For eight years I helped raise one of the largest streaming platforms in the world, from the launch of Disney+ in November 2019 through Hulu on Disney+ and the years that followed. When that chapter closed, I came up for air and looked at my own community — the mom-and-pops that fed it, the local places with great products and weak digital visibility.
What I saw was a gap that should not exist anymore. Large companies invest in brand, platform, and craft because they understand the leverage. Independent businesses have always wanted the same leverage and could rarely access it. Templates filled some of the void — clunky, expensive, underused. That stopgap era is over.