Risk-taking often goes hand-in-hand with creativity. Progressive leaders blaze unknown trails to explore what’s on the horizon and adopt new strategies that often become standard practices for years to come.
XBIZ World’s “Execs of the Year” special issue showcases the thoughts and strategies implemented by the forward-thinking executives that are driving the digital media market into the future.
Innovation is part of Vendo’s DNA. As a leader in the company, my objective is to empower every team member to take risks, get out of their comfort zone and explore new approaches to improve the way we do things. -Thierry Arrondo, Vendo
Each of the executives we spoke to below is among the finalist nominees for the Progressive Leadership Award in the digital edition of the 2018 XBIZ Exec Awards.
How have you promoted innovation at your company this year?
Adam Grayson
Evil Angel
“I’ve surrounded myself with the most innovative, disruptive people I could find. The hardest thing about having a history of success is those memories tripping up future plans.”
Todd Spaits
Yanks
“Here at Yanks one of the things we think about often is industry leadership. What we can’t accomplish through company size in that regard we accomplish through innovation. We take a three-tiered approach that encompasses social, tech and ethical innovation. This year our three-front game plan has taken us deeply into VR production on the tech side, continued support for Call to Safety to fight domestic and sexual violence and continue to be vocal on industry panels and in industry publications in regards to the ethical questions and challenges that constantly plague this industry. Innovation and progressiveness go way beyond increased video frame rate or sales funnel management here at Yanks.”
Anna Lee
Holofilm Productions
“In 2017 HoloGirlsVR was the most nominated VR studio in the adult industry, capturing several awards. The focus on this year has been expanding the network, which has now grown to include KinkVR, Burning Angel VR and Lez VR along with our flagship site HoloGirlsVR, which will be featured on CNN’s ‘Parts Unknown’ Seattle episode in November. Furthermore, we have spent considerable time focusing and improving the RedLightCenterVR experience and have some exciting innovations planned for launch for that product in 2018. As always, we continue to improve our tech and VR shooting techniques with a focus on 220-degree content and have been putting some considerable time and resource into R&D on several aspects of the VR/AR experience.”
Christian
Webclicks
“As with almost any business that operates online, continuous innovation is the only way to stay apparent and in business. Things move so fast online and changes happen almost daily. In our organization, we try to always strive to be a little bit ahead of the curve at all times. We do this by embracing new technology instead shying away from it. For example, this year we have implemented native Airplay and Chromecast in all our players as the first company in the industry. It was one of the things people most often requested when we surveyed our members, and we like to consider ourselves ‘the company that listens.’”
Thierry Arrondo
Vendo
“Innovation is part of Vendo’s DNA. As a leader in the company, my objective is to empower every team member to take risks, get out of their comfort zone and explore new approaches to improve the way we do things. As a result, we are developing the most advanced tools based on artificial intelligence and machine learning available today in the industry.”
Juicy Jay
JuicyAds
“This past year JuicyAds shifted gears and re-evaluated what it means to be ‘The Sexy Advertising Network.’ To push our team to innovate in 2017 we focused on strategic goals transcending all of our team members and synchronized everyone for efficiency with planning many months in advance. Many of our innovations affecting publishers and advertisers this past year were invisible back-end technology. However, in recent months we have built on these new structures and have announced several new targeting options. The final quarter of 2017 will see full integration of IP targeting, city and region level targeting, carrier targeting, as well as simplified language targeting. By taking a step back and changing our strategy, we were able to make many leaps ahead. It’s a good time to be Juicy.”
Vuk Popovic
Quantox
“Quantox continually strives to be innovative on several levels as our company covers a vast array of positions that are ever-changing, and without innovation, our competitors would leave us in the dust. From constant updates and improvements of employee software and tools to ensure that they’re equipped with the most advanced technology to provide top quality service to our clientele, to regular team building exercises and education outside of our four office locations that help to strengthen the core of our company’s day to day operations. Innovation at Quantox is everywhere, being that we are primarily an IT solution provider, but the true foundation of innovation for us starts with strong communication and understanding of what it is that both our customers and staff need to feel secure and happy. Customer and employee satisfaction is one of Quantox main focuses for staying a cut above the rest!”
Angie Rowntree
SSSH.com
“This year, our innovation wasn’t so much technological as it was about leading a change in the conversation around porn. The launch of Ethical.porn is an opportunity for those in the industry who have always placed a high premium on running an ethical business to make their voices heard and to push back against the notion that our industry is all about exploitation. As with any other business sector, you can find unethical adult companies to hold out as negative examples, but there’s an added stigma to porn that companies in the energy, legal, and financial sectors (which have produced more than their share of corporate criminals) don’t have to contend with. This stigma makes it even more important for ethical porn companies to be vocal and visible. With Ethical.porn, we’re providing a platform to let the public know we do care — not just about the well-being of adult performers but about the societal and cultural impact of our products, as well.”
Colin Allerton
Adult Empire
“All departments and teams have had open discussions so everyone can provide input on the frequency, time and format of our regularly scheduled meetings to ensure that we’re optimizing this time.”
