Moverz: Building a Support Network

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Do you have an idea for a business, song, or a piece of art? Are you finding it difficult to make it a reality by yourself? Though you may not realize it, you aren’t alone. Each year, countless great ideas are thrown out, simply because the person with the idea had to go it alone. Building a support network is vital, and having people by your side can inspire you to take that first step. 

My guests today are Ryan Costello and Kenzie Ferrara from Moverz. Moverz is a local collective of entrepreneurs that seeks to connect individuals with like-minded people to make their ideas into a reality. The Moverz mission is simply to inspire educate and provide resources for people to do what they love together.

If you missed Part 1 of my interview with Ryan and Kenzie, you can download it here.

Moverz Mentors

Part of the Moverz mission is to inspire people. Who inspires Ryan and Kenzie?

Listen at 2:00, where Ryan talks about how his heroes aren’t major business success stories or the world’s richest people – they’re just mom and dad to him. Ryan was instilled with a hard work ethic and a “you can do anything” attitude from his parents, both things that carry over into Moverz.

For Kenzie, her mentors were also part of the family. Ryan and Kenzie’s brother (a Moverz co-founder) inspired her to take action and be creative, without worrying about what other people think. She credits them with helping break her out of her shell. Kenzie’s life motto is “Just do it scared.”

The Biggest Challenges

Nothing comes easy. When it comes to the artists inspired by Moverz, what types of obstacles are they facing?

At 7:20, Ryan and Kenzie discuss the biggest challenges facing the communities they reach: household expectations. Families naturally want to see their kids succeed, but many don’t understand success that isn’t in a traditional sense. Moverz has seen people leave to attempt to pursue traditional successes, only to come back to chase their passions. The Moverz team makes it clear that building a support network is a major goal. While they support their members, it is up to the individual to take action and have the confidence to do it.

Saving Long Island

It’s no secret that there has been a mass exodus of young people from Long Island. At 10:13, Ryan and Kenzie talk about why it is so important to create opportunities for self expression on the island. Since there is limited opportunity here, many people travel to New York City or to other states.

Part of the Moverz mission is to create opportunities. As part of that commitment, they created a music festival to showcase the best talent that Long Island has to offer. STATTfest (Summer Time All The Time) was first held in 2019, and it gives talent just another reason to stay on Long Island while they chase their dreams.

Leaving Long Island

If artists aren’t staying on Long Island, then where are they going? Listen at 12:10 where Ryan and Kenzie discuss what areas seem to be more welcoming to the artist culture. Cities like Washington D.C., Denver, Toronto, and Montreal have a host of opportunities for aspiring musicians and artists. While you can find several similar things here, if an artist isn’t being encouraged, what incentive is there to stay?

On Buffoon Comedy

In Part 1 of my interview with Ryan and Kenzie, they mentioned the success of Buffoon Comedy, an early member of Moverz. At 13:54, they go a little deeper into how the group started, culminating in their first full-length movie, Ted Skates. As Ryan and Kenzie emphasize, Buffoon Comedy shows just how critical it is to take that first step.

Stay tuned for Part 3 of my talk with Ryan and Kenzie, where we discuss stories behind the first STATTfest.

If you liked my talk with Ryan and Kenzie on the importance of building a support network, downloaded more episodes of The Profit Express to help you on your path to business success.