Building Cultures of Honor with Traylor Woodall
Episode Summary
In this episode of The Spark, Traylor Woodall—founder & CEO of Fivestone Studios shares how mentors, hard-won failures, and a “Culture of Honor” shaped his leadership and creative philosophy. We dig into scaling teams, evolving from animation to immersive experiences, measuring impact, and protecting people while pursuing excellence.
Timestamps
- 03:09 – Learning through failure and humility
- 07:48 – Building culture that nurtures creative excellence
- 15:15 – The “Culture of Honor” philosophy
- 23:25 – From animation to immersive experiences
- 26:39 – Times Square takeover with Kia
- 52:02 – Advice to his younger creative self
- 54:44 – Finding balance beyond the pixels
What You’ll Learn
- How early failure can accelerate growth and humility in leadership
- The core of a “Culture of Honor”: aggressive pursuit of greatness with deep care for people
- Practical ways to recruit, vet, and collaborate with creative partners at scale
- Why (and how) Fivestone pivoted from motion design to experiential/immersive work
- Tactics for protecting culture in a remote, global studio
- Measuring success for installations, EBCs, and large experiential projects
- Healthy rhythms to “refill your life account” and avoid burnout
Learn More & Connect:
Creative Assembly: https://creativeassembly.agency/
Connect with Traylor Woodall: https://www.linkedin.com/in/traylorwoodall/ / https://fivestonestudios.com/
Connect with Mark Scrivner: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markscrivner
Thanks to our Sponsor – Snapshot: https://snapshotinteractive.com
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Meet Our Guests
Traylor Woodall
Traylor Woodall is a lifelong storyteller, artist, musician, and experience creator. His journey began with a traditional degree in graphic design, but during a college internship he discovered a passion for motion graphics. Fast forward 20+ years, Traylor now serves as the CEO and founder of Fivestone Studios, an integrated production company that blends design, technology and storytelling to create visually rich narratives across a wide range of channels. At his core lies a steadfast belief in the power of creative culture and collaboration. He’s always on the hunt for Bad Math- the power of 1+1=3. Even after 25+ years in the industry, Traylor lives for the moment when a creative idea comes together that is greater than the sum of any one individual’s ability or effort. When he’s not making pretty pixels for work you will find him spending time with his family, exploring nature, or writing a little ditty on one of his pianos.
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