Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Thomas Johnston. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Thomas, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

Shifted Digital is focused on the idea of representing Talent properly in the new generation. Working with primarily Gen-Z and Zillenial aged talent, our mission is to expand business opportunity and growth for our clients.

Thomas, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Thomas Johnston is a Toronto-based entertainment industry practitioner, talent manager, and Managing Director of Shifted Digital. At Shifted Digital, Thomas
oversees Talent Management and Business Development at Toronto’s leading talent management company for digital-first Talent. Representing the new wave of digital-first Talent at the intersection of digital & traditional entertainment. Thomas has a proven track record of leading talent strategy, content production, and brand partnerships for his clients with Amazon, Apple, Fenty Beauty, L’Oreal, Lego, Mazda, Netflix, Starbucks, Universal Music, Warner Brothers, and more. Thomas began his career in entertainment as an intern in a variety of traditional theatrical capacities at the crossroads of production, creativity, and representation ultimately leading to opportunities to work on Broadway. Thomas briefly attended the University of Alberta before leaving to pursue the founding and building of Shifted Digital as the boom of short-form content creators began growing rapidly.

Have you ever had to pivot?

Starting a business in 2020 had lots of challenges. At the company’s infancy, we were constantly pivoting our positioning – now being 360º talent management for digital-first Talent.

Do you have any stories of times when you almost missed payroll or any other near death experiences for your business?

These are real excitement issues that business owners and entrepreneurs face. There is constantly a financial pressure that is solely on you to ensure that you can meet payroll, bills, etc. There have been (I hope without anyone noticing!) times where we have been close on payroll, bills that we had to pay a couple of days late, times where our biggest clients had left and we were forced to look elsewhere for revenue.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.shifted.digital
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/thomasrjohnston
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomasrjohnston/