Analisa Goodin is the founder and CEO of Catch+Release, a platform that helps Fortune 500 and household brands including Applebee’s, Jeep, Mastercard, Google, Pfizer and Nike, create ad campaigns by licensing ‘found content’. This means that a brand can utilise the trillions of images and videos uploaded to the internet every day, whether it's a TikTok video or a professional videographer’s portfolio.
Analisa envisions a world where the same stock photos aren’t used over and over again, and where the industry can cut down on in-house production, which is expensive, time consuming, and bad for the environment. Catch+Release helped many brands turn to found content for the first time during the pandemic, and they haven’t looked back since!
The founder pivoted from her creative career into the tech world to solve the problems that she had witnessed herself, and raised more than $20m in funding from top VC firms. Called ‘the mother of invention’ by Eric Wolford, partner at top VC firm, Accel, Analisa’s passionate leadership approach, industry knowledge and unrelenting drive has earned her wide recognition - being named on Campaign's 2022 40 Over 40 list.
To discuss her journey from the production side as a teenager into the creative tech world with her own company today, making the industry more equitable for the female founders of the future, and why everyone should have access to found content, Analisa spoke with LBB’s Ben Conway. Read the full interview below.
Analisa> Growing up, my dad had a film archive that he kept in a box in a closet. It consisted of hundreds – if not thousands – of alphabetised films. I think we probably watched ‘Adventures in Babysitting’ 400 times, but most of all I was inspired by just digging through his movie collection not knowing what we’d find each time. It felt like there were endless possibilities, which is similar to what the internet feels like today.
Analisa> As an energetic and hungry 18-year-old about to start art school, I met an executive producer at a family reunion who said I’d be great in production. She got me my first freelance gig and threw me into the deep end – I had no idea what I was doing. I loved the ‘hair on fire’ of it all. We’d all be running around like crazy but working toward the same goal. It’s a fantastic culture to be a part of. It’s also a space where you need to pinpoint what you can uniquely add to the equation. I was constantly asking myself how I could stand out and what I could do differently, which is what brought me to found content.
Analisa> The best advice I’ve received is that you don’t know where opportunity will come from, so treat everything as a chance to have an edge, stand out, and provide value – even if you haven't been asked. You need to have authenticity, courage, and confidence to believe you can contribute value even when you’re new to something. This is what leads to more business and success.
Analisa> I’ve always had this desire to find a need and provide value, and Catch+Release is the epitome of that. When I first started working in creative licensing, I saw that a lot of the other things needed to do my job were lacking – the workflow, tools, and products. I was building the process, but duct-taping it all together. Demand increased as the internet grew, but the support wasn’t increasing. I realised there needed to be a tech-driven solution. In the end, I built the thing that addressed the pain I was experiencing and wanted to build the tool I personally needed myself.
Analisa> I’ve learned a lot from doing everything by hand, and we’ve learned lessons along the way. As we’ve grown, we’ve aimed to become a more scalable and accessible solution. My goal is to help an entire industry be able to use found content for themselves – whether it’s a brand manager, a social media manager, a producer, a digital advertiser, or any other storytelling role. Everyone should have easy access to found content on the internet so they can communicate with their audiences at the highest level.
The old attitude in advertising was that the only way to get incredible creative content was to shoot it yourself. This is shifting. Creatives are realising that the internet can put authentic, powerful content that people can connect with at their fingertips.
Analisa> There’s a lot of overlap when it comes to company-building, fostering culture, and developing a product. Working at a startup is a highly creative, dynamic environment. Both involve exploration, failure, and iteration before you feel like you’re on the right path.
One skillset I had to learn that didn't feel obviously related to my past work is fundraising. Selling the business to investors is very different from selling a solution to clients. For example, the first investor deck I ever made was beautiful, but it went right over their heads! I learned over time how to position myself and my company to an investor audience. Investors saw value in my background because they could see I knew the customer very well.
Analisa> It’s interesting for Catch+Release to be branded as ‘female-founded’ in everything we do. Less than 3% of funding goes to women founders today, so it’s not surprising that there’s more attention put on this. That said, my goal has always been to be a great leader and CEO – not a great female CEO. I hope the future is so equitable for female founders that it becomes less and less remarkable over time.
Analisa> My team, company, and customers inspire me every day. They’re what I love most about Catch+Release. I’m inspired when I see brands tell incredible stories using found content and how they’re able to achieve amazing things using our tools. When a company has the courage to take on the status quo and do things differently, that’s what it’s all about.
Analisa> When I win awards like these, I take them as validation for my team's efforts. I wouldn’t be where I am today without their hard work, creativity, and skill. I am very grateful to them. My goals are to continue leading and growing this business to its full potential!
Analisa> I like problem-solving, and so I appreciate it when I can apply it to activities outside of work. I like anything that involves moving, whether it’s skiing, hiking, climbing, or even just running around with my kids. I also play the piano and am a practising artist. With Catch+Release, I’m really excited about creating a new category in the industry and elevating the medium of found content. Found content is going to get the attention it deserves, thanks to the amazing creatives today who are making incredible work with it. Catch+Release is making found content broadly accessible for the first time. It’s bold and transformative, which is exhilarating.