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Insights

Brief lessons and deeper founder stories for seeing your business in a new light.

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Insights
Begin seeing differently.
Notice the pattern

Preflight™ names the forces shaping your business and the founder you are becoming.

See it lived

Fabulist™ reveals how other founders navigated consequential decisions through changing conditions.

Decide what comes next

Better judgment begins with seeing situations more clearly.

Start with Preflight™

Preflight

A daily lesson in Creative Foundership for recognizing the patterns shaping your business, your decisions, and the founder you are becoming.

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Fabulist Episodes
16 min 53 sec
State of Studios 2025 - The 7 Laws of Thriving Studios
I work with hundreds of creative studios and production companies across 40+ countries — motion design, VFX, live action, experiential, music, and sound.
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59 min 4 sec
Competition as Craft: The Sister-Studio Experiment
Joel sits down with Dustin Devlin, Winston Macdonald and Tim Bradley to unpack how today’s best studios are evolving beyond “project vendors” into true strategic partners.
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50 min 51 sec
Protecting the Craft with Barton Damer
Running a standout studio isn’t about selling hours—it’s about protecting the craft, picking the right clients, and staying scrappy (in smarter ways).
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0 hr 58 min
The Studio Was Just The Start: Here Comes Act Two
Studio founders Shawna, Katwo, and Samantha explore life beyond success—launching new ventures, evolving leadership, and redefining legacy in the Second Act of creative entrepreneurship.
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37 min 15 sec
Paradiso: Build What Scares You with Hector Ayuso & Marko Pfann
In this special episode, Joel Pilger sits down with Paradiso co-founders Hector Ayuso and Marko Pfann to unpack the heart, hustle, and human connection behind this one-of-a-kind gathering in Mérida.
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