CCM alumna’s startup featured by TechCrunch’s Disrupt 2020

Story by CCM Graduate Student Alexandra Doyle

UC College-Conservatory of Music alumna Randa Minkarah (BFA Broadcasting, ’82) co-founded Resonance AI, which was recently named one of TechCrunch’s Top Picks for Disrupt 2020, a conference (held virtually this year) that promotes tech startups in a variety of categories.

We all lead busy lives these days, and we all have way too many choices of what to watch. We simply wish that TV shows and movies out there were more in sync with what we actually want. Resonance AI uses machine learning to determine what engages and impacts the audience. We want to help studios, networks and broadcasters make the content that truly resonates with us. With better and richer content, everyone wins.

When I was the Senior Vice President of Revenue and Business Development for Fisher Communications, my position was pretty diverse. Fisher, before its eventual sale, was an integrated media company owning TV stations, radio stations and a number of websites. In my position, I wanted to bring together audience data with actual revenue generated and then tie that information to promotional efforts to determine best practices. We had the data but no way to compile and process it to gain insight. It was frustrating. As I saw technology continuing to progress in many ways, including the new entrants into entertainment such as Netflix, Amazon and Hulu, I knew that we needed a better approach. These companies were data driven from the start and were garnering significant subscribers. Media needed a new tool. Resonance AI is my attempt to give content creators a more objective, deeper perspective on the content they’re making.

It can be really hard to be a startup. There are many obstacles to overcome, with name recognition as one of the many challenges. It is difficult to establish awareness and to convince others that what you’re doing is valuable. Being highlighted with just a handful of other startups at such a prestigious event demonstrated the validity of the technology and helped us become a bit better known. This was also such a morale builder for our entire team. We were all thrilled to see that everyone’s hard work and commitment have paid off. It was very uplifting. The responses we’ve gotten since the announcement have been overwhelming, and it really set the stage for us to take that next big step

We firmly believe that AI is the greatest tool available for media to advance into the future. There is still a lot of traditional thinking and skepticism around a computer or algorithm being involved in creativity, but we’re not looking to replace anyone; we just want them to have new means to surface the best information possible. So many other industries have benefited from using data to help make more informed decisions. Now media and entertainment have the same opportunity. We have seen people coming around and adopting these tools, and the more normalized it becomes, the more it will be utilized. And this will simply mean better, more resonant content for all.

Throughout most of my career, I was on the revenue-generation side of media, with most of my experience as a Director of Sales in various markets for FOX and ABC stations. My corporate role at Fisher Communications was really the game changer for me where I learned what I needed to know: how to create a startup, to truly lead, to be a good advisor to other startups, and to serve on boards. Some of that critical experience included business development, running the interactive business unit, buying programming, launching an app for TV viewing on mobile without using bandwidth, as well as other roles that were all on-the-job training. It was my first exposure to a public board, my first senior executive experience, and I learned what it really means to be a good leader. It truly changed the course of my life.

When I first enrolled, I was in pre-med and taking the usual load of chemistry and biology courses. Truly, pre-med was not at all a good fit for me. I am squeamish around blood. After a high school internship at WEBN, I knew that I loved media. After getting very ill my first semester freshman year, I realized what I really wanted was to be in the broadcast program. It was a hard program to get into, but I spoke to my advisor and the Dean, and they allowed it. I was walking on clouds after that. I got to study my passion and went out and did it. CCM helped me realize my dream of doing what my heart tells me. I have never forgotten that lesson.