I have a sneaky suspicion that every creative team, even at the highest levels is… don’t be alarmed when I say this… small & scrappy.

On my recent trip to the Licensing Expo in Vegas*, meeting after meeting I heard the same thing said different ways, “we’re a small but scrappy team”.

*Sort of recent - as in, May, but don't judge fair reader. It's been a busy few months prepping this site so we could even post this blog.

Well, what do you know?… That’s the very definition of how I run my own team! Because look, at the the end of the day there’s a lot that goes into the creative portions of marketing global IP, but (for better or worse) that rests on the shoulders of just the few (and sometimes even JUST THE ONE!)

Great things come from good people earnestly believe in the IP or product they're selling.

Some might be surprised to hear this, some may already know it, but the reality is that this is where we’re at in the world of licensing: Great things come from good people earnestly believing in the IP or product they’re selling.

All signs have pointed to the fact that the creative world is as competitive as ever, but behind the scenes there’s also a world where established brands are calling on small external teams to help with their creative output more and more. Attached to that - studios that started out independent and small have admittedly become independent and large, and their overhead is reflected in their fees, and their client convos now have internal convos, and so on. (And let me be clear, large studios and agencies are great. I genuinely love them and think they have a place at the table, as they should.) My point is, and let’s say this out loud - the small teams have a place at the table, too.

I went to the recent Licensing Expo with literally two goals: find potential clients, and find potential peers. Creatives are weird. I know this, because I am one. Funny thing, I met two sets of peers (small, but mighty creative studios) at the expo, and spoiler alert: THEY WERE GREAT. Great people, who do great work. So I’m doing to do something wild here, and share who they are in hopes that my small reach might extend theirs.

Who were these studios?

Juiced - Rob and his teammates were instant friends. Funnily enough, Rob seems on a mission to bring creatives together, too. So I think we’re in good company when I eventually make my way back over the pond for a visit. Juiced has done work with Netflix, CAA, and Funko to name a few, and specialize in brand development, style guides, illustration, and much more. Located in Middlesbrough in the UK, you can find them at juiced.studio.

Mutant Lagoon - Corey and his team were instantly recognizable as cut from the same cloth as us. They were on the ground at the expo so we didn’t get to chat as much, but we both followed through on a virtual coffee recently, and our paths are parallel in some exciting ways. Mutant Lagoon has done work with Atari, Disney, and Illumination to name a few, and they specialize in illustration, packaging design, product graphics + more. Located in Florida, you can find them at mutantlagoon.com.

Let’s be clear, we all do generally the same things service-wise. So again, I’m going out on bit of a rope here by sharing this, but it just feels like this is what we should all be doing as creatives anyway, right? (Rob & Corey, plz understand this is not a transaction where I expect some shout out. I just appreciated both of you taking time out of your schedules to talk to the newer team on the licensing block, and figured this might help the robots find us all.)

So back to the small and scrappy thing. All these meetings, for the clients AND the peers, all the follow ups post-expo have led me to understand that my own creative studio is right where it needs to be. I’m at a point where I’ve got the experience, but still love doing the work, so curating my own team/studio has never been more relevant to me. Senior-level thinking and execution, with genuine agility and autonomy is exactly what we offer here at Ultrakind. Our superpowers are fandom and design-system thinking. Since we come from a brand identity background, our style guides are built from a foundation up method, and our goal is to strengthen IP through brand at every step of the way. Look, I had to bring this back around to us and what we do, okay?

So here's to the small but scrappy teams, giving us what we all really want in this day and age… A breath of fresh air.