Meet Marc Strong

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Marc Strong. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Marc below.

Marc, thank you so much for joining us and offering your lessons and wisdom for our readers. One of the things we most admire about you is your generosity and so we’d love if you could talk to us about where you think your generosity comes from.

I really believe that generosity lives in all of us. But when I think about how mine has changed and deepened over the years, I realize it’s been the hard stuff—the struggles, the heartbreaks, the setbacks—that’s shaped it the most. It’s through those moments of pain that I’ve learned to really appreciate life and to recognize that we’re all fighting our own quiet battles. That’s just part of being human.

For me, generosity isn’t just about writing a check or volunteering your time—though those things are wonderful. It’s more about giving grace. To others as well as ourselves. It’s about showing up in the world with compassion, empathy, and kindness.

And honestly, as much as I wish life didn’t involve pain, it’s often in those breaking moments that we grow the most. There’s that quote: “It’s through the cracks that the light gets in.” I’ve found that to be so true.

Life’s given me plenty of chances to practice this, sometimes because of things that happened to me, and other times because of my own mistakes. When I was a kid, for example, my dad was in the Navy, so we moved around a lot. That meant starting new schools in the middle of the year, over and over again. I was a shy kid to begin with, and on top of that, I had a speech impediment—I couldn’t say my R’s. Even saying my own name clearly was hard. I still remember one teacher asking my name, and me saying, “Marc, Marc,” and she kept repeating, “Mack? Mack?” I felt so small.

That’s a little thing, but experiences like that stick with you. Over the years, I’ve faced my share of bigger challenges—relationship heartbreak, financial stress, health scares, parenting struggles—you name it. None of it was fun, but when I look back, I can see how each experience helped me develop more empathy, understanding, and generosity.

If I’m honest, it’s always been easier for me to be more generous with others than myself. I’m my worst critic. But I’ve come to realize that self-compassion matters too. None of us has it all figured out. We all make mistakes. But we all deserve love, kindness, and respect—and that includes being generous with ourselves.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

I’m the founder and creative director of an animation company called Wienot Films. The idea actually came to me in a pretty unexpected way. One Christmas, I was visiting my mom. I had a great job at the time, but my heart wanted to pursue video production and storytelling. Instead of telling me my dreams were crazy, my mom asked a simple, yet powerful question: “Why not?!” And just like that, Wienot Films was born (it’s pronounced “Why not”).

Before starting Wienot, I worked as an intelligence analyst, distilling complex ideas for busy policymakers. That experience taught me how to take complicated concepts and distill them down in their essential parts. When I started Wienot, I realized I could merge that analytical side of my brain with my creative side, and that’s exactly what I’ve gotten to do ever since. I get to think critically about an idea and then bring it to life visually—combining strategy, storytelling, and animation in ways that are both clear and engaging.

In the early days, it was just me—writing, designing, animating, and figuring everything out. Over time, Wienot Films has grown into a team of writers, illustrators, animators, voiceover artists, sound designers, and composers. Together, we help organizations—big and small—explain their products, services, and ideas. We’ve had the privilege of working with brands like Canon, Gatorade, and BlackRock, as well as universities like Stanford and MIT. We’ve also loved partnering with nonprofits to help tell their stories in ways that resonate and grow their impact.

What excites me most is seeing a story click—watching something that started as a complex, confusing, and sometimes boring idea become something clear, concise, and, yes, even a little fun. That’s what Wienot is all about: helping our clients share their message in a way that sticks and makes people care. If you want to see a little bit of our founding story, we even made a fun, little animation about how Wienot came to be.

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?

What a great question! My career has taken a lot of twists and turns—I’ve worked in finance, politics, banking, international affairs, and now marketing and video production. Looking back, each job taught me something valuable. Though they might seem random and unrelated, together they’ve shaped the broad range of skills I rely on as an entrepreneur every day.

If I were giving advice to my younger self—or my kids—I’d tell them to focus on three areas: analytical thinking, creativity, and people skills.

Analytical skills form the foundation for logical thinking and problem-solving. They help you look at data and information and figure out what it actually means. But analytics alone isn’t enough—creativity is what allows you to think outside the box, make unexpected connections, and discover novel solutions.

And last, but absolutely not least, people skills. We all work and interact with other humans, and the ability to form connections, show understanding, and demonstrate kindness is essential. It’s a core skill for anyone who wants a fulfilling career and a meaningful life.

So my advice: cultivate your analytical mind, nurture your creative heart, and grow a genuine love for those around you. Do that, and you’ll be in a strong position to build both a career and a life that you truly love.

Tell us what your ideal client would be like?

Our ideal client is, first and foremost, a good human working for a good organization. They genuinely care about making the world better and want our help to amplify their message. I know that might sound a little cheesy, but it’s true—my team and I want to work with people who are committed to doing their part to improve the world.

That could be a company developing new technology or services that make life better, whether it’s a breakthrough in clean energy, a financial product that helps people invest more wisely, or an educational initiative that informs and empowers. We also love helping nonprofits, universities, and organizations that want to educate the public or train their teams effectively.

Our very favorite clients are the ones who have healthy budgets and enjoy thinking outside the box—those who allow us to push the limits of our creativity. Those are the projects that are the most fun and have led to much of our award-winning work.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSGwO-K0WPE

Contact Info:

Image Credits

Wienot Films, LLC.

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