Building a business from the ground up is no walk in the park, but constructing a successful creative media production company fresh out of college is an entirely different beast.
Jackson Carpenter graduated from UCA spring 2023 with his bachelor’s degree in innovation and entrepreneurship.
Carpenter immediately put his degree to use, as he is the founder and owner of Grauller Media Company.
Carpenter said the creation of Grauller and his pursuit of business ownership was sparked during his senior year at UCA.
“Throughout my last year of college, I was working under my own name doing freelance work. Then I started building business models, business plans, and calculating different expenses. That’s when I got the idea of what I wanted Grauller to be,” Carpenter said.
“When I graduated over the summer, I essentially started putting whatever I did under Grauller, instead of my own name. That’s when it truly came to life,” Carpenter said.
As media companies continue to evolve in the continuously changing advertising landscape, Carpenter honed in on what makes Grauller special.
“Grauller is a content-based production company that works with small and local businesses. Our main goal is to give these companies a boost in their media. We provide work for social media accounts, as well as website design.”
Carpenter continued to provide details on his distinct motivations that led to him creating Grauller and even the thought process behind the company’s unique name.
“It was my passion mixed with my own brand image. I wanted it to capture my aesthetic, the aesthetic I like to go for.”
“I picked a name, Growler, and I thought ‘That’s not enough,’ so I spelled it an alternative way.
And people have asked me before ‘What is Grauller?’ and my response is ‘Well, it got your attention.’ So that was the main goal, to get it stuck in peoples’ heads.”
Business ownership poses a variety of challenges, including funding and building a reputable name.
“We are completely self-funded. Expenses come out of my pocket and the company’s revenue. Making an established image for ourself has also been difficult within the community. We just have a lot of competitors with full-scale production companies, and actually getting jobs and not being overlooked has been challenging. A lot of failures come with running a business, but there are some wins within those failures.”
Building his business from the ground up, Carpenter mentioned short-term goals he wants to see his business achieve to ensure it is headed in the right direction.
“We mainly just want to make more of a connection within the community and have the community understand what we’re doing, opposed to news stations or what a full production company does. We’re cost efficient and we’re effective – those are the principles I built this business on.”
As much as Carpenter wants his business to be a financial success, that isn’t the sole reason he started Grauller.
“I remember being 18 or 19 years old and reaching out to businesses and them telling me to just figure it out. But if an 18-year-old kid came to Grauller looking for work, I would love to tell him to come help me out on a job. Basically, I just want to help give people a platform so they can start on their own portfolio.”
“I don’t think there is enough positivity or collaboration within the world. If nobody else is going to step up and be a leader, then I am going to be the one to change it, because that’s what is within my heart.”
The best way to get in touch with Grauller is through email at [email protected]. Carpenter said, “Feel free to shoot us a direct message on Instagram,” @grauller.