0:04:34.400 Did you did you feel the loss last year? Did you? 0:04:34.520 --> 0:04:38.360 Did you? Did you miss it? When July July rolled around, 0:04:38.400 --> 0:04:40.719 it's always the weekend after July four. I mean, I 0:04:40.720 --> 0:04:43.640 think luster year was so disrupted, and there was something 0:04:43.720 --> 0:04:45.960 I think for like the creative side of my brain 0:04:46.040 --> 0:04:48.080 where I was kind of just happy working and like 0:04:48.320 --> 0:04:50.720 not having any socialization for a little bit. I got 0:04:50.760 --> 0:04:53.240 kind of used to that, and I think I was 0:04:53.320 --> 0:04:56.080 just so focused between Alice and the Libyan creatively that 0:04:56.120 --> 0:04:58.200 I wasn't really thinking about the things I was missing 0:04:58.200 --> 0:04:59.680 all year. I was thinking more of the things I 0:04:59.720 --> 0:05:02.240 had to like fix and get done. Um. You know, 0:05:02.320 --> 0:05:05.840 for anyone in the retail world, last year was disruptive 0:05:05.880 --> 0:05:08.360 and really tough and you had to, you know, work 0:05:08.400 --> 0:05:10.479 on every front to make it through. I sort of 0:05:10.480 --> 0:05:14.040 feel like a fashion survivor this year. Um, but yeah, 0:05:14.040 --> 0:05:16.240 there was I think coming here this year, there's this 0:05:16.360 --> 0:05:19.560 nostalgia and warmth and sort of excitement almost like it's 0:05:19.560 --> 0:05:21.640 like back to camp or back to school, you know, 0:05:21.680 --> 0:05:23.839 the first day of school where you're just sort of 0:05:23.839 --> 0:05:27.600 excited to kind of run into friends and socialize again. Um. 0:05:27.640 --> 0:05:30.640 You know, obviously deals were made last year, but um, 0:05:30.680 --> 0:05:32.359 you know, I think that there are kind of special 0:05:32.400 --> 0:05:37.080 deals that happened here. Well, they certainly have had. There's 0:05:37.120 --> 0:05:39.960 been quite a legacy of of events and like you said, 0:05:40.000 --> 0:05:44.600 those those random encounters. What's you have built Alison Olivia 0:05:44.839 --> 0:05:48.960 is one of the biggest sort of organic retail of 0:05:49.000 --> 0:05:51.560 fashion brands to come along and in a long time, 0:05:51.560 --> 0:05:54.640 and you've expanded significantly in the last couple of years 0:05:54.720 --> 0:05:57.599 your retail presence, you have a big e commerce business, 0:05:58.200 --> 0:06:02.520 has has has the experience of being here with so 0:06:02.560 --> 0:06:06.280 many CEOs and having some pretty well known CEOs in 0:06:06.360 --> 0:06:09.200 your in your extended family. Has that been beneficial to 0:06:09.240 --> 0:06:11.640 you as you grew this business. Yeah, I mean I 0:06:11.800 --> 0:06:14.520 learned so much from people like my father in law, 0:06:14.600 --> 0:06:16.919 like watching him work, watching what he does in business, 0:06:16.920 --> 0:06:19.200 Like you're it's inspiring, and being here always kind of 0:06:19.240 --> 0:06:21.599 inspires me. Like I'll come up with things that we 0:06:21.680 --> 0:06:24.680 need to do for even a technology perspective. Sometimes at 0:06:24.680 --> 0:06:27.400 Alis and Livia, I'll get ideas hearing from you know, 0:06:27.480 --> 0:06:30.320 CEO is what they're doing. Um, it just makes your 0:06:30.760 --> 0:06:32.880 you know, I think for me, like a lot of 0:06:32.880 --> 0:06:35.240 the panels aren't about retail, but I'll get ideas. It 0:06:35.320 --> 0:06:37.320 might be things that have to do with the video 0:06:37.560 --> 0:06:40.560 or crypto or anything that just can apply to the 0:06:40.760 --> 0:06:44.040 to the retail world. And Yeah, I've been really proud 0:06:44.080 --> 0:06:47.520 of the growth at Alison Olivia and you know my team, 0:06:47.800 --> 0:06:50.039 Um in the past, but this year was almost to 0:06:50.040 --> 0:06:52.280 the point of tears, right because watching the way my 0:06:52.279 --> 0:06:56.240 team came together and persevered and pivoted and pushed through 0:06:56.440 --> 0:07:02.040 a really difficult period. Um was powerful? Was it just 0:07:02.240 --> 0:07:04.400 was it? Did you have just a downturn, just a 0:07:04.400 --> 0:07:07.680 massive downturn as lockdown hit in you know, there was 0:07:07.760 --> 0:07:10.559 no traffic. I mean I have over forty retail stores, 0:07:10.600 --> 0:07:13.040 I selling of like eight other points of sales. So yeah, 0:07:13.040 --> 0:07:15.240 we have a strong e commerce business. But you know, 0:07:15.400 --> 0:07:18.000 we also have clothes that we make for women, where 0:07:18.240 --> 0:07:20.520 we make clothes for women when they travel, when they 0:07:20.520 --> 0:07:23.280 go to work, when they're getting married, when they're you know, 0:07:23.360 --> 0:07:26.640 going on a date. Like every single uh you know, 0:07:26.840 --> 0:07:30.280 end use of our clothing was disrupted. Um and you know, 0:07:30.360 --> 0:07:32.080 so we had to pivot to making a lot more 0:07:32.120 --> 0:07:36.160 casual clothing up until obviously, but um so it was 0:07:36.240 --> 0:07:38.920 it was the entire year was just disrupted on all fronts. 0:07:38.920 --> 0:07:41.160 Plus you know, we had stores that just couldn't even 0:07:41.200 --> 0:07:44.080 be open for a big portion of the year. M 0:07:45.640 --> 0:07:48.080 As a lot of people have said that the pandemic 0:07:48.160 --> 0:07:51.360 period tested every part of the organization. What did you 0:07:51.440 --> 0:07:55.120 learn about the business of ours Olivia going through this. Yeah, 0:07:55.160 --> 0:07:58.240 I think when you're going through really tough periods like that, 0:07:58.680 --> 0:08:00.440 you know, what it does is it's kind it shines 0:08:00.480 --> 0:08:03.480 a flashlight on every weakness, right. It doesn't really your 0:08:03.480 --> 0:08:05.880 strengths at that point don't matter as much as your 0:08:05.880 --> 0:08:09.840 weaknesses do. And you know, as a business leader, founder, 0:08:10.000 --> 0:08:12.280 creative director, we had to kind of really look at 0:08:12.280 --> 0:08:14.360 those and figure how to fix them at a time 0:08:14.360 --> 0:08:16.960 when it wasn't easy to fix things right like you know, 0:08:17.040 --> 0:08:19.240 you're you know, and we and our whole company had 0:08:19.280 --> 0:08:21.160 to be virtual. But what I was most proud of 0:08:21.320 --> 0:08:25.280 was that through really trying times, we made some really 0:08:25.360 --> 0:08:27.480 positive changes that needed to happen. I think in the 0:08:27.520 --> 0:08:30.680 business overall, you know, we closed our sample room and 0:08:30.720 --> 0:08:33.319 took all the costs out of you know, the business 0:08:33.360 --> 0:08:35.680 that were you know that we're applicable there, and we 0:08:35.720 --> 0:08:39.800 moved all of our development and design overseas and those 0:08:39.800 --> 0:08:41.760 were big changes but had to be made. We had 0:08:41.800 --> 0:08:43.800 no choice, you know, our fittings had to be virtual, 0:08:43.960 --> 0:08:47.560 our pattlenmaking had to be overseas um so it it 0:08:47.720 --> 0:08:51.760 forced change. But I think that looking back, I just 0:08:51.800 --> 0:08:55.400 have so much pride and how each one of my 0:08:55.480 --> 0:08:57.880 teams handled what they had to do to pivot to 0:08:57.920 --> 0:09:01.880 make it through. Um, and we made some beautiful clothes 0:09:01.960 --> 0:09:05.200 during that period somehow too. Do you have a sense 0:09:05.240 --> 0:09:07.240 as you as you design clothes for the future, do 0:09:07.280 --> 0:09:09.960 you have a sense that there has been a significant 0:09:10.080 --> 0:09:13.040 kind of cultural shift in what people are looking for. 0:09:13.080 --> 0:09:16.400 Are they looking for more casual clothes after fifteen months 0:09:16.440 --> 0:09:18.400 in swept pants? No, I mean I think right now, 0:09:18.440 --> 0:09:22.120 we've just seen this explosion and like women wanting to 0:09:22.240 --> 0:09:26.600 shop and wear dresses and dress up again. And yes, right, 0:09:26.760 --> 0:09:29.080 like I mean I'm casual one today I was trying 0:09:29.080 --> 0:09:32.120 to be all someome that like jeans. But no, we've 0:09:32.160 --> 0:09:37.640 just seen like a you know, like a huge demand 0:09:37.720 --> 0:09:40.760 beyond what we expected for clothes to dress up. And 0:09:40.800 --> 0:09:43.600 I think people are having weddings and having parties and 0:09:43.720 --> 0:09:47.080 having special events and there's like a big demand. Um. 0:09:47.120 --> 0:09:50.400 I think going forward what will probably change. And again, 0:09:50.559 --> 0:09:53.000 as a woman who has taken a lot of pride 0:09:53.000 --> 0:09:55.440 and having a company filled with women who have you know, 0:09:55.559 --> 0:09:57.760 had babies and still worked, I think there will be 0:09:58.280 --> 0:10:02.720 more flexibility in the workplace to accommodate people where they work, 0:10:02.840 --> 0:10:04.920 Like are they remote, are they in an office if 0:10:04.960 --> 0:10:06.719 you're a writer, like, do you have to be there 0:10:06.720 --> 0:10:08.880 every day? If you're a designer, do you know, you know, 0:10:09.160 --> 0:10:12.240 being a little bit more flexible to accommodate people's needs. 0:10:12.480 --> 0:10:15.000 Um And for me, like I've had designers who have 0:10:15.040 --> 0:10:17.560 worked remotely for years. I've had a designer who's working 0:10:17.559 --> 0:10:20.760 down in South America, another one in Paris, and um, 0:10:20.800 --> 0:10:24.520 I think that like we're I hope that what this 0:10:24.640 --> 0:10:28.200 virtual world that was created during allows us to do 0:10:28.360 --> 0:10:32.400 is accommodate um, you know, opportunities for women in a 0:10:32.440 --> 0:10:34.360 way that they're allowed to balance their lives a little 0:10:34.360 --> 0:10:39.960 bit more so. I mean definitely one of the learnings 0:10:40.200 --> 0:10:43.280 coming out of this has been, you know what really 0:10:43.320 --> 0:10:45.800 matters to answer how that yeah, and to answer how 0:10:45.800 --> 0:10:49.079 that effects dressing? Like I think that when people are 0:10:49.120 --> 0:10:52.120 working from home, um, you know, they kind of want 0:10:52.160 --> 0:10:54.480 to do that like blazer and casual pant look you know, 0:10:54.600 --> 0:10:56.560 like I noticed that we're selling right now all these 0:10:56.600 --> 0:10:58.560 like wide leg pants but they have like kind of 0:10:58.559 --> 0:11:01.160 elastic easy waste bands. You know. So it's like people 0:11:01.160 --> 0:11:03.319 want to be They're used to be uncomfortable, but they 0:11:03.400 --> 0:11:06.040 want to dress up again. I do think it's time 0:11:06.080 --> 0:11:08.440 to burn the sweatpants. Though for all the ladies listening 0:11:08.480 --> 0:11:13.360 to this, it's just say goodbye. Generation ago was burning bras. 0:11:13.440 --> 0:11:19.560 Now now it's definitely the sweatpants. What um, What Alison 0:11:19.600 --> 0:11:23.120 Olivia started with your search for the perfect pair of pants? 0:11:23.160 --> 0:11:27.040 You've told that story many times. What as you as 0:11:27.080 --> 0:11:30.400 you kind of gradually built built this brand. What in 0:11:30.440 --> 0:11:33.840 the early days? What what was the important catalyst? What? 0:11:33.840 --> 0:11:36.240 What put Alison Olivia over the top and allowed you 0:11:36.280 --> 0:11:40.280 to open so many boutiques and have retail relationships. I 0:11:40.320 --> 0:11:44.160 think that our brand was always about kind of democratizing 0:11:44.160 --> 0:11:46.360 fashion a little bit for women, right. Our brand was 0:11:46.400 --> 0:11:50.120 about not like one whole look. It was about items 0:11:50.120 --> 0:11:52.439 and it still is that allow women to express their 0:11:52.480 --> 0:11:55.800 own self. And I always think about fashion as each 0:11:55.840 --> 0:11:58.679 woman's art each day. It's how you express yourself. It's 0:11:58.679 --> 0:12:00.840 how you show to the world you are by what 0:12:00.960 --> 0:12:03.760 you know, it's your it's your startorial art. Um And 0:12:03.800 --> 0:12:06.679 when I started, you know, I didn't start saying, oh, 0:12:06.679 --> 0:12:08.480 I'm going to build a global empire and I'm gonna 0:12:08.520 --> 0:12:10.560 build full collections. I literally started because I was like, 0:12:10.640 --> 0:12:13.160 I want to make really cool pants. And at the time, 0:12:13.200 --> 0:12:16.200 if you want a little fashion history, you know, you 0:12:16.280 --> 0:12:19.680 had like the denim world, like the Earls and sevens 0:12:19.720 --> 0:12:23.040 of the world, and then you had like designer, and 0:12:23.080 --> 0:12:25.079 then you had like real street, you know, like kind 0:12:25.080 --> 0:12:26.760 of more like H and M E kind of stuff 0:12:27.160 --> 0:12:30.560 or Zora or whatever. You didn't have contemporary and theory 0:12:30.640 --> 0:12:33.120 really kicked off what is now known as the contemporary 0:12:33.120 --> 0:12:35.400 world of fashion, which is where you find fashion and 0:12:35.440 --> 0:12:38.880 you find you know, the designer made clothing but at 0:12:38.880 --> 0:12:42.120 a price point that's not like a ten dollar gown, um. 0:12:42.200 --> 0:12:44.840 And so I think where we came in at that time, unknowingly, 0:12:45.000 --> 0:12:47.400 you know, was sort of that we were entering that 0:12:47.559 --> 0:12:51.400 itemized contemporary market. And in the beginning, contemporary was like 0:12:51.480 --> 0:12:54.120 kind of theory pants and suits James first t shirts 0:12:54.120 --> 0:12:57.720 and jeans, and we came in and started making dresses 0:12:57.880 --> 0:13:01.680 and beautiful blouses and things that were fancy to kind 0:13:01.679 --> 0:13:04.120 of pair back to all those items that the big 0:13:04.160 --> 0:13:07.400 guys were making. And from that we really grew. And 0:13:07.600 --> 0:13:10.000 you know, I still think of the sensibility of Alice 0:13:10.000 --> 0:13:12.840 and Olivia the same way as making these beautiful items 0:13:12.880 --> 0:13:15.480 that every woman who tries it on can wear in 0:13:15.520 --> 0:13:17.960 her own way. You know, so you might wear a 0:13:18.040 --> 0:13:19.920 dress with a pair of heels, and another girl's putting 0:13:19.920 --> 0:13:22.160 it on with a pair of sneakers. Um, you know, 0:13:22.280 --> 0:13:24.960 my mom might wear our blazer back to her skinny jeans, 0:13:25.040 --> 0:13:26.839 and I might wear the blazer back to a ball 0:13:26.880 --> 0:13:30.560 down skirt. You know. And we've managed to sort of, hope, 0:13:31.120 --> 0:13:35.200 create clothes that allow women to express themselves with color, 0:13:35.240 --> 0:13:38.160 with print, and you know, their own and to really 0:13:38.200 --> 0:13:42.079 like sort of bring out their personality. I mean, that's 0:13:42.080 --> 0:13:47.320 what that's what I love doing. I so love your 0:13:47.440 --> 0:13:51.199 use of bold color in and of itself makes a 0:13:51.520 --> 0:13:55.520 makes a bold statement for sure. Um, let's talk about creatively. 0:13:56.280 --> 0:14:02.120 You took the leap and launched a kind of social network, 0:14:02.160 --> 0:14:06.000 professional networking service for people in the creative community, and 0:14:06.040 --> 0:14:09.280 you launched it during the in the teeth of the pandemic. 0:14:09.440 --> 0:14:12.120 What what was it about that time that made you 0:14:12.160 --> 0:14:14.600 feel like it was the right time to unveil creatively? 0:14:15.080 --> 0:14:18.719 So I felt that over the last several years when 0:14:18.760 --> 0:14:21.880 I was hiring people at Alison Olivia, it was really 0:14:21.960 --> 0:14:25.400 difficult to hire creative people. And the only way you 0:14:25.440 --> 0:14:28.000 really you know, looked at resumes or found people was 0:14:28.040 --> 0:14:30.760 on LinkedIn. And I'm like a most creative people aren't 0:14:30.760 --> 0:14:33.720 on LinkedIn and be LinkedIn is an amazing tool if 0:14:33.760 --> 0:14:36.480 you're hiring like a salesperson or an accountant, but when 0:14:36.480 --> 0:14:38.880 you're hiring a creative person, you need to see their world. 0:14:39.440 --> 0:14:42.560 I feel weird going and like stalking someone's Instagram looking 0:14:42.600 --> 0:14:44.880 at their kids when I'm like trying to interview them. 0:14:45.080 --> 0:14:47.680 But you need to see their visual world, right, So 0:14:47.760 --> 0:14:50.000 you get a white piece of resume for someone who's 0:14:50.000 --> 0:14:51.960 making things in three D for you, and it just 0:14:52.000 --> 0:14:55.320 doesn't equate. And you know you can interview them or whatever, 0:14:55.400 --> 0:14:57.560 but you know you'd have to have three hours of 0:14:57.680 --> 0:15:00.760 you know, they having them to projects, having put together 0:15:00.800 --> 0:15:03.600 a portfolio. And I just kind of one day said, 0:15:03.600 --> 0:15:06.840 there needs to be this professional network and job platform 0:15:06.920 --> 0:15:10.040 that is built for the creative world that is a 0:15:10.120 --> 0:15:13.800 portfolio driven tool that allows creatives to share their work 0:15:13.880 --> 0:15:16.480 in the most powerful way. And I like to describe 0:15:16.480 --> 0:15:18.800 it as almost the most beautiful free art gallery for 0:15:18.840 --> 0:15:23.760 the creative, which is basically a way to facilitate creative 0:15:23.800 --> 0:15:26.680 showing their work. Um and it is not a place 0:15:26.680 --> 0:15:29.440 for creatives to share pictures, pictures of their children or 0:15:29.600 --> 0:15:33.200 what cocktail they're having or you know their political stance 0:15:33.280 --> 0:15:35.920 on you know, A B and C. It is truly 0:15:36.160 --> 0:15:39.160 just a safe place for creatives to share their works, 0:15:39.200 --> 0:15:42.520 show their work, collaborate on their work, and to find work. 0:15:42.960 --> 0:15:46.680 So it is a job platform, it is a UM 0:15:46.720 --> 0:15:50.200 you know, it is a professional network. And what's been 0:15:50.240 --> 0:15:53.160 really exciting is, you know, the response we've had from 0:15:53.200 --> 0:15:56.040 creatives that are so excited to have this tool, but 0:15:56.120 --> 0:15:58.520 also from brands who are now using it. We have 0:15:58.560 --> 0:16:00.640 over a thousand brands and come to is using the 0:16:00.680 --> 0:16:03.760 platform not just in fashion and all industries to find 0:16:03.800 --> 0:16:10.160 creative talent and higher creative talent. We'll take a break 0:16:10.200 --> 0:16:13.120 here and be back with more from Alice and Olivia 0:16:13.280 --> 0:16:24.560 and Creatively founder Stacy Benditt Eisner tell me what's the 0:16:24.600 --> 0:16:28.400 business model behind We charge companies. We don't charge of 0:16:28.440 --> 0:16:31.400 the creative. The platform is totally free for creatives. We 0:16:31.480 --> 0:16:34.920 charge companies UM that we have different service levels where 0:16:34.960 --> 0:16:38.320 companies can use to UM. They can actually use Creatively 0:16:38.360 --> 0:16:40.360 to set up projects so they can hire there. They're 0:16:40.360 --> 0:16:42.280 going to be able to hire creatives directly, but they 0:16:42.280 --> 0:16:46.080 can also post jobs UM just like they would on 0:16:46.200 --> 0:16:49.720 something like a LinkedIn or another professional network, so that's 0:16:49.760 --> 0:16:52.400 our Our model is similar to that, but we do 0:16:52.440 --> 0:16:55.880 not charge the creative. We only charge brands to use 0:16:56.000 --> 0:17:00.760 creatively um to to hire a you know, mobile global 0:17:00.920 --> 0:17:05.120 creative workforce, freelance and full time. That's the other difference. 0:17:05.119 --> 0:17:07.840 It's like there wasn't really a we. We kind of 0:17:07.880 --> 0:17:12.120 filled this niche for creatives where we have a job. 0:17:12.240 --> 0:17:15.520 Most people don't post a job like listening for something freelance, 0:17:15.560 --> 0:17:18.399 it's just for full time. Whereas I'm creatively companies are 0:17:18.520 --> 0:17:21.760 encouraged to post both we're going to need somebody for 0:17:21.800 --> 0:17:25.400 six months on this specific for days here in Mexico. 0:17:25.520 --> 0:17:27.960 And if you have a specialty on this kind of graphics, 0:17:28.040 --> 0:17:30.280 so much the better. You can search by location, you 0:17:30.280 --> 0:17:34.400 can search by category. How have you gotten this company 0:17:34.400 --> 0:17:36.720 on its feet? Have you funded it yourself? Did you 0:17:36.760 --> 0:17:40.119 go raise money? So in the beginning, I funded it myself, 0:17:40.359 --> 0:17:43.800 UM with my partner whose name is Reagan silver Um. 0:17:43.920 --> 0:17:48.040 And then since then we've done a little bit of fundraising. 0:17:48.320 --> 0:17:51.040 UM My father in law as an investor, Sherry Redstone's 0:17:51.040 --> 0:17:54.800 company as an investor. We have Lion Try as an investor. 0:17:54.920 --> 0:17:58.679 So we've we've got some great minds and you know 0:17:58.760 --> 0:18:02.840 advisors behind us UM and you know, we we just 0:18:02.880 --> 0:18:04.879 started building it about two years ago and then we 0:18:05.000 --> 0:18:08.240 launched it a little bit earlier than expected. But last 0:18:08.480 --> 0:18:10.280 you know May, in the midst of the pandemic, all 0:18:10.280 --> 0:18:12.760 these students were graduating from schools. They didn't have jobs, 0:18:12.760 --> 0:18:15.440 they didn't have a weight and network UM. And so 0:18:15.720 --> 0:18:18.119 upon meeting with some of the schools, specifically through the 0:18:18.119 --> 0:18:21.520 CFTA in the fashion industry, UM, we just launched it 0:18:21.560 --> 0:18:23.720 a little bit earlier than we thought. But we're able 0:18:23.840 --> 0:18:28.159 to allow all these students to put their portfolios places 0:18:28.200 --> 0:18:30.280 and apply for jobs like you can apply for jobs 0:18:30.400 --> 0:18:33.879 right through Creatively and we post hundreds, if not thousands 0:18:33.920 --> 0:18:37.080 of job listings a week. How did you get the 0:18:37.160 --> 0:18:40.520 word out at the beginning? So we launched it with 0:18:40.800 --> 0:18:42.960 you know press, I promoted it on social and a 0:18:43.040 --> 0:18:45.600 lot of friends who promoted it. UM. You know, we 0:18:45.920 --> 0:18:48.480 have a you know Instagram account for Creatively, which we 0:18:48.640 --> 0:18:52.040 used UM and you know, we've just gotten a lot 0:18:52.160 --> 0:18:54.919 of you know, of of press because I think it's 0:18:54.960 --> 0:18:58.399 truly something that just hasn't existed in the world. You know, 0:18:58.520 --> 0:19:02.560 our job is really to facilitate jobs for creatives and 0:19:02.600 --> 0:19:05.680 to make it easier for companies to find and higher creatives. 0:19:05.760 --> 0:19:09.160 And our next venture, which we're launching this week, um, 0:19:09.880 --> 0:19:13.480 you know, is our next step, creatively Pay. And creatively 0:19:13.560 --> 0:19:18.399 Pay is what I think, a big game changer UM 0:19:18.680 --> 0:19:21.360 in the world of hiring creatives, and a big game 0:19:21.440 --> 0:19:25.200 changer for creatives because what we're doing is eliminating what 0:19:25.359 --> 0:19:27.640 I think is one of the biggest pain points for creatives, 0:19:27.720 --> 0:19:32.680 which is getting paid, the long wait between invoice and 0:19:32.840 --> 0:19:37.120 being an accounts payable sending that check. Creatively Pay will 0:19:37.359 --> 0:19:39.840 be the fastest way for creatives to get paid for 0:19:39.880 --> 0:19:42.119 their work. They can get paid the same day for 0:19:42.320 --> 0:19:45.920 their work. And not only that, but what creatively pay 0:19:45.960 --> 0:19:49.200 will um we're announcing it this week, but in the 0:19:49.280 --> 0:19:51.119 fall when we launch it, there will be ways for 0:19:51.200 --> 0:19:55.440 you to very easily invoice to schedule your jobs. We 0:19:55.520 --> 0:19:57.840 want to make life easier for creatives so they can 0:19:57.880 --> 0:20:01.720 be creative. I felt so luck in my career to 0:20:01.920 --> 0:20:05.240 have you know, a sort of infrastructure around me and 0:20:05.320 --> 0:20:08.720 and and almost like a platform beneath me too, you know, 0:20:08.960 --> 0:20:12.000 handle a lot of like logistics and a lot of 0:20:12.480 --> 0:20:14.600 things on the business side, of my company so that 0:20:14.680 --> 0:20:17.120 I could be free to let my brain be creative. 0:20:17.600 --> 0:20:19.960 And I want to help other creatives have that, and 0:20:20.000 --> 0:20:21.479 I think this is a big part of it. I mean, 0:20:21.520 --> 0:20:23.560 I hear from friends that I work with. You know, 0:20:23.680 --> 0:20:26.560 they're a photographer, they're a videographer, they're a hair person 0:20:26.640 --> 0:20:28.760 to makeup person, and sometimes they're waiting three months to 0:20:28.800 --> 0:20:31.800 get paid. So what we are doing is announcing a 0:20:31.880 --> 0:20:35.679 partnership with or um Um and we are the interim 0:20:35.760 --> 0:20:38.840 financing so that when you use Creatively pay, you're paid 0:20:38.880 --> 0:20:41.639 the same day and or Um is the liquidity so 0:20:41.720 --> 0:20:43.840 that companies can still have their thirty day terms or 0:20:43.840 --> 0:20:47.440 whatever they need um. But the creative does not have 0:20:47.600 --> 0:20:49.840 to wait all of that time to receive a check 0:20:49.920 --> 0:20:52.840 for the work that they've completed. And does the company 0:20:53.800 --> 0:20:55.960 the companies that partner with Creatively to do this, do 0:20:56.080 --> 0:20:58.440 they have to pay an extra feed for that service happen, 0:20:58.920 --> 0:21:01.800 They have to be very fine. But for the first 0:21:02.200 --> 0:21:05.680 like several months or in the year um, there there 0:21:05.800 --> 0:21:08.080 is no fee and we will never charge the creatives 0:21:08.160 --> 0:21:09.920 for this because that's the other issue. A lot of 0:21:09.960 --> 0:21:12.760 times creatives are getting chunks taken out of their paycheck 0:21:12.880 --> 0:21:16.040 from agents and managers, which is okay if that's if 0:21:16.040 --> 0:21:17.960 they're providing a service, but a lot of times like 0:21:18.359 --> 0:21:20.760