We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jake Krask & Austin Barbera a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
We are the co-founders of SixTwentySix, a leading LA-headquartered creative studio behind some of North America’s most notable campaigns for brands and most popular videos for today’s biggest talents. Our studio offers comprehensive end-to-end services encompassing creative conception, production, and post-production, to produce culture-defining campaigns and videos for a diverse range of brands, artists, and entertainment clients. We have created culture-defining work for renowned artists and talents including Billie Eilish, Doja Cat, Machine Gun Kelly, Twenty One Pilots, Ari Lennox, Future, Chloe Bailey, Swae Lee, and many more. We’ve also collaborated with leading brands such as Squarespace, Chevy, Samsung, Bumble, Xbox, Adidas, PayPal, eBay, Turo, Liquid IV, Postmates, PetSmart, Wendy’s, Coca-Cola, and numerous others.
We shared a vision when founding SixTwentySix – to create something deeply resonant with the younger generation, driven by young minds, and committed to crafting authentic, compelling content. This mission became the heartbeat of our endeavor. Our ethos is simple: we’re powered by youth to narrate honest, authentic stories for the new generation. Our goal is to foster meaningful interactions. With a roster of exceptionally talented young individuals who can handle every aspect from production to post-production, we’re here to redefine the creative landscape.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Tenacity, ignorance, and being on the pulse of culture.
1) Tenacity:
Tenacity was one of the cornerstones of our journey. Starting a business and making a name in an industry as saturated and competitive as production is not an easy task. Our tenacity helped us to never back down, no matter how steep the learning curve was or how tough the competition got. There were countless nights when we were troubleshooting, or times when we had to start a project all over because the end result was not up to our standard. It was this unwavering tenacity that allowed us to push through the obstacles and never lose sight of our vision.
2) Ignorance:
When we mention “ignorance,” we mean it in the context of not being constrained by the traditional ways of operating in the film industry. In the beginning, we didn’t fully understand how the traditional system worked. This could have been a drawback, but for us, it became our advantage. It meant we weren’t bound by the established methods and conventions, allowing us to pave our own path.
Our lack of deep knowledge about the conventional way of doing things gave us a unique perspective. We asked questions that maybe others took for granted. Why does it have to be done this way? Could it be more efficient or more creative? Could it be better? This curiosity fueled our innovative spirit and led us to build our own models, systems, and rules.
We challenged the traditional processes that were outdated and inefficient, replacing them with systems that better suited the fast-paced, dynamic nature of today’s film production. This fresh approach allowed us to work more effectively and produce content that truly resonated with the current generation. In this sense, our “ignorance” was not about lack of knowledge, but about having the freedom to innovate and redefine what film production could be. It was a crucial factor in our journey to establish a unique and successful place in the industry.
3) Being on the pulse of culture:
In the ever-evolving world of film production, keeping up with cultural trends is not just an advantage, but a necessity. The cultural zeitgeist dictates what people relate to, what they are moved by, and ultimately, what they want to watch. The moment we stop understanding culture, we lose our connection to the audience.
We made it a priority to immerse ourselves in the social fabric of our times. We knew what was relevant and “cool” and were able to pinpoint creatives that did as well and could express what artists and brands wanted to say in an authentic and relevant way.
We made sure our content was not just relevant but timely. By aligning our creative work with cultural trends, we managed to craft stories that resonated with our audience, driving engagement and fostering a deeper emotional connection.
Our advice for those in the nascent stages: Keep going and don’t give up! And know that you don’t know what you don’t know, so constantly be curious and learning to figure out how you can level up in your journey to expedite your growth.
Who has been most helpful in helping you overcome challenges or build and develop the essential skills, qualities or knowledge you needed to be successful?
The most helpful in growing our business would be each other. To us, having partners in business is what makes it work. Having different types of personalities and thought processes allow us to bounce ideas off each other, check ourselves when we are too emotionally involved in decisions, share new things we are learning, and brainstorm together how to implement them into growing our business with different POVs.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://sixtwentysix.co/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sixtwentysixco/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sixtwentysixproductions/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/sixtwentysix/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/sixtwentysix_
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@thegreenroomofficialpodcast
