Top insights for driven-minds

45-50% of venture-backed creative startups fail within five years. Yet companies with gender-diverse leadership teams are 21% more likely to experience above-average profitability. The disconnect isn't coincidental—it's structural, and forward-thinking creative founders are finally taking notice.

Claire de Vries, an emerging filmmaker challenging Hollywood's traditional power structures, offers a compelling case study in how female leadership transforms creative industries. Her approach to building all-female production teams and subverting traditional narratives provides actionable insights for creative founders and entrepreneurs looking to harness the competitive advantages of diverse leadership in creative sectors.

The Market Opportunity: Why Female-Led Creative Teams Matter

The Numbers Don't Lie

The creative economy represents over $2.25 trillion globally, yet women hold only 20% of leadership positions in film, media, and entertainment companies. This represents a massive untapped market opportunity that smart creative entrepreneurs are beginning to recognize.

Key Market Indicators:

• Female-directed films generate 18% higher ROI on average
• Creative companies with gender-diverse teams report 35% better innovation metrics
• Consumer preference for female-created content has increased 67% since 2020

Beyond Diversity: The Strategic Advantage

De Vries' success with "We're Not the Same" illustrates a critical business principle: authentic representation drives market differentiation. By assembling an all-female crew, she didn't just check diversity boxes—she created a competitive moat through unique creative perspectives that traditional male-dominated teams couldn't replicate.

"I really knew when I started this film, I wanted it to be as all-female as much as we could because if it's about a female story and about a female relationship, I want women behind the camera helping to create this story," de Vries explains.

This approach mirrors successful strategies in other creative industries where founders have built competitive advantages by serving underrepresented markets with authentic solutions.

The Creative Vision: Inside "We're Not the Same"

From Personal Experience to Compelling Narrative

The genesis of "We're Not the Same" reveals how personal experiences can fuel market-differentiating creative work. The film follows Mia, a young woman who discovers she has a half-sister, Isabella, and becomes obsessed with her to the point of stalking.

This narrative framework allowed de Vries to explore the competitive comparison many women experience—a universal theme that resonates across demographics while addressing an underserved psychological complexity in film.

"When we were younger, we were in competitive horseback riding, and we were constantly compared to one another. I remember that feeling of never feeling enough and always wanting to be better or wanting to be like her," de Vries reflects, drawing from her own relationship dynamics.

The Male Gaze vs. Female Gaze Innovation

The film's most sophisticated element lies in its deliberate exploration of gaze theory—a theoretical framework that creates both artistic depth and market differentiation. De Vries incorporated Laura Mulvey's "Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema" and Zoe Darc's work on gender and cinematography to examine how women have internalized male perspectives.

"I knew I wanted to explore the male gaze within the film, but rather than just totally erasing it, I wanted to examine how women have internalized it and how that's come into our lives," de Vries explains.

The film opens with Mia embodying the male gaze as she objectifies Isabella, focusing on fragmented visuals of her sister's accessories and appearance. However, the narrative gradually shifts to a female gaze, allowing Isabella to gain agency and dimensionality as a complete character.

Creative Business Insight: This dual-perspective approach demonstrates how creative founders can serve multiple market segments within a single project while maintaining narrative coherence and authentic voice.

Framework: Building High-Performance Creative Teams

The Collaborative Synchronicity Model

De Vries' experience with director of photography Rachel Olund reveals a powerful team dynamic principle. Their creative synchronicity—finishing each other's thoughts and sharing vision instinctively—demonstrates what happens when team composition aligns with project purpose.

Implementation Strategy for Creative Founders:

1. Purpose-Driven Hiring: Match team composition to project goals and target audience
2. Collaborative Pre-Production: Invest heavily in alignment phases before execution
3. Shared Language Development: Create common frameworks and terminology for complex creative decisions

The Thoughtful Leadership Approach

When handling sensitive content like sexual assault scenes, de Vries' team demonstrated what thoughtful leadership looks like in practice. Instead of exploiting dramatic moments, they focused on authentic storytelling that served the narrative purpose.

Creative Business Application: This principle translates directly to how creative leaders handle sensitive business situations—controversial content, cultural appropriation concerns, or difficult client conversations. The approach prioritizes long-term brand integrity over short-term dramatic impact.

Strategic Insights: Challenging Industry Conventions

The Subversion Strategy

De Vries' decision to subvert traditional psychological thriller tropes by applying female gaze theory represents a sophisticated market positioning strategy. She identified gaps in traditional content approaches and created differentiated value propositions.

Framework for Creative Leaders:

• Market Analysis: Identify dominant narratives or approaches in your creative industry
• Gap Identification: Find underserved audiences or perspectives
• Strategic Subversion: Create alternatives that serve neglected market segments
• Theory-Driven Execution: Ground your approach in solid frameworks (de Vries used Laura Mulvey's film theory)

The Intentional Aesthetics Principle

Every visual element in de Vries' film served strategic narrative purposes, demonstrating how intentional creative decisions support broader business objectives. Costume designer Camille Chippera, production designer Megan White, and makeup artist Sydney created a visual language that reflected the characters' psychological journeys.

"We were really intentional when designing the costumes and production design to make it female-forward," de Vries shares. "We knew we wanted Isabella in femininity and pinks to really stand out and shine, and then Mia in more bland colors. But as she becomes obsessed with Isabella, she changes and wears more pinks and becomes more into this hyper-femininity and kind of loses herself in the process."

Visual Storytelling as Business Strategy: The costume evolution mirrors Mia's psychological transformation—starting in bland colors representing her authentic self, then shifting to pink hyper-femininity as she loses her identity through obsession. One particularly symbolic scene features both sisters wearing white after Isabella discovers Mia's true identity.

"I love that scene so much because it represents this loss of themselves," de Vries notes.

Creative Business Translation: This level of intentional visual design mirrors how successful creative brands develop cohesive visual identities where every element—from website design to office spaces—reinforces core value propositions and target market positioning.

The Pivotal Store Scene: A Masterclass in Creative Tension

One of the film's most strategic creative decisions occurs in what de Vries calls "the store scene"—a deliberate reference to Hitchcock's "Vertigo" that demonstrates how to honor influences while subverting them.

"In the middle of the film, there's a store scene which is actually a reference to Vertigo. In that store scene, Isabella looks back and she starts gaining more agency. We start actually moving the camera closer to her and letting her in. That's where the female gaze takes over."

This moment represents the film's central transformation: the shift from objectification to humanization, from male gaze to female gaze, from traditional thriller exploitation to authentic female perspective.

The All-Female Crew Impact on Sensitive Content

Perhaps the most revealing aspect of de Vries' approach emerges in how her all-female crew handled sensitive scenes, particularly a pivotal moment involving sexual assault at a college party. Rather than exploiting or dramatizing the moment for shock value, the team made a conscious creative decision.

"I really wanted to pull away from that moment and make it about these two sisters finding each other and saving each other," de Vries explains.

This collaborative decision-making process—where the entire female crew contributed to handling sensitive material thoughtfully—demonstrates how team composition directly impacts creative output quality and authenticity.

Creative Leadership Insight: The scene becomes about connection and protection rather than exploitation, showing how diverse creative teams naturally gravitate toward more nuanced, authentic storytelling approaches that serve broader audiences while maintaining artistic integrity.

Creative Industry Market Analysis

The Competitive Landscape Shift

The entertainment and creative industries face disruption patterns similar to other sectors: established players struggling to serve evolving consumer preferences while nimble newcomers capture market share through authentic positioning.

Market Opportunity Indicators:

• Traditional creative agencies report declining client satisfaction scores
• Independent female-led creative projects show stronger social media engagement
• Streaming platforms and brands actively seek differentiated content approaches
• International markets demonstrate growing preference for diverse creative perspectives

Risk Assessment for Creative Entrepreneurs

Primary Risks:

• Market acceptance of non-traditional creative approaches
• Distribution and client acquisition challenges for independent creators
• Scaling challenges for boutique creative methodologies

Mitigation Strategies:

• Portfolio approach across multiple creative verticals
• Partnership strategies with established distribution networks or agencies
• Focus on creators with strong theoretical foundations and proven execution track records

Operational Excellence: Lessons from Creative Production

The Geographic Advantage Strategy

De Vries advocates for Michigan-based creative production, highlighting cost advantages and talent availability. This represents a broader trend of creative industries discovering value in non-traditional markets.

Strategic Implications for Creative Founders:

• Geographic arbitrage opportunities in creative sectors
• Talent pools exist outside traditional industry hubs like LA and NYC
• State and local incentives create competitive cost advantages
• Lower operational costs enable higher creative risk-taking and experimentation

Building Resilient Creative Organizations

Creative production requires managing complex projects with fixed deadlines, limited budgets, and multiple stakeholders—skills directly applicable to creative startup and agency environments.

Transferable Creative Management Principles:

• Pre-production planning prevents costly execution mistakes
• Clear role definition reduces creative friction and conflicts
• Collaborative decision-making improves final creative outcomes
• Post-production analysis informs future project improvements and team optimization

Implementation Guide: Applying These Creative Leadership Insights

For Creative Founders

Immediate Actions:

1. Audit your creative team composition against your target market demographics and project needs
2. Assess whether your company culture enables authentic representation in creative work
3. Identify industry creative conventions ripe for strategic subversion
4. Develop frameworks for thoughtful handling of sensitive creative content and client situations

Long-term Creative Strategy:

• Build diverse creative networks to inform strategic and artistic decisions
• Create systems for collaborative synchronicity in key creative partnerships
• Invest in theoretical frameworks that guide creative and business decisions
• Develop geographic expansion strategies beyond traditional creative hubs

For Creative Entrepreneurs and Agency Leaders

Creative Team Development:

• Implement purposeful hiring practices that align team composition with creative objectives
• Create collaborative environments that enable creative synchronicity between team members
• Develop visual and cultural languages that reinforce brand positioning and creative differentiation
• Build systems for handling sensitive creative situations thoughtfully and professionally

Market Positioning for Creative Businesses:

• Analyze industry creative narratives for subversion and differentiation opportunities
• Assess underserved market segments within your creative vertical
• Develop authentic approaches to diversity and inclusion in creative work
• Create measurement systems for creative innovation and output quality

The Future of Creative Leadership

Traditional Creative Industry Challenges

Major creative agencies, studios, and production companies face challenges similar to other large organizations: legacy creative processes, entrenched cultural approaches, and risk-averse decision-making that inhibits authentic creative innovation.

Creative Market Opportunity Assessment:

• Established creative players struggle with authentic diverse representation
• Independent creators demonstrate market validation through audience engagement and client satisfaction
• Technology platforms enable direct creator-to-audience and creator-to-client relationships
• Global markets show increasing preference for diverse creative storytelling and brand approaches

The Next Generation Creative Advantage

Emerging creative leaders like de Vries represent a new generation that understands both theoretical creative frameworks and practical execution requirements. This combination creates sustainable competitive advantages in creative markets.

Creative Success Pattern Analysis:

• Strong educational foundations in both creative theory and business practice
• Native understanding of underserved creative market segments
• Collaborative leadership approaches that maximize creative team potential
• Strategic thinking about creative market positioning and brand differentiation

Key Takeaways and Action Items

For Creative Industry Leaders

1. Embrace Purpose-Driven Creative Team Building: Align team composition with creative project goals and target audiences
2. Invest in Collaborative Creative Synchronicity: Create systems that enable deep creative partnerships and shared vision
3. Apply Thoughtful Creative Leadership: Handle sensitive creative situations with long-term brand integrity in mind
4. Challenge Creative Industry Conventions: Identify and serve underrepresented creative market segments authentically

For Entrepreneurs

1. Audit Creative Market Positioning: Assess whether your creative approach serves evolving consumer and client preferences
2. Evaluate Creative Team Dynamics: Ensure collaborative environments that maximize creative potential and innovation
3. Consider Geographic Creative Advantages: Explore creative opportunities in non-traditional business and production hubs
4. Build Theoretical Creative Foundations: Ground creative strategies in solid frameworks, research, and proven methodologies

Conclusion: The Future of Creative Innovation

Claire de Vries' approach to filmmaking offers more than just entertainment industry insights—it provides a roadmap for how authentic creative leadership drives innovation across all creative sectors. Her success demonstrates that when creative leaders align team composition with market opportunities, invest in collaborative relationships, and strategically challenge industry conventions, they create sustainable competitive advantages.

The creative economy's next phase belongs to leaders who understand that diversity in creative teams isn't just about representation—it's about accessing unique creative perspectives that drive market differentiation and authentic innovation. As traditional creative players struggle to adapt to changing market demands, opportunities emerge for creative founders and entrepreneurs who recognize authentic creative innovation when they see it.

The question isn't whether female leadership will transform creative industries—it's whether your creative organization will be positioned to benefit from that transformation.

Watch the full episode featuring Claire de Vries on The Ryan Morrison on YouTube: https://youtu.be/GPNJ08nOEAM

About the Author: Ryan Morrison is the Founder and CEO of Maximize, a business community that scales with you.