We recently connected with Jason Ludman and have shared our conversation below.
Jason, appreciate you joining us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?
It’s always important to remain curious and adaptable in both business and in life.
Like many people in 2020, I felt like my life was completely rugged by the Covid-19 pandemic.
I live in New York City, but was spending three weeks in Los Angeles in late February / early March 2020. Some of it was work, some of it was pleasure, but my mission while out there was to greenlight a feature film I had been developing for four plus years at that point with my producing partner, Adam Gibbs. This was a film that was going to bring me into the next phase of my career. Both creatively and financially.
More on that later, but first a bit more on my background…
I’ve always worked in creative fields and started my career in 2010 working my way up through film and branded content production in NYC, eventually producing my own projects. By trade, I consider myself to be a “creative producer”.
I’ve produced films that have played at festivals like Toronto International Film Festival, Oldenburg Film Festival and Cannes.
I’ve produced branded content for household names like Showtime Networks, Amazon and Entertainment Weekly.
I know how to put things together at a professional grade and I also know how to collaborate and gain trust with creatives on these projects, as I am a creative myself.
Being able to use both sides of your brain on artistic endeavors is not always easy, so I pride myself on this ability. To me it’s about being able to “connect the dots” between the creative and commercial goals of any project, without getting too emotional about either.
In 2017, after selling a film production equipment sales and rental business I had built alongside my on set life, I was looking for another challenge. Someone I knew through film production, who was also a DJ and music producer, was opening up a music studio and content creation studio in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
I went to meet the team while the studio was being built and just never left — becoming a business development consultant and eventually a partner. At this time I was still producing films (albeit mostly in pre-production) and branded content.
The reason I decided to take on this new music industry challenge was because, at that time, it was becoming apparent to me that the lines in the entertainment industry were starting to blur. Celebrity culture was spilling over heavily into the social media landscape.
No longer were people going to be actors, musicians, TV personalities, fine artists, fashion designers… The “creator economy”, which it is now called, was coming and in the creator economy the individual is the brand. So they are supposed to do it all — video content, podcast, music, apparel etc…
By delving into music I was able to learn about a new side of the entertainment industry, while also gaining knowledge on how musicians were starting to use social media for marketing and customer connectivity.
This was in 2017, 2018, 2019 and early 2020 so this sort of social media marketing technique was still new. It seems like a no brainer today for most industries, especially creatives, personalities, athletes and celebrities. However, this sort of social media marketing strategy was not, and is still largely not happening in the film industry even today.
Over the course of my time at the music studio we worked with clientele that included musicians such as Frank Ocean, A$AP Ferg, Debbie Harry, Nina Kraviz and Louie Vega – so I was also seeing how these strategies were being executed at a commercially successful level.
Now, back to Los Angeles, March 2020, and me trying to get my feature film greenlit right before Covid.
It’s one of my last nights of that trip, and me and my producing partner Adam are meeting with a fairly famous young actor who had signed on to be the lead, he also was in love with the project. He tells us he is going to talk to a friend of his about joining the film in one of the supporting roles. A middle-aged comedian — a bit more famous of an actor — who had a track record of selling internationally. So if we were to sign him on this would most likely secure our funding, and we’d be able to make the film we’ve been working on for four plus years. I was leaving Los Angeles beyond ecstatic.I flew back to New York later that week.
Covid had started to take over the news cycles at this point, while it had barely been talked about during my LA trip. In my head while we landed at JFK I thought to myself, “either i’m going to make this film this summer, and it’s going to change my life, or Covid is going to happen, and it’s going to change my life”. Tom Hanks getting sick, the Europe travel ban and the NBA season shutting down all happened the following Wednesday, and everything I felt I had been working towards stopped.
Fast forward to February 2021. Film production, branded content, the music studio — everything I was working on has been shut down for almost a year.
I had spent the pandemic building a music education non-profit with my partners from the music studio that brought music theory, music history and music production classes to underserved schools in the Bronx & upper Manhattan. It felt good to build something that gave back to NYC during a time when there was so much uncertainty and chaos. The city was hurting.
With that program in full motion and the prospects of lockdown ending with the vaccine program having launched in early 2021 — I was ready to dig my teeth into another creative endeavor.
During this time, the invite-only, voice chartroom app “Clubhouse” had taken off, and a friend of mine invited me to join. I first started off in some of the filmmaking and music industry rooms but eventually found myself spending more and more time in the NFT rooms.
Having gotten into Bitcoin very early, I had always paid attention to blockchain technology and crypto but had never really found a place for me to work inside of it. As a creative producer, I identify with the energy of downtown NYC and Hollywood more than Silicon Valley.
While NFT sentiment was unfortunately killed by the way of Twitter/X grifters and scammers — those early days in Clubhouse were very cathartic and filled with lots of interesting ideas and dialogues from very very talented individuals.
Many creatives felt similar to how I had felt in March of 2020, and wanted a way to be more in control of their work and their destiny as a creative professional. I thought there could be a way for independent music and film to eventually thrive in NFTs and blockchain.
I connected with a lot of uber talented digital artists, photographers and fine artists during this time, as they were the ones who already were having success as their use case was the most simplified. Make art and mint it on the blockchain, where it could then be bought and sold.
Additionally, I was collecting artwork I liked, and trying to better understand the capabilities of this emerging technology. In my mind if this all was speculation and fell apart (which it eventually did), at least I would own digital art that I really enjoyed. This curiosity however, eventually lead me to learning about how the art industry worked, how galleries and collectors intertwined into the art business model.
On the blockchain side I was learning about tech culture and its business practices — at a time when things were moving very fast, there was a ton of dialogue around revolutionary business model ideas and a lot of people were making a lot of money.
By fall of 2021 the rent moratorium had ended in NYC and because of lack of business during lockdown, the music studio I was a partner in was officially closing. Once again I was searching for something new to pique my curiosity. Then came NFTNYC in November of 2021. This would be the first time many of the people who first connected on “Clubhouse” during lockdown would be meeting each other in person. No one knew really what to expect, but it seemed like a lot of people were coming to the city.
The turnout was extraordinary. The events felt larger than life at a time where the rest of the world still seemed very much shuttered. This looked like it was the future of creative industries. Technology and art finally combined, in what some would later describe as “the intersection of art and technology”.
However, I wasn’t seeing the art or culture I felt connected to really represented at these events. It felt very Silicon Valley, very San Francisco — bad taste to put it bluntly. I felt like there was an avenue for me, an opening, to push the culture I love into this next iteration of the internet.
During NFTNYC 2021, I found myself in the right place at the right time, and was introduced to the team that was producing a Friday night blow out concert event on South Beach during Miami Art Basel. The event was a few weeks away and this team had the access, but didn’t know how to put on a large scale event or book the talent. They brought me on and I assembled the team that would put this legendary event together.
During this time in 2021 there were a lot of people pushing the narrative that “NYC is dead”. That somehow Miami was the new capital of culture and creativity because it hadn’t shut down. Our NYC team took offense to this notion and wanted to bring a high energy, no fucks given, raw NYC vibe to South Beach during the first Art Basel in two years.
We delivered, with a blowout concert event featuring Busta Rhymes, NORE, Murda Beatz, Trinidad James and more. It was the highlight event for many people that year as Art Week in Miami was going through a serious culture shift and the city itself was becoming a more crypto friendly town.
That concert was the spiritual beginning of my collective and multi-media creative studio DOTCONNECTOR.
I wanted to take my experience in film, content, music, art and beyond and bring it into a single entity. More intention and more control. I also wanted to take what I loved about the creative industries in NYC, specifically downtown NYC culture and make sure it wasn’t lost in this new, post Covid, digital age.
A brand that focused on music, art, content, fashion, culinary, cannabis, sports. An omnibrand with a distinct brand identity.
I knew to do this I had to create a place where creativity, community and commerce could all thrive. Something I had always done whether it be in my film production office spaces or music studio. It creates a richer environment for these businesses when done correctly.
Our first two major events in NYC for DOTCONNECTOR were at the legendary 90 Bowery. A space with a storied history, that now houses Supreme on the ground floor and a 6 story creative co-working space next door — featuring a water-tower with a Shepard Fairy mural on the roof. At one time the entire building was the home and studio to the famed photographer Jay Maisel, who transformed a dilapidated bank into his residence in the 1970s.
The energy and response from these first two parties let me know I was onto something special and gave me that “aha” moment – I knew this was something that people were hungry for and it could grow into whatever I wanted it to be.
Over the last three years DOTCONNECTOR has created this space by hosting 60+ events geared towards the “creator economy” and those working in crypto & consumer tech. Mainly in NYC but with active hubs in Miami and Los Angeles.
We are artist driven, with a big emphasis on community.
We’ve activated during major cultural moments like NYFW, F1 Miami, Christie’s Art & Tech, VEECON LA and Miami Art Basel (3 times).
Collaborated with venues such as 90 Bowery, 53 @ MoMa, Cipriani’s MUSICA, The Ned NoMad, Bar Madonna, Paramount Music Studios LA, Sunset Marquis and The Sagamore Hotel South Beach.
In 2023 we held a monthly residency at Penthouse Recording Studios, a music recording space active since the 1960’s that’s been home to sessions from Frank Sinatra to Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, The Notorious BIG and John Lennon.
Today, DOTCONNECTOR is a collective with some of the dopest creatives in the country attending our events. Our next chapter is to focus and scale our multi-media creative studio via the relationships we’ve built over the last three years at our parties and events.
I was inspired by LCD Soundsystem and Roberta’s Pizza when first launching DOTCONNECTOR. Two NYC institutions that launched their brands throwing parties in Lower Manhattan and Brooklyn respectively. Then taking the communities they built around those parties and evolving them into full fledged business operations.
Since day zero, DOTCONNECTOR’s brand identity has drawn inspiration from New York City’s downtown art, nightlife & streetwear culture. It’s at the heart of everything we do and we plan on keeping it that way.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
I’ve had to pivot quite a few times in my career as you read in DOTCONNECTOR’s origin story — and I’m currently approaching one of those moments again.
I’m currently transitioning DOTCONNECTOR into not just a collective and community where those in the “creator economy” can party and connect, but a full fledged and scalable creative studio.
Like any new endeavor or pivot it can feel scary or challenging. We are creatures of comfort and getting out of those walls we create for ourselves can feel overwhelming or scary.
A few things come to mind when I’ve had to pivot in my life.
1) It’s ok to slow down and think. When we are constantly busy or building our minds get caught up in the urgency of NOW! However, when you are pivoting or building something new you need time to sit with your thoughts and ideas. You need to strategize, develop a new proverbial North Star and see the bigger picture. It’s very hard to do that when you are fully immersed in a previous project or idea.
2) Trust your instincts. No one knows what you are trying to accomplish better than you, even if it’s not a fully formed idea yet. Outside counsel and ideas are always welcome but be critical of them and make sure you are always staying true to you and your vision.
3) Stay curious and adaptive. Be open to new ideas and perspectives. A line from a song, excerpt from an article or monologue from a film may give you a new perspective. Be open to receive these things but also remember number 2 and trust your instincts.
4) Be honest about what you know and what you still need to learn. Understanding what you don’t know and asking for help or guidance is a lot easier than having to learn things the hard way or re-do tasks.
5) “When it feels scary to jump, that is exactly when you jump, otherwise you end up staying in the same place your whole life, and that I can’t do” — This is a quote from a film, but it always gives me the fearlessness to move forward into uncharted waters in business and life. It’s from the 2014 film “A Most Violent Year”, directed by J.C. Chandor and staring Oscar Isaac as a fuel supplier who tries to adhere to his own moral compass amid rampant violence, corruption and decay that threaten his family and business in 1981 New York City. A great film and worth the watch!
Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?
There’s an old saying, “business deals are made on the golf course not in the boardroom” – people like to do business with people they like. Everything at the end of the day is about relationships!
Make sure you are going out and meeting new clientele or hosting existing clientele away from the office. Also make sure you are looking at these relationships in a three dimensional sort of way, not just as a means to a financial end only. You will come across as crass and people will look elsewhere if they have the opportunity.
While the strategy around DOTCONNECTOR was to throw parties and events to foster these initial relationships, this may not be possible for every business model. That still doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be going out to lunch, sporting events, conferences, and parties with the goal of meeting new potential clients or hosting existing ones. This will get you much further than any powerpoint presentation or p&l spreadsheet.
Lastly, make sure to take advantage of the digital space. No other time in human history have individuals and businesses been able to self publish and connect with others whenever they want for free or very very cheap. All the tools are there and available for you and it is where people are spending their time. Advertise there, connect there, building content for that space. Traditional methods are outdated and everyone is on social media, for better or worse, it’s where the eyes are.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.drop01.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dotconnectorhq
- Twitter: https://x.com/dotconnectorhq
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@dotconnectorhq
- Other: https://www.threads.net/@dotconnectorhq
Image Credits
Headshot by Fernando Samalot
Event photos 1-4 by Alena Kostromina
Event photos 5-8 by Aaron Chen