The Doorpost
GUEST: Richard “RB” Botto
Richard “RB” Botto is the Founder and CEO of Stage 32 (www.stage32.com), the world’s largest social media site and educational hub for film, television and theater creatives.
Botto is also a represented screenwriter, producer, actor and author. He served as associate producer on Sam Levinson’s debut, Another Happy Day, which starred Ellen Barkin, Demi Moore, Thomas Hayden Church, Kate Bosworth and Ellen Burstyn and premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, winning Best Screenplay. In 2014, Botto executive produced the award winning short All Things Hidden. Botto’s own latest script, The End Game, is currently in development.
A pioneer of the early stages of the Internet boom, Botto developed Stage 32 so creatives across the globe would have a dedicated network to find work and representation, launch projects, secure funding, further their education and make life and career altering connections. In just over 3 years, Stage 32 has organically reached over 325,000 members from every country on the planet and has been described by Forbes as “Lynda.com meets LinkedIn meets Facebook for film, television and theater creatives.”
Botto has spoken all over the world at industry conferences including American Film Market, South by Southwest, Screenwriters World West and East, Great American Pitchfest, STN Convention and many more.
Prior to creating Stage 32, Botto was the Founder, Publisher and Editor of RAZOR magazine, a national men’s lifestyle magazine which boasted a readership of 1.5 million at its peak. A former radio host on ESPN and FOX Sports affiliates, Botto has appeared on such networks as CNBC, MSNBC, NBC News, FOX News, CBS News and VH1, riffing about the entertainment business and social media.
In the 90’s, Botto was an integral part of the team responsible for creating the vendor tracking system used by many of today’s top e-commerce companies. Botto headed the development, design and commercial implementation for several of the top 50 most visited sites on the web during that period.
Botto also serves on the Advisory Board for Old Town Music Hall, a classic film theater in El Segundo, built in 1921.
Botto’s book on crowdsourcing will be published by Focal Press in 2015.
FAVORITE QUOTE:
“The unexamined life is not worth living .” -Socrates
BIG BREAK:
His college professor in pharmacy school told him he should be a writer.
PAST FAILURE:
Letting other things get in the way of his acting pursuits.
SUCCESS HABITS:
Takes time for himself in the morning to read trade magazines.
Going to the gym everyday.
RECOMMENDED RESOURCES:
Adventures in the Screen Trade by William Goldman
Hatching Twitter by Nick Bilton
FIND OUT MORE ABOUT RB:
Just finished listening to RB’s podcast. He has done an admirable, really outstanding job with Stage 32.
I thoroughly enjoyed this interview. I have been a Stage 32 member since March of this year. Richard “RB” Botto is a very down to Earth and realistic yet very knowledgeable and personable leader of that site, always giving of himself every minute of the day.
I love the interchange between Duane and RB, poignant questions, very enjoyable dialogue. Less of an interview and more of an inspirational learning experience.