The Biggest Lesson I’ve Ever Learned: The Industry’s Full. Make Your Own Space.
Garth Collins is the partner, managing director, and chief catalyst officer at Dear Friend, one of Canada’s fastest-growing production companies, with offices in Vancouver and Toronto.. Through Dear Friend and Collective Bunch, he’s building a creative ecosystem where health, integrity, and original thinking matter more than following the old playbook.
In an industry built on image, perception, and competition, it’s easy to fall into the trap of imitation. You look at the biggest production companies, the best rosters, the ones getting all the calls, and the instinct is to reverse engineer their formula. Early in my career, I thought that was the path to success: match their tone, adopt their style, fit the mould.
Then I learned the truth that’s guided me ever since; my biggest lesson: the industry doesn’t need more of the same. If we were just chasing trends or mimicking others, we were already behind.
That’s when everything changed.
Instead of trying to compete on someone else’s terms, we doubled down on what made us different. We stopped asking how we fit in and started asking how we stand out.
The answer wasn’t just about positioning, it was about action.
So what do we do differently?
1. We sign directors based on vision, not just credits. We look for filmmakers who have something to say, not just a reel that looks like everyone else’s.
2. We don’t wait for briefs, we create our own momentum. The best work doesn’t come from sitting back and waiting for the right job to land. It comes from building relationships, making things happen, and pushing ideas forward.
3. We treat every project like an original, not a template. The brands and agencies I admire most aren’t the ones who’ve mastered the formula, they’re the ones who are rewriting it.
This shift wasn’t just creative, it was strategic. The best work doesn’t come from trying to be what’s already out there. It comes from carving out a space that only you can fill.
This is the lesson I share with anyone coming up in the industry: stop trying to be part of the club. Build your own space. The people who make the biggest impact aren’t the ones who follow the rules – they’re the ones who rewrite them.
If you’re spending all your time fitting in, you’re leaving no room to stand out.
