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When Adidas ran a competition on Talenthouse to design a new pair of sunglasses, the winning design came from a dishwasher in Mongolia. With the $4,000 in prize money, he was able to quit his day job, hire two assistants and start his professional life as an artist. For Talenthouse’s CEO and founder, that summed up exactly why he started his company. “Artists don’t need to be famous, they need to keep creating,” said co-CEO Amos Pizzey.
Pizzey knows first-hand how hard artists struggle. Having grown up in the British equivalent to the projects, Pizzey says he would likely be there still if it wasn’t for a few artists that recognized his talent. Instead, his life went down a path he couldn’t have expected, working with artists as diverse as Madonna and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
But eventually, Pizzey said he wanted to do more that just create; he wanted to make a home for other artists to explore their creativity. He also wanted those artists to get paid for influencing the world with their art. When MySpace hit the scene, Pizzey was captivated. “What I love about the internet and technology was that we really could reshape the world,” said Pizzey.
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He wanted to use a platform like MySpace for artists. “But you cannot collaborate on a social network you can only talk. Why don’t we build a collaboration platform that links fashion, art and photography,” said Pizzey.
He created Talenthouse to bring artists together, collaborate with each other and get paid for their work. Brands use the site to gather submissions for campaigns, allowing new artists from all around the globe to get discovered while helping companies find new and creative pieces. “Brands can literally empower the next generation of talent,” said Pizzey of the service.
Talking to Pizzey, it's clear his passion for art and for connecting people are what drive him. This is more than a company to him, it's a way of making a difference. Talenthouse is a way to: “Serve the greater community and provide them with life changing opportunities,” said Pizzey.
The World’s Creative Department
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Pizzey (pictured left) describes Talenthouse as the “world’s creative department online.” The company has hosted over 2,000 campaigns ranging from Tom Ford to Rihanna. The platform allows companies to describe their project and artists take part in the brief. Talenthouse takes a lesson from open coding – all the work on their site is public. But Pizzey says that only serves to enhance the quality of the work.
Right now, companies as diverse as HP and Airbnb, as well as artists like Mark Knopfler, are accepting submissions. Aspiring artists can create a profile on the site, start submitting work and collaborating with others around the world. “For an artist to make a living making art is to achieve the impossible. This is our mission. This is what we do,” said Pizzey.
While being financially rewarded is a big part of the mission behind Talenthouse, so is connecting the world of artists. “I wanted to build a home, a base for these creators. I know they need each other,” said Pizzey.
Talenhouse will roll out a new app later this year as a product for brands to keep content on their own site. Their growth has been phenomenal, averaging 40-60 percent a month for the past six months.
When Pizzey decided to start Talenthouse, he left his former employer Saatchi and remortgaged his house twice to fund the company. The gamble has paid off. Talenthouse has offices in LA, London, Munich and New York with partnerships in Dubai and India. The LA office is hiring engineering and sales talent.
