We recently connected with Scott Rowan and have shared our conversation below.

Scott, appreciate you joining us today. Coming up with the idea is so exciting, but then comes the hard part – executing. Too often the media ignores the execution part and goes from idea to success, skipping over the nitty, gritty details of executing in the early days. We think that’s a disservice both to the entrepreneurs who built something amazing as well as the public who isn’t getting a realistic picture of what it takes to succeed. So, we’d really appreciate if you could open up about your execution story – how did you go from idea to execution?

My greatest fear has always been mediocrity. Through the process of building a business, I’ve learned the best way to overcome mediocrity is tenacity. Not giving up, and striving to move forward is the greatest hedge against failure. So, my story of going from idea to execution is just a long sequence of trying different things and doing whatever I could to make progress away from mediocrity, both as a content creator and business owner.

The idea for Row One Productions came about when I was eight years old. Though not officially incorporated as a business entity at the time, we were making films. Kids making movies with their family video camera is a common pastime, but we stuck with it. It was sometime in high school, after making a few short films with friends, when I realized this could be something to make a living off of, and so the goal became making Row One Productions legit. (Row One, coined by my brother, is a play on both the first row of a theater and my last name… clever, I know). I participated in my first film festival in Forest Grove Oregon while still in high school and after that I went on to graduate from the Loyola Marymount University film program with a business minor. After graduation, I worked my way around Hollywood taking whatever gig I could – from ticket taker at Universal Studios to Production Assistant at the Ellen show. I eventually landed a full time, steady job as an editor/office admin at a production company, where I took over producing some of their projects including the DVD bonus content for The Vampire Diaries, some Disney Interactive Entertainment digital shorts, and a handful of others. This is where I cut my producer teeth, and where I learned a lot about how to run a business. I owe a lot to Retrofit Films.

The only problem was that the Retrofit guys were too good at mentoring. I eventually reached a point where it was time to break off and officially bite the Row One Productions bullet. I put in my two weeks, tipped my hat, and not too long after, my girlfriend (now wife) and I decided to spread our wings and try our hand in a different city. Cut to: living in Austin, Texas with an officially incorporated LLC, Row 1 Productions, LLC.

At this point I started working with some nonprofits and doing whatever I could to build a client base. And, it was totally easy… except for that time I was on the floor crying because rent was due in two weeks and I didn’t know how I was going to pay it. That was the only time I ever asked for an outside investment. My girlfriend lent me $800 for rent… in exchange for NO EQUITY. Joke’s on her. Well, she’s my wife now so there was some ROI.

The very next month my client base started to grow, I worked part time as a contractor/consultant at an agency in Austin, and things became sustainable. No more crying on floors.

Great! We’re off to the races! Company growth. Oh wait… time for a detour.

An opportunity came up to take a full time position at Fandango as the lead producer. Row One Productions was picking up steam, but I didn’t have any corporate, large office experience on my resume. I still loved LA and the idea of interviewing celebrities seemed fun. So I took it! Row One pressed pause.

This experience was great! I met a lot of cool people, got to create a lot of fun original content and shook hands with some of the most influential people in the entertainment industry. The free tickets to Universal Studios were also a plus. About two years into it, an opportunity came up to interview Jennifer Lopez for the movie Hustlers. Legendary! But, my instinct was to assign the opportunity to one of our producers, mostly because I just didn’t want to do it. And in that moment, I realized the novelty of interviewing celebrities had worn off, my tenure at Fandango was coming to a close, and my true passion was still dormant in building my own business. I put in my two weeks, tipped my hat and yet again found myself trucking back to the Lone Star State.

Here’s the short version of what happened next: I landed back in the lap of Row One Productions in November, 2019. I hired our first full time employee, Mike, in January of 2020. The entire world came to a screeching halt in March of 2020. (I don’t know if you know, but there was a pandemic). Now with a full time employee, and no physical production to be done, the pressure was on and we had to pivot. Lucky for me, Mike is a badass and an excellent partner in crime. Not only did we survive the pandemic, we saw the greatest growth in sales. Virtual live events, animated videos and zoom-style interviews became the butter to our bread.

Now the world is back to normal(ish), in-person physical production is happening again and our business is growing. It’s like in Apollo 13 when they used the dark side of the moon to slingshot their way back to Earth. Through the darkest we found momentum.

The best thing about having mediocrity as a fear is it’s hard to quantify when it is overcome, so it’s always there, pushing. In the last two years we were an honoree for one Webby and nominated for another, (in competition against the likes of Steve Carell, Mario Lopez and some major ad agencies no less), but there is still plenty of room to grow and improve. Tenacity will only continue to separate us more from mediocrity.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Sure! I’m Scott Rowan, founder of Row One Production, headquartered in Austin, Texas. I’m a member of the Producers Guild of America with about fifteen years of experience in the professional world of film and television. I love my wife, my dogs, and entertaining people.

Row One Productions is a full-service video production company based in Austin, TX. We specialize in creating and developing original content for commercial, branded and nonprofit work. Our goal is to approach every project with the intent of making it creatively unique by injecting our own voice and sense of story, while still honoring the voice and brand of the client. Oh, and we have fun in the process.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

This one is probably obvious… COVID. But, the more specific example of needing to pivot, was the complete shift in creative direction for a particular client. Prior to the world shutting down, we signed on to develop a branded web series for HostGator. We were going to shoot in their office, use a bunch of their people as guests, and basically create an expansive on-screen world that was entertaining and educational. Then lockdown happened. So, we shifted the idea to what became our show called ‘Hosted’, a hosted show about web hosting. It was a tutorial variety show that we shot in my garage with a live audience of our close co-quarantine friends. We ended up shooting thirty-two episodes over two years and were awarded a Webby honoree accolade.

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

Word of mouth. 99% of our client base has grown from references. This is validation of three of my cardinal rules: work hard, foster a comfortable and fun work environment, even for clients, and be an asshole to no one.

Contact Info:

• Website: rowoneproductions.com
• Instagram: @rowoneproductions
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/row-one-productions/