An Interview With Candice Georgiadis
Listening is often more powerful than speaking. Sometimes we get so caught up in what we’re going to say that we forget to put the focus, energy, and attention into really listening to the people we are working with. Deep listening builds trust, strengthens relationships, and allows for more authentic conversations.
As a part of our series about “dreamers who ignored the naysayers and did what others said was impossible”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Elena Rue.
Elena Rue is the Co-Founder and Creative Director of StoryMine, a women-owned video production company that marries strategy and creativity. StoryMine partners with publications, national nonprofits, and purpose-driven businesses to create targeted, compelling projects that expand the reach and impact of their work through strategic video storytelling.
Thank you so much for joining us! Our readers would love to ‘get to know you’ a bit better. Can you tell us your ‘backstory’?
Absolutely. I grew up in a small town in Iowa where you were either a “sports-person” or a “theater-person” — and I was neither. So naturally I gravitated towards documenting sporting events and performances for the school yearbook. I loved being an observer behind the camera and this started me on the path of documentary photography. For about 10 years I pursued still photography, studying and working at the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University and traveling for various projects. After a while, I reached a point where I wanted the skills to tell deeper, more complex stories with my work. This led me to pursue a master’s degree in journalism at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
On the first day of graduate school I met Catherine Orr. We clicked right away, signed up for all the same classes, and worked together throughout our time as students. Neither of us wanted a traditional journalism job so we decided to start our own company, StoryMine, and continue the partnership that was already working so well. We are celebrating StoryMine’s 10th anniversary this year. During the last decade we’ve both moved multiple times and had 4 children between us. So we’re currently navigating life as working moms and business-owners.
Are you working on any new or exciting projects now? How do you think that will help people?
Yes, we are very excited about a series of video projects we’re creating with the New England Journal of Medicine. For each project we are featuring a specific health topic, using the power of video to share groundbreaking research, new treatments, as well as highlight health inequities and barriers to care. One goal of these videos is to increase the amount of trusted content available to people online regarding common and often hard-to-treat conditions.
In your opinion, what do you think makes your company or organization stand out from the crowd?
We love to take complex issues and find the story within them. So many videos tend to rely on broad overviews, but we believe the power of video is finding the specific details or anecdotes that bring a story to life and allow people to connect with it. With every project we take on, we learn everything there is to know about the topic. Most of what we learn doesn’t appear in the video itself, but for us to understand the nuances and context of a story, we need to be experts ourselves.
The other thing that makes us stand out is that we are committed to collaborating with our story subjects whenever possible. We have check-in points throughout the project that allow us to receive feedback on whether their story is accurately portrayed. And when possible, we hire producers from the community we are highlighting to give us guidance on what is important to those most impacted.
Ok, thank you for that. I’d like to jump to the main focus of this interview. Has there ever been a time that someone told you something was impossible, but you did it anyway? Can you share the story with us? What was your idea? What was the reaction of the naysayers? And how did you overcome that?
When my business partner Catherine and I came up with the idea of starting our own video production company over 10 years ago, we sought the advice of other people we knew who were doing what we wanted to do — not surprisingly, they were all men. We happily shared about our unique relationship and collaborative approach to our work, but some of them were surprised and skeptical about us working as a team. One said, “You need to have one person in charge, you can’t share that role. You’ll only ever make half of what you should be making.” Another said, “Editing can’t be done as a team. It’s a solo job.”
At first we were taken aback and started questioning ourselves. I remember feeling ashamed that the way of working that felt so natural to us was somehow wrong. And because we didn’t see any examples in our circle of people running a business like ours in the way we wanted to, we didn’t have any role models to point to.
In the end we decided that the advice we were given wasn’t right for us. And that even though what we were doing was a different model than what was out there, that didn’t mean it was wrong or wouldn’t work.
In the end, how were all the naysayers proven wrong? 🙂
Now, 10 years later, I can look back and say that we proved them wrong. We are still working side-by-side, but have also grown and evolved as a business in a way that fits who we are now. We each have interests and strengths within our work, but what still makes StoryMine unique is our partnership.
This structure also allowed us to grow our families at the same time. Because we work collaboratively, we were able to step away for maternity leaves without the business falling apart and we continue to make a balance between work and family a priority. Our goal will always be to feel that the business is working for us, rather than us working for the business.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
Yes. The person who has impacted our work the most has been our dear friend and coach Sharon Lipovsky of Point Road Studios. Sharon and I met in a photography class in college and have been close friends ever since. She started her coaching business the same year we started StoryMine and we have supported each other every step of the way.
With Sharon we can dig deep into conversations about sales and revenue, but also dream big and look for magic within the work. She has helped us see our potential and understand our worth in a way that we couldn’t have done by ourselves.
It must not have been easy to ignore all the naysayers. Did you have any experiences growing up that have contributed to building your resiliency? Can you share the story with us?
If I were to point to a pivotal moment growing up it would be when I was 16 and I studied abroad in England. My best friend and I had a dream of leaving our small town and experiencing something new and we decided to go for it. First we found some families to take us in for a year, and then we spent many months planning, doing odd jobs, and saving money for the trip. The year in England was amazing, and everything we had hoped for. And I think the biggest thing that experience taught me was that things that seem like a pipe dream are possible if you believe they are, and put your mind to it. And it’s funny, even today I think about my 16 year-old self whenever I feel like something is impossible or never going to happen, because sometimes it does.
Based on your experience, can you share 5 strategies that people can use to harness the sense of tenacity and do what naysayers think is impossible? (Please share a story or an example for each)
- Listening is often more powerful than speaking. Sometimes we get so caught up in what we’re going to say that we forget to put the focus, energy, and attention into really listening to the people we are working with. Deep listening builds trust, strengthens relationships, and allows for more authentic conversations.
- Creativity needs space. Some of my best ideas come forth when I clear my schedule and let myself breathe; allowing my mind to wander and think beyond the constraints of my to-do lists
- Sensitivity is not a weakness, it’s a superpower. Sensitivity often gets a bad rap and is thought of as an undesirable trait, but leaning into your sensitive side can help you be more empathetic in your work and become a better collaborator and team member. For our work in particular, sensitivity is critical to understanding and sharing someone’s story in a way that feels true to their experience.
- Avoid the comparison game. I, like many others, have often struggled with comparing myself to others as a way of gauging my success. This tendency is not only toxic, but it also holds me back and often distracts me from my personal and professional goals. Find ways to tune out the noise and focus on the goals you set for yourself, not what others set for themselves.
- Don’t try to please everybody. I grew up in a people-pleasing environment. The goal was to make sure everyone was happy and that I didn’t ruffle any feathers. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized that not only is this impossible, it holds me back from speaking up when I see an injustice or pushing the boundaries to create something new. Being bold might ruffle some feathers, but it also brings forward change and new possibilities.
What is your favorite quote or personal philosophy that relates to the concept of resilience?
I am a huge Brené Brown fan and this quote captures what I would love all my relationships to be based on — both in work and my personal life.
Joy, collected over time, fuels resilience — ensuring we’ll have reservoirs of emotional strength when hard things do happen.”
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good for the greatest number of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
I would love to see a movement towards deep listening. We have been conditioned to tune out the people who are on the opposite side of an issue, to the point where we don’t even engage in conversation (I am certainly guilty of this!). But if we take the time to ask questions and really listen to each other, we can find the things we agree on and begin to understand each other and build more empathy.
Can our readers follow you on social media?
I don’t spend a lot of time on social media, but do hang out on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elena-rue-81811712/
Thank you for these great stories. We wish you only continued success!
Elena Rue of StoryMine: “They Told Me It Was Impossible And I Did It Anyway” was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.