Tom Grasty: Media Content Creator Helping Students Create Their Own Content Online

August 5, 2009

Tom Grasty is an entrepreneurial and strategic media executive with a diverse background across the entertainment, advertising, public relations and Internet industries. A former story analyst at DreamWorks and Manager of Development for VH1 Motion Pictures, most recently Tom was Head of Development and Content Acquisition at Blaze TV. With a strong background in content partnerships and marketing strategy, Tom has overseen the development of over 100 hours of film, television, documentary and digital properties.

Currently, Tom is cultivating relationships with the Angel and venture capital communities in anticipation of a fall launch of Stroome, the collaborative online video editing site he developed while pursuing his graduate degree at USC Annenberg. An avid blogger with a devoted following, when he is not creating content for TV, film and the web, Tom teaches story development and documentary filmmaking at California State University, Fullerton, and UCLA Extension.

Read more about his company Stroome below.

Help us understand what you are up to:
I am the co-founder of Stroome (www.stroome.com), the world’s most collaborative online video editing site. Right now, our target market is students in journalism, film and digital media schools because there’s a real need for a free, browser-based video editing tool in the classroom. Our ultimate goal, however, is for people to think of Stroome as a place where anyone with a camera and a point of view can polish, publish and promote their content to a potential audience of millions.

What drives you to continue pursuing this area of study?
What’s the old adage, “lead, follow or get out of the way”? Frankly, I’d rather lead.

Describe how your work might impact people’s lives, now and in the future.
Stroome is already enabling aspiring content creators to engage one another in ways they couldn’t have otherwise. So in the end, it’s not our work that’s going to have the impact— it’s theirs. And who knows what’s going to happen now that Stroome is in the hands of talented, creative people craving a way to express themselves?

How did you come up with the idea?
I didn’t. My partner did. But I will take credit for recognizing that the democratization of content is going to change the way people connect and communicate in the future. After the success of community-oriented sites like Wikipedia and YouTube, a collaborative online video editing site for the masses just seemed to be the next logical step.

Has anyone ever doubted that your idea could work?
For the past six months I’ve been hounded by two questions I’ll never grow tired of being asked— “When can we have it?” and “How much does it cost?” The fact people want this product and are willing to pay for it is more than enough to keep me going.

What is the next step in the innovation process for you?
We just completed a private beta test at the New School in New York. And in May, we were fortunate enough to place second in the USC New Venture Competition. But even with a little wind in our sails, the challenge of getting to market and establishing a presence is critical. Right now, we’re feverously raising capital so that we can turn our working prototype into a successful release candidate that can be in a dozen schools by the fall.

What mistake taught you the most?
The most recent one.

What is the one innovation you can't live without?
The Kindle.

What would people be surprised to learn about you?
I was once registered with the Department of Justice as a foreign agent. Don’t ask; I can’t tell, anyway.

How did you come up with the name for your company/organization?
We wanted a name that could work as both a noun and a verb. Much in the same way people now say, “Google it,” we want people to say, “Stroome me,” when they have some great content they want to share. As for the name, ‘Strome’ is the Dutch verb that means ‘to move freely,’ which is exactly what we want our site to facilitate— the movement of ideas, points of view and content freely between people. We played with the spelling a bit, but the underlying meaning is still there.

What do you wish you would have invented?
The doorknob. It would have saved me a lot of needless knocking.

Any tips for aspiring innovators?
I’d give them the same advice I give my students when they ask me what it takes to make it in the entertainment business: “On average it takes 100 ‘nos’ to get one ‘yes.’ But all you need is one ‘yes,’ so get out there and get through the ‘nos’ as fast as you can.”

Email or phone?
Skype.

What is the most fun you’ve ever had?
Being chased down a narrow cobblestone street by a six really pissed off bulls. That also qualifies as the most frightened.

Three favorite things about LA:
The lack of humidity,
the abundance of opportunity,
and some of the most talented people I’ve ever encountered.