Meet Ran Craycraft | Managing Partner, Wildebeest

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ran Craycraft and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ran, where are your from? We’d love to hear about how your background has played a role in who you are today?
I love this question and think about it a lot, actually. I believe where and how someone was raised has a huge impact on their adult life and career. For me, I was born and raised in Appalachia, on the Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia border just outside a little town called Portsmouth.

It wasn’t always small and wasn’t always rusty, but when I was coming up, there were only stories of how great things used to be, but all I could see around me were empty, crumbling facades and struggling families. I moved away for college to Cincinnati and it opened my eyes to how kids from other cities were raised.

I have a deep-rooted love for my hometown where I learned important lessons of tenacity, resilience, and hard work. I also feel animosity about how poorly it positioned me for success later in life. The schools were bad, the attitudes were worse, and the lens I saw the world through was very narrow and distorted. The town has worked very hard over the last 25 years to overcome this brain drain and navigate the opioid crisis.

I’ve lived in major metropolitan areas for my entire adult life–Cincinnati, Miami, New York, LA, and I’ve come to appreciate how each hometown has shaped who I am today. I work very hard because of my blue-collar upbringing, I always feel like an underdog when being around others from wealthy families or Ivy League schools. I know how to work a party from my time in Miami. I also developed a New Yorker’s swagger and confidence to know if you want something badly enough and you’re prepared to work hard for it, it’s yours.

Coming to LA was an important part of my development. I spent a decade in New York hustling and grinding and as I was getting older and no longer the low man on the totem pole, I realized it was time to work smarter. The move to LA helped me gain a work-life balance that I didn’t have before. It helped me value relationships more and most importantly, it continues to give me time to catch my breath, recalibrate, and set myself and my team up for success.

Thanks for your question!

What should our readers know about your business?
I’m the managing partner and cofounder of Wildebeest. We’re a hands-on agency that teams up with brands and other agencies to reimagine complex problems into simplified digital solutions. In other words, we design and develop apps, websites, and experiences for humans.

We’re a different kind of agency because we’re seeing a project through, end-to-end internally. Agencies typically focus on the strategy, the concept, and the client relationship then farm out the actual production. We’re different because we’ve developed an in-house team that actually does the work, that’s why we refer to ourselves as “hands-on”.

I can think of a million words to describe our entrepreneurial journey and “easy” isn’t one of them. My partner and I have overcome some of the most gnarly business challenges you can ever possibly imagine. At this stage in the game, we’ve overcome so much, we have the confidence and experience to brush off any hurdles in stride so our focus can remain where it needs to be, on our clients.

I want the world to know that while other agencies have come and gone, Wildebeest is still here. We’re building on yesterday’s learnings to deliver the best custom software design and development in the industry.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I live on the west side, so this list is going to be especially partial. It’s also been a while since we’ve hosted out-of-towners, but here’s how the weekend would probably go:

If my friend got in town on a Friday afternoon, I’d probably pick them up at the airport and then relax for a bit at Three Weavers or Tortugo Brewing. We’d drop off their bags at my place and then head over to the Platform for dinner–maybe at etta, Roberta’s, or Margot. After dinner, we’d grab some drinks in downtown Culver and then I’d order some late-night cookie delivery from Chocolate and the Chip.

On Saturday, we’d do something outdoorsy in the early morning–maybe the Culver Steps or head to the beach at Playa del Rey. Yeah, definitely PDR, followed by brunch at Playa Provisions, and then a little trouble at the Harbor Room or the Prince of Whales. Saturday night, we’d get steaks at Dear John’s and then hit up the Joliet speakeasy.

Sunday will probably start slow with a home-cooked breakfast and then a farewell toast at Melody Bar.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I’d like to shout out two people that have had major parts in shaping my career. The first is my old boss from NBC Universal, now of DraftKings, Ezra Kucharz. Ezra helped me think creatively while never losing sight of the business goals.

My second shout-out is for Jay Kirsch, another former manager from my AOL days. Jay believed in me when no one else did and created opportunities for me to succeed. I’m forever grateful to Jay for trusting me and for being an exceptional role model in the meantime.

Website: https://wildebee.st

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/wildebee-st/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/wildebeest_dev

Other: https://clutch.co/profile/wildebeest#summary