arttech | dARTbase | Gemma Colbran
Gemma is creative, but not an artist! She paints happy little trees, writes poems and sings in the shower. A sociologist by study and an entrepreneur by necessity she founded dARTbase in direct response to seeing artists starving and navigating an unsustainable industry while influencers capitalised on the market share that artists could not access. We were lucky enough to speak to Gemma about her journey.
Gemma Colbran - Founder & CEO, dARTbase
What gave you the idea for dARTbase?
When I was 18, I started calling out the performer at nightclubs to pay them directly rather than the club as we both knew it would take 4-6 months for them to get paid… if they ever got paid at all. I was, and still and am friends with a lot of creatives and dARTbase stems from my frustration of seeing my own creative friends going unfed. Ask yourself, would you ever advertise on a billboard that maintenance wasn’t being done on?
Artists are sent clothes for clout and often not given any cashback for food or rent. I paid my best friends to create songs for me to ensure they would have money to eat. I was entirely sick of artists having to starve, while influencers get fed big cheques for a small post. I asked myself who are the real content creators here? Artists are, and they need to start leveraging themselves as such. dARTbase is the tool to make that happen from physical and digital merchandise through to freelancing services. We make it easier for businesses to identify and hire creatives for healthy marketing. While the team works on bringing the business to life I continue to guide artists to success, helping them find new collaborations, ways to monetise and navigate the industry.
How important is Art for the future of marketing?
As we grow tired of the influencer marketing trend we will naturally move back to the real content creators. Why would you hire someone to advertise your product, who is advertising other products non-stop, when we know it's a paid ad? As consumers we are smarter than that now... We know when we are being advertised to, and we at least want advertisements that are creative! Campaigns that involve creatives are more wholesome and effective than those of influencers and are 1/10 the price of a Kardashian. Yet, repeatedly artists are asked to participate in marketing campaigns alongside influencers for free - for exposure. I ask you how often in the 90’s did you hear about someone working for exposure? Why do we accept it in the digital age?
What does dARTbase do? Who is the solution for? What problem does it solve
Artists are still starving while influencers are thriving. The entire creative economy is falling behind in its digitisation which is appalling when arts provide us with so much value and get us through our darkest times. We are an art-tech market network for all forms of artists to connect, collaborate, create and cash out. We leverage artists against freelancers and influencers to help the creative economy become more sustainable and digitise it through a unified voice.
What is unique about dARTbase?
We aren't focusing on any one type of creative, most services are focused on artists with digital art skills. Meaning they either use a computer to create their work or they use technology such as a camera to produce the product. We know the arts industry needs a unified service that acts as both a database of artists, and a way for artists to navigate the industry with clients for unique jobs and merchants to sell both physical and digital products. From the get go, we are focused on making sure our service is sustainable, inclusive and accessible. We have sourced promotional gear from a leading certified First Nations supplier, recycled stone paper for prints and are working to provide unique merchandise options such as temporary tattoos and custom ringtones.
Where do you see dARTbase in ten years’ time?
I have big dreams for dARTbase, and while I shoot for the stars I know I might only achieve the moon. We see ourselves as becoming the home for artists, the place where artists, brands and businesses who operate in the creative industry come to connect. We see ourselves as becoming the largest marketplace for artists and performers and we really do hope we can create a real “industry standard” for the arts industry as opposed to it being a hypothetical term
If you're not from a Tech background, how has that impacted and what do you bring to the table?
If I was a tech founder I would be so caught up in the product specifics I would never have thought of dARTbase. The fact I can find people who love the vision and come on board means I'm not wasting years learning how to create it myself. I tried coding… I got to CSS and knew I couldn't speak that language. I know now that being a leader isn’t necessarily about having those skills, it's about enabling my team, who are the experts, to achieve the vision. While I'm not a tech-founder or from a business school I am a sociologist and a natural born leader. I am the visionary that inspires and motivates my team to create something great. That's a rare skill and you can’t learn that in any class. In saying that, I see myself as a jack of all trades and a master of none. I need to be able to talk business, understand tech and all round be on top of trends.
These are some things I have learnt: you know nothing, so don’t act like you’re an expert. Ask questions and get more than one opinion. And most importantly your idea means nothing, it's executing it that matters. So share your knowledge and ideas or you will not find a team to create it with you.
Biggest challenge you have faced so far?
Definitely funding... You hit a point where you cannot keep throwing your life savings into a business, simply because there is none left. However it doesn’t take much these days to mock up a prototype and gain interest, even a hand drawn sketch can get you places. If you do have the means to invest in your ideas DO IT. Don’t be afraid to invest in yourself and your ideas. You need to believe in yourself and you need to be invested for anyone else to be, whether that’s time, sweat or capital.
Don't fall for vultures… lots of people are willing to take your brilliant idea and passion and tell you they can make it for you for a price. People should give you value before you begin paying them for anything. When I started out I spent 20,000 with an “app development” company. They made me a video and sent me some templates I could have found online. Do every online course! Go through Y combinator's Startup school, complete Bluechillies Startup U before you ever approach a company to create something for you. If you don't know the ins and outs of your idea you will get taken advantage of.
Make friends in areas you don't know because you’re going to be in this industry for a while so you are going to need people to bounce things off.
Apply for every grant and opportunity that seems to be a fit you never know when it will be a success for you. If you are building a tech product take advantage of the no-code movement and save yourself a few thousand dollars. You shouldn't need to code out a prototype and getting a visual prototype simply is not enough anymore. People want to click and test and put their name into your service.
In what ways do you think female founders are treated differently?
I've had some interesting experiences. On the one side you are a novelty in business, so use it to your advantage. On the other side tread carefully... I have had a potential investor propose investment on “his terms” and let's just say those terms were sexual not business based. After one encounter with a creep like that you know how to pick them early - and for the most part people just want to see you succeed regardless of gender. So put in the work, get your name out there, post actively and network with people. I never thought I would score a meeting with a CEO at Australia's largest music publishing company but I secured it within 3 messages. You never know if you don't try.
Another thing, My male co founder Riley Glennon screams our successes from the rooftops and never once gets told to be humble. I on the other hand have been told to be humble countless times, which I find infuriating but speaks more on the person's character than mine. I celebrate my small successes because I need motivation to know I am on the right path.
What is your focus now? And for the next couple of years? How has COVID impacted your activity?
Our focus right now is on launching our crowdfunding campaign and grants. Nothing beats free money. And since COVID we are primed to digitise the creative communities, peoples values are shifting, everyone is creating so we all know the worth of art. In 1 year we want to have our MVP fully coded and launched and be doing renditions of the service to improve it, in 2 years we want to have had artists make a career of our service and in three years we want to be a key player in the Australian art ecosystem. We are focusing on creating a consortium of creative businesses right now linking up with other music and art-tech companies as we see the arts industry to be more about collaboration than competition… “there is room in the creative economy for all of us.”
What tips would you have for female entrepreneurs?
Have the confidence of an old white male! Change comes from the bottom, so don't be afraid to be different and think differently.
You shouldn’t have to change the way you dress or do your makeup for business... But I always ask myself: would a teacher be able to wear this? If not, I save it for the weekend.
Now that I have a team, they remind me I inspire them. That inspires me even more! But if you're doing it alone don't be afraid to reach out to others. Everyone shares ideas. I know I have helped countless people along the way with their businesses and brainstorming.
I was gob smacked when my team quoted me on our Instagram; “You need to know how to fail to know how to succeed. Fail quickly!” I failed so many times on my journey and every time I got up and reminded myself if I failed others have too… And I related my experience to that of artists attempting to do business which lit a fire in my belly to keep going.
Your network is your net worth. Make sure you connect with people, the business world isn't as scary as you think it is and it's hardly as impenetrable as it seems from the outside - so force your way in!
What are the one or two lessons/principles/ you carry with you into everything you do?
Build a team and hire based on people not skills. Obviously you need certain competencies but at the end of the day a lot of things can be taught or outsourced so hire for a culture and the type of company you want to build.
You need to be your own biggest cheerleader. People might tell you to be humble when you celebrate your small successes - and quite frankly they can get sick of hearing your progress every day! Actions speak louder than words so celebrate your successes but make sure you don’t overburden your friends with them too!
Where do you see yourself in 10 years’ time?
Hopefully travelling to see artists all throughout Australia and helping set up opportunities for younger, older, rural and emerging artists to take on the world. We see Australia as being a cultural exporter not an importer, which means I may be travelling globally following awesome Aussie acts!
How do you balance your personal time and your ‘work’ time?
This is an interesting one. I always worked from home, even before COVID made WFH an acronym. I’ve found the busier I get the more I want to do, so since starting my business I have taken up roller skating, acro silks and I try as hard as possible to practice my yoga. However, I notice myself needing to leave the house or else I will work and work until 11pm. Even social media is more so work than social for me now. So I actively try to turn it off. I leave my phone at home and make sure I spend time with my grandma. I call my friends and catch up, I make sure to book them into my schedule so I can get my social time that I desperately need.
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