entrepreneur

For most of my career, I stood under the lights of multi-cam sitcom stages in Los Angeles. But after twenty years working on shows like Two and a Half Men, The Big Bang Theory, Fresh Off the Boat, and Wizards of Waverly Place, I realized something: the heart of those stories — the humor, the humanity, the sense of belonging — belongs in Middle America.

So I came home to build it.

Early days in Hollywood.

As much as I love being creative, I’m equally passionate about business. I’ve always built my career at the intersection of creativity and entrepreneurship — long before I founded Rock Paper Cannon. I never wanted to bartend; I wanted a business card.

One of my first jobs in Hollywood was as an editor, logging footage from red-carpet events. I was quickly promoted to producer, conducting celebrity interviews at award shows and movie premieres. As a young actor, it was a dream job — I got to talk to my idols. My favorite interview was Clint Eastwood at a benefit where we talked about our mutual friend, Gray Frederickson. Most memorable were Diana Ross and Muhammad Ali at the Collateral premiere. Coolest girl, hands down: Charlize Theron at Aeon Flux. Most surprising moment? Will Ferrell putting his lollipop in my mouth at the Elf premiere. My biggest laugh came with Stevie Wonder at the Muhammad Ali Benefit. 

That first job gave me the opportunity to interview nearly every icon in the business — from Tom Cruise to Steven Spielberg to Meryl Streep. Learning how these events worked early on shaped my understanding of the entertainment industry and strengthened my instincts as an entrepreneur. It also gave me the chance to help a startup grow into a profitable company — one that soon had top competitors courting me to bring that same success to their teams. 

It was then I realized: I’m a builder.