Entrepreneurs of L.A.: Powering the Community

Digital Video

There’s no question that L.A.’s entertainment scene is iconic. But behind the glitz and glamour are hard-working, visionary entrepreneurs who enrich their communities and embrace success with help from Intuit QuickBooks.

For “Entrepreneurs of L.A.,” Intuit QuickBooks wanted to drive increased awareness, consideration, and purchase intent of their suite of tools among small business owners (1-9 employees) and solopreneurs via product-forward storytelling. They also hoped to clearly communicate QuickBooks’ unique features and benefits by aligning its messaging with key seasonal themes. These tools help ease the burden of running a business year-round, but particularly during tax season. Lastly, they wanted to showcase entrepreneurs who have started businesses near the Intuit Dome, a new sports arena in Inglewood, CA.

View Website

Original Photography

Through custom content, Studio at People Inc. harnessed the power of inspiring stories to highlight small business owners around Los Angeles. To reach the client’s target audience, the team created a custom destination for Investopedia that housed four native profiles of Southern California-based entrepreneurs. The profiles were rooted in Food & Wine, The Balance, Investopedia, and Byrdie, and for each, custom photography and an embedded video helped bring the diverse entrepreneurs’ personal stories to life.

“A Community Art Space in L.A.,” rooted in Food & Wine, featured actor-turned-business-owner Nick Spano, who combined his entrepreneurial and artistic sides in 2024 when he opened Re/creation Cafe, a place where creativity and community meet. In addition to sharing the particulars of his business, including the origins of some of the cafe’s popular menu offerings, Spano explained how the automation QuickBooks provides has made staying on top of his finances less daunting.

Other entrepreneurs profiled for the campaign included Sandra Mejia, whose Leimert Park-based business The Plant Chica hosts free events for the community, sells plants to individual customers and businesses, runs online sales, and offers consultation services (The Balance); James Daughrity, founder of Daughrity Real Estate, who thrives on supporting local businesses and growing his with help from QuickBooks (Investopedia); and Sharon Askia, founder of Nappily Naturals & Apothecary, a thriving wellness destination that she now runs in Los Angeles’s historic Leimert Park neighborhood (Byrdie).

Each of the four docu-style hero videos was shot on location in Los Angeles, where the subjects allowed our crew to capture their day-to-day interactions. They also showcased the impact each business has on its community and the tireless efforts of the entrepreneurs to stay up-to-date with the latest automated technologies, including a bookkeeping platform that simplifies their busy lives and allows them to focus less on paperwork and more on their passions.

Total
Pageviews

Total
Impressions

The campaign resulted in significant lifts across nearly all brand KPIs, including awareness metrics, brand opinion, and purchase consideration. The native articles also boosted recommendation likelihood.

Qualitatively, viewers appreciated how the content featured a diverse lineup of small business owners and focused on how they are positively impacting their communities. After exposure to campaign content, viewers perceived QuickBooks as a trustworthy brand that is committed to helping small businesses.