I have been connected to or worked in the entertainment industry for all my life. My father (Tom Lodge) was program director and main DJ on the first pirate radio station Radio Caroline that is cited for starting the British music explosion in the 1960’s. For most  of my career my main focus has been as a music writer, performer, producer, and recording artist. I have written hundreds of songs and co-written many more. I have played thousands of shows in many countries. But,  along the way I have also founded and managed a number of successful companies, all inspired by seeing distinct needs in the industry and setting out to answer those needs.

It is always a different set of points depending on the challenge, timing is one, hard work is another but I think the main elements that have contributed to me being able to build companies that realized their goals is:

Recognizing talent needed to build cohesive and productive teams. Listening to others, especially critical perspectives that have reason. And, not shying away from climbing tall mountains. I think if you are going to climb a mountain, why climb a small one?

Having a positive impact is always key. For a company to grow and survive in the long term it needs to offer tangable, positive benefits for all whom it engages. The only good deal is where both sides win. This is not an easy thing to do, a win/win deal. There is always the fear of the other side’s motives. Are they being honest with their intent and their motives? I find taking the chance, being the lead with honesty in negotiations is a great way to move things forward in a positive way. It is also a great way to relieve tension and let the other side know you are at the table to build a long term, positive business relationship. This is also the same way to build long-term personal relationships, showing who you are.

When working towards a vision of a better future, it isn’t an easy task to have others recognize and believe in that vision. Enthusiasm for a goal is easy when things run smoothly, which really is very rare. It takes digging in and doing the heavy lifting when the climb is steep and the top is not in sight. Keeping clarity on the “why we are doing this” is very important, for the whole team. When problems happen, which they always do, not making them a personal failure is very important. If someone dropped the ball it is the job of the rest of the team to pick it up and carry it to the goal line. Inspiring this ethic is the one of the jobs of the team leader. In addition to that, it is a very big business world that has tens of millions of companies all pushing to climb to the top of their sector, all racing to be the head of innovation. I think the trick is staying focused on your road map, while being open to adjusting, pivoting to the changing needs of the market and the changes that other’s innovations bring. Again, the why, the long term why, is very important.

I have many and it has changed along the way. My father and my mother have been, major and, obviously, initial inspirations who have  taught me things that I carried through the years. My wife Karin is a big inspiration to me. She is a larger than life exponent for the truth and reality, not ever feeling sorry for yourself but proving what you are made of when things seem impossible. I also have had many heroes through my life, people I have admired for their ability to conquer obstacles and adversity, to go against the odds and keep pushing on a vision. One of my favourite quotes is from Benjamin Franklin,  goes something like this, 98% of human failure is from giving up just before success is obtained. This is a little frustrating as you never know if the current wall you face is the last one before success. But it does give the perspective of pushing through, continuing on and not stopping the climb till the top is reached.

I am deeply focused on what SyncLodge is doing and the goals we have for the long term future, the positive effect we have and will have on the creative industries. Our roadmap is long, with some very steep climbs. I mark my future on SyncLodge obtaining these goals. I believe heavily in cooperation, not competition. Though competition can be healthy, cooperation breathes oxygen into an industry. I see SyncLodge being a part of a very energized ecosystem of companies all delivering positive change in a cohesive, involved, tide raising drive towards a healthy, creative world.

We have the vision to end paperwork and move the sync industry into the digital world. Although incredible, the sync licensing is still reliant on manual, human, time intensive administrative tasks while the world is getting ready for an AI revolution. We will not only keep pace but we will lead the change.

We have won some very flattering recognitions over the year since we launched including winning the 2022/23 Specialist Media Platform Of The Year.

I am very proud of these and am consistently very surprised that we have been noticed and recognized. I have won business leader awards and mentions, which is nice. But it feels best when the team is recognized, when the accomplishments of SyncLodge are recognized.

Honestly though, the best, most uplifting points along the way are when the industry professionals using our suite of tools thanks us for making their life and work a lot easier. This we celebrate as it clearly tells us of the positive effect we are having.

Choose your team and partners carefully. Having a business partner is a lot more intense and a harder path to navigate than a marriage. Ask the difficult questions early on, before committing. If you ask them when there is a big problem you are facing, it is too late, you are partners and the company’s survival depends on you working together, every day. That is not easy. Make sure you are working with people you can depend on, who will be honest with you, always, without turning an unforeseen obstacle into something personal. There will always be mistakes, moments of stupidity, this is called being human.