Crafting Visual Symphonies: The Artistry of Optic Sky, Led by Founder Aaron Gordon

Today we had the chance to meet Aaron Gordon, the visionary founder and creative force behind Optic Sky, the advertising and digital experience production company that has been revolutionizing the industry since 2014. With an impressive portfolio spanning television commercials, augmented reality, and interactive experiences, Optic Sky has become the go-to destination for renowned brands, startups, and global agencies seeking captivating content that pushes boundaries and leaves a lasting impact. Led by Aaron’s unwavering passion and dedication, Optic Sky embraces pulse rates over frame rates, seizing attention, shaking comfort zones, and delivering content that moves audiences like never before.

Beyond his role as CEO, Aaron Gordon is a respected serial entrepreneur and executive producer. Recognized as one of the top candidates for Rochester Business Person of the Year in 2020, his leadership during the toughest year of the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted his resilience and unwavering commitment. Alongside his professional accomplishments, Aaron is deeply committed to cultivating a vibrant company culture and developing talent within Optic Sky. With a focus on fostering creativity and innovation, he ensures that Optic Sky remains a haven where ideas thrive and boundaries are shattered.

So, get ready to immerse yourself in the enchanting world of Aaron Gordon and Optic Sky. Prepare to be captivated, moved, and inspired as we delve into the depths of creativity, innovation, and the magic that happens when pulse rates take center stage.

1. Can you share a particular childhood memory that you believe played a significant role in shaping your entrepreneurial spirit?

It’s difficult to pinpoint a specific idea that initiated everything, but I recall at the age of 12, I wanted to find a job but was too young for anyone to hire me. After thinking about what tools I had in my toolshed… I realized I was terrible with tools. So, I decided to provide tutoring services to kids who were a couple of years younger than me. Surprisingly, their parents deemed me worthy and were willing to pay, which reinforced my desire to find more ways to help people while also making money. I didn’t get the creative bug until later, at which point I had to find the happy medium between helping people, being creative, and…parents giving me money, of course.

2. How did your experiences during high school and college contribute to the development of your unique leadership style?

I attended a dual-curriculum high school in Baltimore called Beth Tfiloh. We had both secular and Judaic classes, but by the time I reached high school, I had completed all the basic text-based Judaic classes. Every Judaic class from then on was essentially a debate class that utilized historical examples and applied biblical commentaries and texts to modern-day issues.

This experience taught me to see things from all angles, appreciating how deep and layered someone’s interpretation of a simple scenario can be and how much it can reveal about their internal constitution. It also taught me to ask curious questions without judgment, as it was never our place to judge; assumptions and judgments often prevent us from productively tackling core cultural issues. I am so grateful for those experiences.

On top of that, I also spent 11 years learning to be a jazz drummer. While some may consider this irrelevant to leadership, I believe it was essential to my style. In jazz, you must find the fine line of independence of all limbs, syncopating and riffing, which can at times feel like you’re trailing off into the wrong beat only to bring it all back together and form cohesive, incredibly unique music. It taught me that a simple beat can turn into a thousand different versions in the same way that complex thought is simply made up of multiple overlapping arranged simple ideas. Since that time, I have tried to find the rhythm in everything.

3. Reflecting on the past year, which personal achievement stands out to you the most, and why does it hold special significance?

I believe that there are two parallel achievements that I am most proud of from the past year. The first and biggest one is that we were able to keep our staff employed throughout the entire pandemic, with zero layoffs. This led to our greatest accomplishment of the year, which was completely innovating our digital experience team to embrace virtual production.

Since then, we have established global authority in partnership with Synapse Virtual Production, particularly in advertising. This achievement was only possible because we prioritized our people over short-term margins. I am proud to be surrounded by creative and innovative individuals who have persevered through adversity. I made a promise to take care of them, and they have truly taken care of us. Together, we are taking on the world… or at least our little corner of it.

4. In the face of adversity, what keeps you motivated and propels you to move forward?

Throughout my entire life, taking care of other people has been a driving force for me and a significant factor in Optic Sky’s ongoing success. In fact, during the early stages of the business, when we were struggling to find our place in the ever-changing landscape of online advertising—with zero contacts, zero reputation, and zero money in the bank—it was my promise to a colleague that changed our trajectory. He was concerned about his household’s financial situation as his wife had stopped working, and despite having no plan, I assured him that I would take care of them and that we would find a way forward. We did just that, and have been doing so ever since. We managed to navigate through the pandemic and 2023 thus far without any layoffs, and that commitment continues to drive me forward. This is also why I believe in steady and strategic growth, rather than explosive growth, particularly for B2B service businesses.

5. Balancing personal life with the demands of entrepreneurship can be challenging. What strategies have you employed to maintain this balance, and what lessons have you learned along the way?

I’m not sure if I’m the best person to ask for advice on this because I make commercials, films, and cool digital experiences for a living with incredibly talented people. I love what I do and often come up with ideas even in my spare time!

That said, mental health is of utmost importance to me. I believe that 20 minutes of productive thinking can be worth a week’s worth of work. So, I make sure to prioritize 15-30 minutes of meditation every day and hit the gym or a yoga session 3-5 times a week. I also establish routines and rituals with my friends, which are scheduled well in advance so that I can block out time for them on my calendar. This way, my team, and clients are aware of when I am available and when I am not. I even schedule my deep work, personal events, and meals at times to set boundaries when necessary. My signature phrase when it comes to scheduling is, “If it’s not on my Google Calendar, it ain’t real yet.”

6. Which skills do you consider essential for effective business development, and how have you exemplified these skills throughout your career?

In my opinion, the skills required for effective business development vary depending on the stage of the business, particularly in service-based businesses. Initially, when you have a limited reputation, portfolio, or case studies, you must be ubiquitous, always present, and be the “yes” person who attends all events and actively seeks out new opportunities. Additionally, you need to have a clear understanding of what you offer, what you can upsell outside of your comfort zone, and what things you shouldn’t attempt to offer because they will detract from your reputation or core focus.

As the business expands, I believe that you need to build playbooks with a human touch. Trust forms the foundation of any business relationship, and while there are certain methods to generate intrigue and establish a degree of authority, trust is something that is earned. You must be clear, confident, social, resourceful, and dependable. Most importantly, you must listen carefully to client requests without making assumptions or passing judgment.

7. As a serial entrepreneur, can you share any valuable lessons or insights you’ve gained from previous ventures that have contributed to Optic Sky’s success?

I certainly learned a lot from building Optic Sky that I have carried with me to Synapse Virtual Production. When I was starting out with Optic Sky, I was young and naive and didn’t know the “right way” or the traditional way to run a production company. Looking back, I’m grateful for this because we were walking into a rapidly changing industry, and had we gone about things in the traditional manner we would have locked ourselves into a business model that was far less future-proof. Instead, we ended up creating a new and more innovative business model, which put us ahead of the curve on things like AR, VR, immersive experiences, and virtual production, and allowed us to differentiate and serve a growing client base who wanted to work with a multifaceted, tech-savvy production company. So, sometimes not having a model to follow can be beneficial.

Funny enough, I now find myself in a similar, albeit different, situation with Synapse. We also have an innovative business model, but unlike traditional production, the field of virtual production is the Wild West; the whole industry is figuring it out in real-time. The difference with Synapse is that our virtual production technology is the best in the world and our production workflows are objectively superior to traditional production practices. So there’s a real foundation of innovation there to base a business upon.

One of the biggest lessons I learned from forming Optic Sky and Synapse was to find the thing that can be improved upon—the problem—and ensure that it’s clear from the start. It took us a long time to clarify a lot of things in the early days of Optic Sky, which diluted our offering. It’s crucial to be clear on who you’re helping, what you’re solving, how you’re uniquely better, and why others aren’t bankrupt yet doing it the way they currently are. It’s all about product-market fit.

Starting a company alone is difficult, and another lesson I learned is that it’s extremely helpful to have partners who complement each other in various areas—particularly when you have a big vision. Beyond cofounders, hiring consultants or working with other people who have specialized expertise can be very helpful.

Lastly, budgeting is critical to ensure that the business is functioning correctly. If there isn’t enough staff, the owner will be overwhelmed, and the business may not function at its optimal level. Therefore, it’s crucial to model the business out and budget for the necessary staff to ensure profitability.

8. Philanthropy is important to many individuals. Are there any causes or organizations that you’re passionate about supporting, and if so, why?

There are a few causes that are really important to me. One is Willow Domestic Violence, for which we’ve provided free production services several times in the past and again just recently. Our whole team really rallies behind the cause of helping people get through tough domestic situations and, in some cases, saving people’s lives.

Another cause I’m very passionate about is educating younger generations, particularly middle and high schoolers in lower-income and underserved communities, to help them better understand what career possibilities exist in the production industry and the wider creative world—and to let them know that they can make a living being creative and doing something they love, even if they don’t have the financial resources to go to college.

9. What inspired the founding of Optic Sky, and what were the most significant challenges you encountered during the early stages of the company?

I always knew that I wanted to start a company of some sort and I found myself being the guy in film school that went out and made things happen, which is basically a producer’s job. I turned it into a founder role.

I think the founding of Optic Sky was a mixture of capitalizing on an opportunity and a little bit of arrogance if I’m being honest, in thinking we could be better than the production companies we saw at that time in the Western NY region. They were commonly made up of just a couple of people and a freelancer here or there. We saw the work coming out of those companies as being creatively stifled and oftentimes outdated and felt like we could bring New York City-level quality of work and creative thinking to Western New York.

That was half of the opportunity; the other half was all of the local talent coming out of places like RIT, where many current Optic Sky employees studied.

The most significant challenge was that I was 23 with no money and no Rolodex to bring in money. So I just had to be everywhere. The only way to build a Rolodex is to be everywhere. Nowadays, it’s easy and acceptable to reach out to everyone on LinkedIn, but back in 2014, it was the end of the era where you had to physically grab a coffee, make in-person appointments weeks or months in advance, etc. There were no Zoom meetings. So building those connections took grit.

The other challenge was that we had to find a niche that was going to really allow us to be seen in the larger region. And we got lucky because we were able to secure an office in an incubator surrounded by startups that were making products and needed videos. We quickly found out that we were good at doing tech and that’s what kind of blew us up and even got us some national attention pretty early on.

10. As a contender for Rochester Business Person of the Year, which leadership qualities do you believe have contributed most to your success?

Please see:

2020 Rochester Business Person of the Year Award Submission – Optic Sky

11. The entrepreneurial journey can be an emotional rollercoaster. Have you ever faced a moment of self-doubt, and if so, how did you confront and overcome it?

I’ve certainly faced moments of imposter syndrome over the years but those moments have always been big motivators for me. They told me I had to level up or, more often, that we as a company had to level up. I’ve never looked at it from the standpoint of being a victim or unqualified, just that as a brand, we’re not quite there yet. We’re winning certain bids but not others. And those are the moments when I decided to invest back into the brand to get us there. There is always an infinite possibility when you have a team like this.

That being said, one of the biggest moments of self-doubt and self-questioning was when the pandemic hit. I was constantly reflecting as the owner on whether or not I was the person that could get us through. Am I the wartime CEO or do I need to bring in some additional help? After six years of double-and-triple-digit growth, we definitely took a big hit in those early days and that came as a real shock.

I think it’s okay for that to be the first thought in your head. But I think the second thought is just as important. My second thought was, “This is a new challenge and I must rise to it.” I was concerned that bringing in an outsider to lead the company would cost us too much in lost time, getting them ingrained in our culture—or worse, that we would lose our culture entirely. And so I think sometimes it’s okay to look at things from the standpoint of, “I don’t have a choice.” I think some people look at that as a bad thing but it can be the motivation you need to push yourself to the next level.

12. How do you anticipate the future of advertising and digital experience production will evolve, and in what ways is Optic Sky preparing for these changes?

Please read our position on embracing what has changed to better connect with what hasn’t.

When considering the current state of the digital landscape and the savviness of both advertisers and consumers, it is becoming clear that, in addition to things like TV and online video ads, the future of advertising lies in creating interactive digital experiences that are either entertaining, utilitarian, or both. In many ways, Optic Sky has been at the forefront of this trend for years.

By establishing augmented reality, immersive experience, and virtual production divisions ahead of the curve, we now have an established team and tried-and-true processes in these areas. And we can combine these cutting-edge technologies to create experiences and content that achieve brand objectives across all channels.

Even the individual assets we create, such as 3D assets used for a virtual production TV commercial, can be reworked for things like immersive installations, digital experiences, virtual reality and AR games, AR filters, and so on. We believe that by taking a more holistic approach, we can create digital experiences and campaigns that reach consumers in new ways and offer our brand and agency partners better value and results.

13. If you could go back in time and give your younger self one piece of advice before embarking on your entrepreneurial journey, what would it be?

The advice I would give my 13-year-old self would be

14. Are there any mentors or influential figures who have played a crucial role in your journey as an entrepreneur, and how have they shaped your mindset?

I’ve been lucky to have several influential mentors in my career. There are mentors that empower your vision and there are those that teach you the tough business lessons and I think I’ve had both.

One early mentor of mine was Mark Foggetti, who was a teacher I had at RIT and who ran a production company here in town. He taught me a lot of soft skills regarding how to deal with clients, some of the bravery that it takes, and that humor and having fun is always the way to keep a strong morale going on set.

Another mentor of mine named Keith owned a well-known production company on the west coast that he later sold. He really taught me a lot of the things to think about when growing past the regional stage to the national and global stages. In a wonderful turn of events, Keith went back to directing after selling his business and we began hiring him as a director. And so it was a really cool thing where he brought a lot of value to my life and I was able to bring that back to him in a different way. We still work with him today and he’s become a dear friend.

And then most recently, right around the time of the pandemic, I made a concerted effort to move beyond being a founder and creative to become a better CEO. I joined Vistage, which is a peer CEO and Board of Directors network. Today, I consider every one of my 16-person group to be a mentor. We have solved such tough problems together. It’s helped me to remember that all CEOs deal with similar problems in different contexts. Our chair for that program is Scott Gibbs, who has not only helped transform my business for the better but has also changed my life and my mindset. I probably owe the survival of the business throughout the pandemic to Scott and Vistage.

15. Many entrepreneurs talk about the importance of a “growth mindset” and embracing failure. Can you share a time when you failed, and how it ultimately led to growth or success?

Failing is such a terminal word. I think it depends on the metric you’re using to measure success vs failure. If you’re in it for the long term with a company, it’s hard to truly fail—you’re learning, not failing. As long as you follow up that stumble or that roadblock with a new way of trying to solve that same issue, you’re better off in the end. As Thomas Edison famously said, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”

As an example, our revenue projections for 2020 were quite high until the pandemic hit. Until that point, we had been experiencing double and triple-digit growth since 2014. If we use those projections as the bar, we did in fact fail at meeting our intended revenue goals. However, we didn’t let anyone go, which is a huge success. Today, we still have the same staff that we had at the beginning of the pandemic, and we’ve never been more of a well-oiled machine than we are now. Other companies I talk to have not been able to recover the level of staff they lost. And so, in that light, we’ve come out on top stronger than ever.

We are building a company for the long run, so I’m willing to take a hit here and there along our journey—and as long as we learn from it and come back stronger, I don’t consider them failures.

16. When you’re not immersed in the world of advertising and digital experiences, what are your favorite activities or hobbies that help you recharge and maintain a sense of balance?

I love drumming, hiking, and running; they are a great way to blow off steam. And even though the film is what I do for a living, I still use movies to recharge, along with simply hanging out with friends, playing sports, and generally being silly.

17. For those interested in learning more about you and Optic Sky, how can they connect with you, and are there opportunities to get involved with the company?

Absolutely. I love connecting with brands, agencies, directors, producers, and others in the production and digital/immersive experience industries. They can reach me on LinkedIn.

They can also check out our monthly email newsletter here and sign up here to get notified when we launch our upcoming augmented reality, immersive experience, and virtual production workshops.

If they’re really interested in working with us, they can request a capabilities presentation here.