We were lucky to catch up with Katia Dragotis recently and have shared our conversation below.
Katia, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?
Call it a case of the ultimate FOMO or maybe it’s never feeling fully financially secure, but I’ve always had multiple jobs, with my hands in a lot of different projects. I have always been on a career journey that’s founded in entrepreneur “big ideas” and hustling to try and make that happen. To make these dreams happen without the financial safety net, I have had to take up odd jobs here and there. Whether that be bartending after long days of building a media company, or acting as a Vampire for a Halloween promotion, I’ve done it. With that, I have stories. Stories, that at the moment, made me question myself and path many times over. Stories that made my friends and me, now in reflection, laugh. Stories that upon reflection have in one way or another created the journey, which I’m STILL going through. Because of that spirit, I’ve always been fascinated with other people’s experiences and journeys in business and success. Living in Los Angeles, I’ve worked in restaurants with some of the most talented and creative individuals I had ever seen. From an outsider’s perspective, I often questioned how, in my opinion, less talented individuals made it big, while my friends were still struggling. I would also reflect on their journey and wonder if there would be a day that would come, where they could and would tell the story at say The Oscars of that time they spilled a $200 plate of Oysters on a table or something equally as embarrassing as they were just trying to pay rent that month. Then, I would listen to podcasts and shows on entrepreneurs, who would reflect on the highlights of that person and not the low lights. The stuck moments, the WTF moments, the moments that people can actually learn from. The moments people can listen to while they are maybe in a “stuck” moment and say, “ok, I’m not the only one, I can persevere.” That’s why I created “The Come Up with Katia” , a podcast about those stories.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I’m a vet in the sports industry, originally from Minneapolis, now residing in Los Angeles. Having started and flourished a career within the sports industry, it will always be a field that’s near and dear to my heart. It still remains the foundation of how I approach a lot of my work to this day. Now, running Purple Banter Entertainment Network and my own show, The Come Up with Katia, I’ve merged my experience in content creation, production and business development to propel not only my show forward, but the current roster of 6+ podcasts that are under the Purple Banter umbrella of shows. Purple Banter Entertainment Network is a media and entertainment platform that is centered around building fun and conversational podcasts that produce shows with deeper thinking, longer laughs, and sometimes mindless banter. We seek to understand, not to be understood.
We’d love to hear about you met your business partner.
The CEO of Purple Banter Entertainment, LJ Stead, and I met freshman year at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul Minnesota. LJ was always super involved at St. Thomas, creating businesses and ideas even while we were in college. We re-connected at Barney’s Beanery in West Hollywood during a Minnesota Vikings game, neither of us had known that the other lived in LA! So our Minnesota crew continued to hangout, especially for Vikings games and eventually LJ told me about his idea for Purple Banter, knowing my extensive experience in the content world. It started out with a Vikings Weekly podcast and grew from there, eventually me joining him in the business as COO. In a full circle moment, the first live broadcast show that we did with a location partner, was for the 2022 NFL Draft at none other than Barney’s Beanery in West Hollywood. Barney’s might as well be the mascot for our company, I personally can be found from time to time, huddled in a booth with my laptop coming up with new ideas.
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
I think how you build a reputation is by first and foremost having confidence, but never bullshitting people. Keep it 100% and always hold down your crew and those who have helped you along the way. Those things come back to you in life and business. If you can make an introduction, or simply purchase or support a project that someone is doing, why would you not? It’s the little things that are no sweat off your back that can and will be monumental moments for others who are on the come up. So if a friend writes a book, buy it. Someone creates a show and promotes it on social media, don’t just scroll, like and comment. It took zero effort out of your day to support someone and make what could be a meaningful impact in their business and life. People who have always had the safety net of a big corporation don’t understand how precious little moments and every resource is for small business owners and creators. If I preach anything in life, it’s to support your crew.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.purplebanter.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/katiadragotis/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katiadragotis/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/Katia_Demetra
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCw6fR7_PcKUOY_94zDWsswA
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/show/7kVR4GrFHBMvXl2V5bEZ2F?si=d0a46c5a62394e58