In an exclusive interview, the TALA and Shreddy founder discusses her new business and the journey to realising it was time for a change.
“The best products are created in the image of the founder.”
Aged just 27, Grace Beverley is the founder of three incredibly successful businesses — TALA, Shreddy and The Productivity Method. She also hosts a podcast, titled Working Hard, Hardly Working, in which she’s interviewed the likes of will.i.am, Rochelle Humes and Roxie Nafousi on their careers and habits for success.
Sitting across from her a couple of weeks ago, I couldn’t help but marvel at her growing list of accomplishments, from content creation to clothing innovation. But it’s her latest – and perhaps most unexpected – venture that particularly drew my attention: her foray into artificial intelligence.
Why did you decide to co-found Retrograde?
“I couldn’t have been less ready to take on another business,” says Grace. “But when Jake told me about his idea for the business, it presented the solution to a problem that’s needed solving in this industry for a very, very long time.”
Retrograde, a company Grace launched this year alongside seasoned tech entrepreneurs Jake Browne and Gary Meehan, is a management system for content creators, powered by AI.
At the core of the company is a desire to help content creators keep more of their earnings and have greater autonomy over their brand deals, while simultaneously minimising the administrative work that comes with self-management.
“Creators have shaken up the industry over the past 10 years, and there’s been a huge rise in the types of creators out there, as well as the sheer quantity. The only thing that hasn’t changed is how creators are able to monetise their platforms,” Grace explains.
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How did it feel to step outside your comfort zone?
“I’m no expert on AI, and I would never have looked at this business if I didn’t think that this product would have helped me on my journey when I was first starting out.”
Despite acknowledging that she never saw herself as co-founding an AI business, Grace emphasises the importance of playing to your strengths.
While Gary and Jake are experts in tech and have founded and sold their own AI startups previously, Grace is a certified expert in the world of content creation.
“Prior to Jake raising his incredible idea with me, this was something I was coming across again and again. I was having conversations every day with peers and fellow creators, and it became clear to me that the industry has far outgrown this one-size-fits-all model. The assumption that you must sign up to a traditional agency once you start making money is old.”
She adds: “I think that ultimately the best products are created in the image of the founder wishing that they had this product, and that’s what Retrograde is for me.”
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How did you recognise this need for change?
“The current system isn’t working on both sides,” explains Grace. “Talent agents are only earning a small amount from creators in comparison to their larger clients and, as a result, are inevitably more focused on the bigger deals.”
So, it seems that it’s the human relationships between agents and creators that have an alienating effect. Despite being an artificial manager, Retrograde presents creators with an agent that’s solely focused on them and their needs, with no attention having to be split. It’s ironic, but Grace is certain it’s going to work.
Recognising a need for change can be a difficult thing to enact, especially when people are used to a particular way of thinking. But Grace emphasises that adaptation is key to success, and she encourages others to remove their fear of breaking the mould. In her eyes, the mould usually needs to be broken.
