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Started from the
bottom

It was all a dream. We used to read Highlights magazine.

Our Origins

It all started on a playground in the ‘90s...

The story begins in 1990, when Portal A’s three founders met at the age of 5, bonding over jump shots and rookie cards on the elementary school playground.

The court was called Portala.

Fast forward 20 years, and as we each toiled away at traditional media companies, we were struck by a pair of life-altering realizations: 1. we no longer had any matching socks, and 2. YouTube and social media were revolutionizing the way people consumed video content.

The follow-on from 1. is a story for a different day, but 2. is quite relevant, since it led us directly to our first web series in 2007, an international motorcycle adventure called Huge in Asia, and ultimately, the creation of a new content company called Portal A.

It all started on a playground in the ‘90s...

The story begins in 1990, when Portal A’s three founders met at the age of 5, bonding over jump shots and rookie cards on the elementary school playground.

The court was called Portala.

Fast forward 20 years, and as we each toiled away at traditional media companies, we were struck by a pair of life-altering realizations: 1. we no longer had any matching socks, and 2. YouTube and social media were revolutionizing the way people consumed video content.

The follow-on from 1. is a story for a different day, but 2. is quite relevant, since it led us directly to our first web series in 2007, an international motorcycle adventure called Huge in Asia, and ultimately, the creation of a new content company called Portal A.

The Path Forward

We made our name with some of YouTube's earliest hits.

As we witnessed the emergence of behemoth social video platforms like YouTube, we saw a new audience emerging – one that was more discerning, more easily distracted, and better equipped to tune out noise than ever before.

And yet, brands weren't catching up to the changing appetite of the modern viewer. That’s why we were still being served a steady diet of Advertising with a capital “A” – the beat-you-over-the-head type of message that momentarily distracts from what you actually want to see. So ads and programs just sit there, sad and unloved (like our socks, but again – another day).

On the back of a series of early hits in the YouTube pantheon, we began honing our craft, relentless in our pursuit of internet video gold. We dedicated ourselves to helping brands, platforms, and organizations break through the noise by giving viewers the content they want.

We made our name with some of YouTube's earliest hits.

As we witnessed the emergence of behemoth social video platforms like YouTube, we saw a new audience emerging – one that was more discerning, more easily distracted, and better equipped to tune out noise than ever before.

And yet, brands weren't catching up to the changing appetite of the modern viewer. That’s why we were still being served a steady diet of Advertising with a capital “A” – the beat-you-over-the-head type of message that momentarily distracts from what you actually want to see. So ads and programs just sit there, sad and unloved (like our socks, but again – another day).

On the back of a series of early hits in the YouTube pantheon, we began honing our craft, relentless in our pursuit of internet video gold. We dedicated ourselves to helping brands, platforms, and organizations break through the noise by giving viewers the content they want.

The Present

In the past ten years, Portal A has grown up (just enough).

After a decade of hustle and over two billion views on our work, we’ve built an industry-leading, award-winning team of producers, writers, directors, editors, project managers, designers, talent managers, and strategists working across San Francisco, Los Angeles, and New York.

We partner with world's most influential brands, platforms, and talent to create content that refuses to be ignored – whether it’s about driving awareness for new products, developing formats for innovative entertainment platforms, or just ghostriding to keep the A’s where they belong (in Oakland).

The partnerships have deepened and the projects have become more ambitious, but the mission remains the same – create breakthrough content for the Internet. And you.

In the past ten years, Portal A has grown up (just enough).

After a decade of hustle and over two billion views on our work, we’ve built an industry-leading, award-winning team of producers, writers, directors, editors, project managers, designers, talent managers, and strategists working across San Francisco, Los Angeles, and New York.

We partner with world's most influential brands, platforms, and talent to create content that refuses to be ignored – whether it’s about driving awareness for new products, developing formats for innovative entertainment platforms, or just ghostriding to keep the A’s where they belong (in Oakland).

The partnerships have deepened and the projects have become more ambitious, but the mission remains the same – create breakthrough content for the Internet. And you.