Picture this: A 13-year-old Lauren, performing on stage for crowds of thousands, belting out songs and dreaming big.
And now, 28 years later, what am I doing?
Software Development.
Specifically: Content Auditing and Forecasting Software Development.
I know, it’s not exactly what you’d expect: showbiz to software… but let me tell you, it’s much more creative than I ever thought possible.
Who knew that categorizing numbers and analyzing data would be fun? Not me.
But mathematics is its own kind of magic. It’s like a complex puzzle, a kind of mystery begging to be solved. And the best part?
There’s no “audition” process. I don’t have to explain myself or prove myself or my ideas ahead of time. It’s straight into action which is the best part.
It turns out that auditing is the creative backup I always wanted.
Creatrix: The Natural Progression
Looking back, creating Creatrix Software was a natural progression for me.
Creativity is about creating something beautiful to share with others. Holding complexity together, looking for patterns, and embracing paradox. It’s the innate understanding that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts and so even when it doesn’t seem like something would fit together: it’s seeing the unexpected complimentary combination.
As a creative, I’ve always had a knack for holding unusual ideas together and bringing them to life in innovative and impactful ways. Ideas whiz around my mind constantly and the only way to capture them is to make them happen before they evaporate into the ether again.
But I quickly realized that the speed at which I wanted these ideas born into existence, combined with all the steps and processes involved in making that happen, meant I wasted precious creative time explaining why and how to others to get their buy-in, instead of staying in the slipstream of fun: the creating part.
When you’re forced to slow down and rationalize sparks of creative genius and natural intuitions, it’s easy for even the most talented creatives to get bogged down in the details and lose sight of the bigger picture.
Lost in translation
The problem for most creatives is that we get lost in translation.
It’s even worse when you have to explain visionary ideas that don’t yet exist to people who don’t share the same foresight and speak the same creative language.
People will call you quirky and eccentric and sometimes, they’ll even call you crazy.
And as long as creative jobs require clients, customers, and corporations to pay us for the right to live, creatives are forced to fit their ideas into boxes that make money.
So much so that your ability to sell your idea often becomes more important than the idea itself.
And this is soul-destroying for creatives. So, often we stick to the ideas we can explain, that are easier to digest instead of pursuing the greatness we’re capable of.
Our world is made up of ideas that someone with money supports. It’s tragic when you think about it like that because it means our entire world is limited by ideas that made sense to a numbers person or trust fund kid. Imagine the kind of world we could live in if it was based on creative excellence. Everything we’ve accepted as a standard could change.
The thing is, creative ideas die in isolation. They require an audience to flourish. Creativity thrives in a community or society. And ideas live forever when other people love them. Legacy is just a good idea that lasts.
The beauty of backup
What creatives need is not a backup plan, but backup support. Something that doesn’t deviate us from what we aim to create, but something that accelerates it.
And it turns out, that’s content auditing.
The speed of fun
In clowning, which is one of my favorite performance art forms (and one that I studied at University) there’s a concept Christopher Bayers calls “The speed of fun.”
It’s when you move so fast you don’t have time to think, and that’s how I like it.
With Creatrix, I get to be in the creative process: focused on creating better content, and leaving the rest to the software that explains the what’s and why’s later.
Creating Creatrix allowed me to take my passion for creativity and use it to help fellow creatives focus on what really matters: creating more and creating better content to get their ideas out there.
Creatrix lets me skip the mundane tasks of content tracking, data analysis, and endless Excel documents and PowerPoint presentations and cut straight to the fun: the results.
I bypass the need to prove and explain my rationale and reasons why and how I intuitively know certain things just work.
I just get to DO.
The Proof is in the Pudding
I named my Media Agency after a South African dessert (Malva) because the proof is in the pudding. I wanted my results to speak for themself. I hoped that what was obvious to me would be obvious to others.
But there’s a massive disconnect. Why something works has very different reasons depending on who you ask.
Ask a tech bro and he’ll tell you it’s about the time of day you post, the hashtags you use, the trending sound, and the video format. Non-creatives are always trying to hack everything as if creativity is a system that can be gamed and conquered by anyone.
But ask any creative and they’ll remind you that the best ideas are the ones we didn’t see coming. They take our breath away with unexpected delight and surprise.
So how do creatives ever connect with the businesses they’d radically improve?
We have to find an indisputable way to prove that the answer is always: creativity. And we do that with data.
We have to merge analysis with creativity. Mathematics with visuals. Creatrix Content Auditing does that.
Creatrix proves what delivered results and what didn’t.
Prove it
There’s no more “But why would this work?” or “Why should we try that?” – the data speaks for itself.
You know when you have an idea that you just know will work, but nobody else seems to get it? That’s where you get to whip out your content audit. It’s immutable.
By analyzing data and metrics, you get to back up your intuitive hunches with undeniable proof.
Suddenly, those radical and unconventional ideas are no longer just a shot in the dark – they’re fully supported by numbers and metrics. And that means that when you bring those ideas to clients or higher-ups, you can simply show them the data and let it do the talking for you.
The Numbers have your back
It’s like having a 7-foot-tall bodyguard by your side, reassuring you that he’s got this situation handled, you’re covered and everything’s going to be alright. Only instead of physically protecting you from harm, he’s protecting your creative ideas from the naysayers and skeptics who just don’t get it.
You’re no longer on your own in a dark, cold alley, with only your twinkling ideas around you.
And that’s a game-changer.
With that kind of proof in your pocket, you get to take even bigger risks and push the boundaries even further.
No more explaining, no more justifying, no more “trust me, it’ll work.” No more prooving that in the future you’ll be right. Now you can say, “Data doesn’t lie.”
You’re legitimately indisputable.
And when your creative campaign is a standing ovation success, you can look back at your bodyguard and give them a knowing wink – cause you both already knew it would be.
From Orchestras to Auditing: Same Same.
My days as a 13-year-old star may be behind me but my favorite sound in the world remains the same: the orchestra tuning her instruments.
There’s a sense of anticipation, of being almost ready to begin. It’s like the gorgeous process of being in rehearsal, preparing to perform, iterating, and refining the show until it’s ready for the bright lights in front of an audience.
The thing is, auditing is exactly like conducting a musical.
The numbers are the notes, the data is the music score and the auditing is the conductor commanding the sound off the page into the full performance.
Every note, every beat, and every movement is meticulously orchestrated to create a resonant experience for your audience.
Auditing brings analysis into action and allows us to play more.
With content auditing, we’re creating a harmonious balance between what works and what vibes, to lead your audience to keep coming back for more.
After an audit, we’re able to fine-tune and refine our content, making sure it’s hitting all the right notes. We take our creative ideas and combine them into a new content plan – our next full-score arrangement to move people to action and interaction again and again.
We get to use content to connect and ultimately connection is how we create a business with repeat buyers.
And when a business succeeds, creatives get to make more cool content.
In the end, Creatrix is more than just a tool – it’s a reflection of who I am and what I hope for in life. It allows me to bring my best ideas to the table, collaborate with others, and ultimately, help make the world a more delightful experience through creative excellence.
