Scaled: The Latino Business Story

Why Your Creative Business Also Needs Structure

Episode Notes

As partner and COO of ReKon Productions, Lesley Lopez uses her years of experience as a producer on set to organize, restructure and grow her independent film company. She speaks with Elian and Juleyka about creating a company culture that supports creatives, the challenges of balancing art and commerce in a changing industry, and why Latino filmmakers should be able to tell whatever stories they want.

Our listener story features a Latina entrepreneur in the world of wine and spirits who is transforming the way we drink with her family company, Siponey.

This episode was supported by our LBAN Alumni Founding Sponsor Windrose Vision.

 

Episode Transcription

Elian Savodivker:

Hello and welcome to Scaled: The Latino Business Story. I'm Elian Savodivker, director of engagement at LBAN, the Latino Business Action Network.

Juleyka Lantigua:

I'm Juleyka Lantigua, SLEI-Ed alum, Cohort 10 and the founder and CEO of LWC Studios.

Savodivker: On this show, Latino business owners from all over the country share their journeys as entrepreneurs and help us contextualize the world class research LBAN is doing. Our guest today is none other than Lesley Lopez, partner and chief operating officer at Rekon Productions. Lesley is also an alum from SLEI-Ed and wouldn't you know it? She's from Cohort 10, same as you, Juleyka.

Lantigua: Yes, she is. I love and admire this woman so much. She's someone whose council I seek. I actually asked her after we finished our cohort to sit on the advisory board for my company because I thought she was that amazing. I talk to her once a month without fail because she has so much to teach me as an entrepreneur in the media space, but just in general about the grit and the courage and the discipline that it takes to grow in industries that are changing so fast, like the film and the digital media industry are. So, I'm so happy that she made time to come and hang out with us.

Savodivker: Well, Juleyka, I know when you two are together, I always feel like the third wheel trying to get in and that's because both of you are so phenomenal and it was really a pleasure to have Leslie here on scale. We talked about her journey going from working as a producer on the set to then running restructuring and growing a production company. I live in LA. I know a lot about the entertainment industry and I know that it is a very difficult industry for anyone. So to see how much she's grown the company as an operations person is absolutely stellar. Wouldn't you agree?

Lantigua: A thousand percent agree. So, don't want to make everyone wait anymore because they're not here for us. They're here for Lesley. So ladies and gentlemen, we give you Lesley Lopez.

Lesley Lopez: I'm Lesley Lopez. I am the Chief Operating Officer of Rekon Productions, which is an independent production company based in Culver City. I'm also a partner and producer for that company.

Savodivker: Tell our audience how you operate your production company. When did you join? What does it do?

Lopez: I grew up in Southern California, so I love film and television. I love every form of storytelling that exists. It is the thing that I think makes all of us human beings. So it surprised no one and everyone at the same time when I decided to go into film production. I met my business partner on a film over 10 years ago, John Michael Condra, and automatically everybody thought we had known each other since we were children. We super hit it off. I was like, "Oh, you're good at your job and it's hard to find people who are good at these jobs." He had formed Rekon Productions in 2009. We met in 2012 and I came in slowly, like somebody that you don't quite know how to get rid of I think is the best way to describe. We've been working together ever since.

Savodivker: You've been in a producer role in the industry for years. What was your motivation to become an entrepreneur?

Lopez: I am an accidental entrepreneur and film production is a wild west type of environment, especially in independence, especially when you're trying to come up as a Latina that isn't somebody who people see a lot of. Access as a very big thing. Privilege is a very big thing. Everyone you would ever talk to in film is always going to be like, "You do it your own way. 

You figure out how to get there." The way that I came into it, I was swayed by people, which is how our industry works. My background is more corporate. I had worked for the Walt Disney company. I'd worked for a variety of other corporations before I went into film production. So I started applying some of my broader business knowledge to Rekon Productions. There's a lot of opportunity that I saw in a company like Rekon.

As a single member LLC, a lot of it was infused with my business partner, John's, personality to begin with, which is somebody who wants to be ultimately really helpful to other people who are coming to the table. You add in my personality to that dynamic, which is also like, let me just help you in every way possible. All of a sudden I'd been doing it for years and John asked me to become the chief operating officer because I was already doing that. It's like this weird backtrack for me where it's like I fulfill a role and then get told I'm in that role already. So that's what the COO role was. 

Then the same thing happened within the year of me becoming a partner for the company, because at that point so much of my blood, sweat, and tears was in the company that I was already performing in that capacity. It's like the train is moving. I became an entrepreneur because that's already what I was.

Lantigua: Right, but in the process of coming in as a partner to John into a company that already existed, what were your first impressions about it? I know you, so I know that you're very systematic thinker, you're super organized, you can really execute. So what was the first impression and then what did you realize, okay, these are the top things we got to get going?

Lopez: My initial impression of the company and John, because they were both one and the same at that time, was that these people were very, very good at what they were doing. Then when I walked into the office the first time, there's this split that happens in a business like a production company where on set you can be functioning at a super high level and everything's by the seat of your pants. In an office, in an internal corporate culture, they didn't have one. It didn't exist. There had not made anybody who had applied that structure. There's no understanding of that. 

There's a photograph of me from 2012 because the office used to be just John's office and it was an L-shaped desk and a red couch that we actually got rid of maybe a month ago. I'm sitting on the couch working off of an empty cardboard box and that's the desk that I'm using for my laptop. That is definitive of my first interpretation of Rekon where it's like we didn't have desks. We didn't have phones. It wasn't something that people could identify what the brand was exactly, but it almost didn't matter because there were people who were good at things that they were doing. What was even funnier, a step further in that photograph is I'm wearing Rekon blue, which is something that I've pounded into other people over the years where I'm like, "If you wear that color, people will automatically associate you with the company." There's all this marketing background stuff that I bring to the table just because of my Disney background, but that picture's probably one of my first interpretations of really what Rekon was, where it's like there isn't a lot there, but there's so much potential.

Savodivker: Where is the company now? What's been the growth?

Lopez: So that was about 11 years ago, four offices ago. So the company has shifted and grown quite a bit and now we're expanding more into ownership of creative content and making an impact more in the beginning of that scheme because we all got into it to produce, which is essentially always going to be about that cardboard box. It's that empty box and how do you play with and how do you do things with that and we prefer to be in that state. Working off over real table’s, never going to be great for us.

Savodivker: What were those challenges that you faced that you had to overcome to reach the growth that you've reached today?

Lopez: So that balance of being a creative person and a business person has always existed since I was little and going in to do operations, it was such a natural progression for me to just organize everything. That's just how I've always had to function in my family and my groups and all professional settings. I'm somebody who's like, "Oh, let me fix this for you.” “Oh, that's not how you do that form. Let me do that correctly” or “let me teach 10 people how to do that so that I don't have to do this again in a week." 

So I was predisposed personally to do the kind of work that I'm doing. The challenges I found in the industry itself is having to dance around whether or not some of those predisposed personality traits are identified as female and what that does to you and where that places you in the hierarchy of how production works, because as somebody who is willing to take direction and fix problems but has no intense need to take credit, I get put into a specific point of that ladder and it's having to combat that.

Then as a Latina, I've not come up against as many walls there as I have as being a woman. The Latina parameters or challenges that I come into quite a bit is sometimes this idea of what kind of Latino story are you telling? It's this really distinct push and pull about being a token storyteller for that entire culture and that monolith. I'm a Colombian, which already puts me outside of a particular monolith in Los Angeles. I grew up in a really affluent area, which also changes the structure of the dynamics of how I tell a story from that perspective. I'm an odd man out. I've met a total of two other Colombians on sets and I've been working in the industry for over a decade. Then I always get the fun questions where it's like, "Oh, are you related to Jennifer Lopez?” or “Oh, do you know Sofía Vergara, because she's Colombian?" It's like, "Yeah, no, we don't all get together. There aren't that many of us, but we don't all get together."

Savodivker: Right.

Lantigua: Yeah. I want to ask you about in the 10 years plus that you've been in the industry, have you seen significant change and what do you attribute that to, because for example, Oscars So White is, I think, about to hit a decade if he hasn't already hit a decade and Me Too Movement and there've been these waves. A lot of them have started with or gained a lot of momentum because women in Hollywood have gotten behind those movements, but you are on the ground. Have you actually seen real progress?

Lopez: I have seen changes. I have absolutely, without a doubt, seen changes. There's no way that you can work in such a dynamic industry and not seeing changes. I more specifically have probably seen changes in a technological perspective, going from using film to now everybody can love to say you can make an entire movie off your iPhone. You cannot. You cannot do that. You can almost do that, but you cannot do it the way that people say you can, but you see these grand strides and the Me Too movement was fascinating because you did see these strides on an industry wide level. I work in independent film and I work where there isn't a lot of money. It's a lot more like how do you build your own opportunities in those places and then how do those opportunities get leveraged to get you into a new place?

There have been changes there for females, for BIPOC, for representation in general. There's absolutely a great movement towards authentic representation across the board for all storytelling, but at the same time, you see the backlash for some of that stuff. You see things like In The Heights, which was a fantastic film that took years and years to make. They didn't make their money at the box office. What happens with that and how does that translate six months later in terms of can I turn around and be like, "Yes, I can support Latin content on a studio level or an independent level because we'll make our money back." No, you can't, because they point to the one thing that didn't work.

It's that balance of art and commerce. I have a film right now that we're trying to get off the ground that's an LGBTQ gay romcom and it's been a fight back and forth about how much money we should make the budget for because how much money can they make back because nobody makes movies on that capacity. Universal Drops the Bros trailer and that movie has a ton of money behind it or Fire Island that just came out for Hulu. So there's a push and there are great stories that are coming out of it, really phenomenal things that are coming out of this push for diversity. My concern and my worry now is that we're going to create a structure in a system that encourages a little bit of this tokenism still.

Savodivker: Yeah.

Lopez: Because I don't want to be backed into a corner where all I get to make is Latin content. Not that I don't love Latin content. There's not a multitude that exists there, but it's like a white guy's gotten to tell my story for thousands of years. Why can't I tell the white guy's story? There's a lot of facets to that entire thing.

Savodivker: I want you to expand a little bit on that. What does that look like and why is that important for us to be able to tell more than just a Latin story?

Lopez: Everyone brings their own personal interpretation to a story. That's the reality of how storytelling works. There are slight nuances and variations on how anyone tells a story, right? Spielberg tells a story differently than Yamo del Toro does, period. The great storytellers, or honestly even the mediocre storytellers, the storytellers that tell you a story and something stays with you through the remainder of your life that maybe you then infuse to something else, to somebody else. The importance of a multitude of people getting to tell whatever story they choose is that you don't know what that's going to ignite in somebody else. Limiting the experience of a storyteller or the abilities or resources or platforms for a storyteller limits the capacity for other people to experience and ultimately learn and adapt from those stories.

Lantigua: Okay, so let's see. Let's say that someone listening is like, "I want to get into this. I want to start a production house. I want to invest in film." What are some of the, I don't want to say easy because none of this is easy, but what are some of the more accessible ways for a business owner, someone who has the extra money and they're thinking, oh, I want to invest in film. I want to do something significant to push the narrative. How do you recommend that they start to make inroads?

Lopez: This is the part where I say I'm not a lawyer and I'm not telling anybody what to do, but I also would say, if you want to start a production company, maybe that's not exactly what you want to do. Maybe examine a little bit what your ultimate goals are, because a lot of filmmakers start production companies, but that's not really what they want to do. 

You don't want to have to figure out how a printer works or how to do employment taxes in Tennessee, but if you want to impact how content's being made, if you do have expendable income and you want to invest, starting to have conversations with filmmakers, maybe doing some outreach to individuals who might know in the industry, looking for film funds, looking for other investors.

There's a thousand ways to do this. Just off the top of my head, the two fund opportunities that I would think of is 51 Fund, which is trying to raise capital to put money straight back into female directors. On the Latino content side, there's just one that was launched for younger filmmakers by, I believe, John Huertas from This Is Us. LA has a couple of different programs. LA Collab has different ways to connect with Latino filmmakers and Latino industry members. For more commercial side, NALIP, the National Association of Latino Independent Producers, has some really good connector points.

For my more personal side, if you have expendable income and feel like financing films, please call me. I have films to make. We're trying to launch our own film fund with Rekon Productions. So there is interesting opportunities, but for anybody who's trying to put finance and investment into film, you want to make sure that you trust the partners that you're with, not just on a personal level, but that they've got a track record or they have a plan and they've got trusted partners for executing the movie and that you understand that it is a bit of a risk. By a bit of a risk, I mean a considerable risk.

Savodivker: A risk, yeah.

Lantigua: A big risk.

Lopez: It takes a couple of years and you have to have the patience for it to see the turnaround, but there is opportunity for that and there is incredible filmmakers that just are looking for a chance to make things.

Savodivker: Where do you see Rekon going next?

Lopez: So Rekon Productions is launching a creative development arm that we are calling Recreate Entertainment. Recreate Entertainment is where we are going to put that film fund that we're looking for to raise capital that we then invest in the filmmakers that are in our circle. So it'll be into a film slate that we then execute, we produce it, and then we take it out to market and see where it can get distributed, if it's on one of the streaming platforms or if it's theatrical. That's kind of where we're heading into having a little bit more creative control into the stories that we're telling. Obviously we're never going to give up helping filmmakers do their thing, but we are moving more into the earlier phases of that gestation.

Lantigua: That sounds really exciting.

Lopez: It's either going to kill me or bring me life.

Lantigua: So Lesley, bestie, we met because we were in Cohort 10 of SLEI-Ed and I was just like, "Oh, I found my new friend that I didn't know I was looking for," but I've actually have not asked you directly, after a year plus since we finished it, how was that experience for you? How has it come with you after you we finished the program?

Lopez: It has impacted my sense of community quite a bit. The real prize that you run away with, for me anyway, is this community and the sense of just almost complete strangers being excited that you're succeeding. Do you know-

Lantigua: You exist.

Lopez: Yeah, that I exist and that you're doing something. It's this buoying sense of support that is just wild on some level. For me, now I have people who are like, "But explain to me what you do and let me clap for you, or maybe tease you a little bit and just be excited that you exist and you're out there doing your thing in the world." It's a really enjoyable experience to be part of a community with such a blind sense of excitement for achievement.

Savodivker: Absolutely. Well, Lesley, as part of LBAN community, I do hope that you continue achieving and growing Rekon Productions, telling more of those unheard voices and stories that so much deserve that spot. Thank you so much, Lesley.

Lantigua: Bye, bestie.

Lopez: Bye, guys. Thank you.

Savodivker: Juleyka, how was that? How was Lesley?

Lantigua: I love her. I mean, she's my cohort sister, right? There is so much to admire in how she's built her career in Hollywood. She's a storyteller. She is someone who also can help other people tell their stories. To marry that passion with an industry where you're constantly learning, where you're constantly being challenged, and an industry that also sets the bar in many instances for other industries, I think she's phenomenal, but she also has a tremendous business acumen. She's very humble about it, but John knows that part of why Rekon is where it is Lesley Lopez. She was able to come in and think structurally about processes and how to not do double work, how not to pay more than you need to, how to anticipate problems. You have to have someone with those skills to be able to do the storytelling that they're so ambitious to want to be doing.

Savodivker: To be able to run the company the way she does, I think, showcases who she is. One of the big things that I connect a lot with Lesley is talking about how the stories are really important to tell and how Latino in entertainment and as artists should be able to tell any story that they want. Not just Latino stories, but any story that they want because we deserve that opportunity just like, for so many years, other people have been able to tell our stories.

Lantigua: Yeah. No, and I also love that she actually interrogates the notion of a Latino story. I think that in 2022, that is exactly what we should be doing. I think we should be running away from the tropes. I'm also a storyteller. You obviously want to make stories that people can relate to. 

You want to make stories where people not only feel seen, but you also want to make stories where people learn, where they are pushed to think and feel different things, right? It's not just always about reinforcing a narrative that is comfortable and familiar. 

I think that Lesley is exactly the kind of filmmaker that we need advocating to get funds so that more storytellers can interrogate that question, that fundamental question of is there a Latino story and who gets to tell it?

Savodivker: Absolutely agree. Lesley is a phenomenal example of someone who should be moving this along and leading the way into how to change this industry. One of the big things is how Lesley is looking at the money side of this industry because it's such a difficult industry and to make money, it takes a long time. It takes a big network, takes a lot of little things that you have to think about. 

As the COO of Rekon Productions, she's thinking about those little things. If I was an investor, that's the type of detailed person that I would want because this industry can be so difficult. So I think she's doing tremendous work. I think Rekon Productions is going to continue to grow at an even bigger pace, and that's in large part thanks to her leadership.

Lantigua: Agreed. Totally agree. She was awesome. Hey everybody. Juleyka here. We put out a call asking listeners like you to share your business stories with us, and boy did you. Thank you so much for all of the responses. Here's one of our favorites. 

Amanda Victoria:

Hi, my name is Amanda Victoria, and I am the CEO and founder of Siponey Whiskey Spritzes. I have been a professional in the world of wine and spirits since about 2005. Oftentimes we don't see a lot of people that look like me working in executive roles. However, I hope to create real significant change in bringing more Latinas and Latinos in general to the table.

My partner in both life and business, Joey Mintz comes from the world of horticultural, operational studies, an earthman so to speak. He always has his hands in the dirt. I was six months pregnant when we formed this company officially, which maybe it was all of the power of creation that inspired us. 

This was a few months after what can be only known as the summer before the pandemic, where everyone that we knew was drinking something in a can. I saw an opportunity to put something better inside of the can and to be able to talk about our ingredients in a transparent way. 

Siponey is the story of a family business founded by me, a Latina that is born in the Bronx, who has created a company for her family and with her family to really change the way the world drinks.

Lantigua: To share your business story with us, and maybe even hear it on the air, record a detailed voice memo and email it to our producer, Virginia. She's at virginia@lwcstudios, with an s, dot.com.

Savodivker: This episode was supported by our LBAN Alumni Founding Sponsor Windrose Vision. Scaled: The Latino Business Story is produced by LWC Studios for LBAN. Virginia Lora is our producer. Kojin Tashiro and Elizabeth Nakano are our mixers. Kojin Tashir did our sound design. Paulina Velasco is managing producer.  To learn more about the work and research LBAN is doing and our Business Scaling Program at Stanford, please visit LBAN.us, that’s l-b-a-n [dot] us. Thanks for listening. I’m Elian Savodivker.

CITATION: 

Lantigua, Juleyka and Elian Savodivker, hosts. “Why Your Creative Business Also Needs Structure.” 

Scaled: The Latino Business Story, 

LWC Studios., October 24, 2022. LBAN.us/scaled.