Welcome to the Fabulist™ hosted by Joel Pilger

Go behind the scenes with leaders behind the most disruptive independent studios and production companies. This is for creative entrepreneurs building extraordinary businesses in motion, animation, live action, sound, and experiential. We skip the showreel and get into the gritty business: the pivots, the faceplants, the hard tradeoffs, and the moments everything shifts.

No fluff. No platitudes. Just unfiltered, drink-in-hand conversations with studio leaders who share practical lessons, hard-earned frameworks, and the mindset that lets them scale creative work into resilient businesses. Joel’s a founder too — he’s built studios, advises studio leaders, and runs Forum, the private peer community for studio leaders mastering the art of the business together.

Expect tactical takeaways you can use this week.

→ Huge thanks to our production partner Coupe Studios for making this podcast possible.