Member Spotlight: Scopic
One of the most satisfying elements of being a part of this kick-ass creative community in Portland is watching those who have what it takes, make shit happen. It all starts with an idea, backed by hunger and passion, continues on its path with hardships, lots of boulders thrown in along the way, critical thinking to surmount those barriers and of course a strong heart and head to keep moving forward because let’s be honest, if you’re a creative entrepreneur you know it takes hard-core dedication…no matter what. You have taken this dream as your lover.
It’s essential to talk about our members and share their stories because what Jehn and Jena are doing here is working wonders. As they themselves continue to build their dream of constructing a support system and source of empowerment (which exists) for our members, and making it even bigger and better…always.
Several months ago Jehn, Co-founder of The Creative Roundtable met Wyatt Benoit while both were freelancing on a photo shoot. Soon after Wyatt and her partner in crime (or rather, more appropriately-business) Chloe Steinhoff-Smith joined the group for our highly beneficial weekly morning meetings. Since their arrival, we’ve watched their vision of a design based online community that connects freelancers with clients grow before our very eyes.
Here’s their story:
“Wyatt and Chloe first met in college while studying graphic design. Due to the power imbalances and lack of industry standards, they encountered in their professional lives, they created Nocturne Collective, a design studio that exclusively worked with teams of creative freelancers. There they found that there was not enough infrastructures in place to easily create strong relationships between freelancers and their clients.
To address this problem, they created Scopic, an online platform that serves to establish industry standards and connect creative freelancers to projects they are passionate about. With targeted resources, learning materials, and an easy-to-use interface, Scopic makes it easy and efficient for people who hire freelancers to find the right person for the job, all while fostering collaborative relationships and professional development.”
“Funny story, we did live together and despised one another. At one point I threatened to take Chloe’s cats to the pound. After we moved out from the shared house things clearly got a lot better and we love and care about each other a lot!”
Katie: How did you get connected with the Creative Roundtable?
Wyatt: Our introduction to tCR was happenstance. Jehn and I met through an editorial photoshoot that we were both working on. While discussing our lives we discovered that we shared common passions for the creative community. We were invited to join and the rest is a wonderful history that is building towards a very exciting future together!
Katie: How has tCR aided in what you’re doing? What has your experience with the group been?
Wyatt: What can we say? The experience with tCR has been invaluable. We have benefited in countless ways – One of the greatest benefits, other than having our own personal support group, has been our introduction to Portland’s fantastic creative community.
Katie: What are some experiences you can share with us that have been vital to your journey and success as a small creative business?
Wyatt: We would say that we owe a lot of our success to us always talking about what we are doing and people responding by helping us. This is a quality that differentiates Portland from other city’s business communities. We are more about collaborating and seeing how we can help each other rather than constantly competing with one another. Our constant blabbing about Scopic helped us gain access to free spaces, gifted money, and amazing mentors who have been around the entrepreneurship block a few times. However general that might be we cannot express the importance of creating face to face experiences and introductions to others. We cannot wait until we are in a position to pay it forward in bigger ways.
Katie: What do you both listen to while working?
Wyatt: Taylor Swifts 1988 has been our work anthem. Pretty sure my roommates got sick and tired of (or hooked on) hearing us singing at the top of our lungs to Blank Space. Tay Swift has stolen our hearts.
Katie: Where are you at now? What’s the best part about Scopic?
Wyatt: We are currently finishing up our stint at Oregon Story Board, a local accelerator that supports up and coming businesses within the digital story telling economy. We would say the best part about Scopic is that we aren’t interested in just treating the symptoms but finding and solving the root problems with the current creative industry.
Katie: What can we expect to see from you in 2016?
Wyatt: We will be doing a soft launch and establishing a stronger interface while growing a strong and healthy creative network.
Katie: I noticed that the branding slightly resembles Periscope with both the name and image in its shape and color. Can you tell me anything about that? Is it intentional or strictly coincidence?
Wyatt: If we are completely honest that was a happy accident. There often is a collective consciousness surrounding trends in design and the similarities between Periscope and Scopic is a strong example of that. We love that app, so we are happy to be loosely associated with them aesthetically.
Not only are these two ladies making big things happen, but they are truly good people too. The fact that their main focus is helping fellow freelancers is awe-inspiring. Why has no one done this yet? Well, we’re happy they haven’t because Scopic finally gets it and that’s why their growth to success has been such a (ahem) swift one.
They are currently accepting applications for freelancers to join their team, so if you have a strong voice as an artist/designer and are ready to venture out in to the world to share your vision, get on their website and check it out-sign up and of course good luck! Stay creative and happy.
