If you've ever gotten a "Happy Birthday" message from Melissa McCarthy or a "Get Well Soon" video from your favorite reality TV star, it was probably via a platform called Cameo. Cameo allows artists, actors, and public figures a chance to send personalized video messages to their fans. The platform is widely known and has a positive brand image despite being fairly new to the market. Its unprecedented success goes much further than famous people offering videos to their fans; it's because of the hard work and smart business decisions made by Cameo's leadership team. In 2020, Gordon Sun left his work as a management consultant to serve as the platform's head of strategy, taking it to the next level and securing a $1 billion dollar valuation.
For Gordon, business management has always made sense. He watched both of his immigrant parents excel in different industries; his mother ran a property management firm and his father dedicated his career to building an online Chinese news media company. He saw how his parents expressed themselves through their work, and to him, entrepreneurship became a way to channel his interests and passions.
As a teen, Gordon's first successful venture was a five-figure wedding videography business. He learned how to pitch his services, kept his pricing competitive, and worked with more than 30 clients in the Toronto area. Sitting down at his computer, finding clients on Craigslist, and mastering his sales pitch was how he spent his free time. He loved achieving business goals and connecting with potential clients, so when it came time to pursue higher education, it was an easy choice for Gordon to attend Ivey Business School in Canada.
Out of school, Gordon joined one of the world's top consulting firms, Bain & Company, and began working with Fortune 500 companies around North America. He helped his clients navigate complex cost structures, new vertical growth strategies, and customer experience improvements. With each successful project, he added tools to his own toolbelt, equipping him with the experience and knowledge that many business leaders dream of.
It didn't take long before Gordon was ready to take a risk and challenge himself, and that's when he joined Cameo. Through smart business strategies and tactical growth initiatives, he helped the organization exceed investor and customer expectations. Along with other professionals with similar management backgrounds, Gordon turned Cameo from a smart business idea into a data-driven technology platform.
In 2022, he created a new opportunity for himself and for artisans, designers, and other creatives: OpenStudio, formerly known as Maestro. OpenStudio is a platform that connects consumers with talented individuals who make handmade goods. Whether a customer is looking for a custom vase, a made-to-order painting, or a unique rug, they can find it on OpenStudio. Gordon says that some customers have jokingly referred to OpenStudio as "a cross between Etsy and Only Fans." With his business management skills and entrepreneurial prowess, he was able to raise $2 million in funding to turn OpenStudiointo the ecommerce artisan marketplace it is today.
Recruiting some of the best minds in business, Gordon's leadership team at OpenStudio consists of world-class engineers and operators from Amazon, Tesla, Snap, and Stanford. Together, they are scaling the business to mainstream appeal and have continued adding value to the customer experience. OpenStudio is more than just a marketplace; it allows consumers to get an inside look at the creative process through personalized video updates from artisans, turning art into a collaborative effort. Gordon understands the artistic process deeply because to him, his business ventures are the products of his own creative process. Only time will tell what his artist's heart and business-focused head will build in the future.
