Episode 1323: Grow Your Brand With Ice-T and the OG Network with Rachel Renee

Creating great content can build an audience, but owning the rights, distribution, and the business behind that content can create far greater long-term value. In this episode of Sharkpreneur, Seth Greene interviews Rachel Renee, Founder and CEO of GOAT MOVES INC., who explains how the OG Network is building a streaming platform that gives independent creators greater access to distribution, clearer agreements, and more control over their intellectual property. She explains why ownership matters in the creator economy, how licensing and distribution can turn content into a long-term asset, and why millions of views alone do not necessarily translate into sustainable wealth. Rachel also explores brand integration, programmatic marketing, international content, and how businesses can participate in original productions to reach audiences across multiple media channels. Key Takeaways: → Independent creators can benefit from understanding not only how to produce content but also how licensing, distribution, and ownership work. → Owning intellectual property lets creators continue benefiting if a piece of content becomes popular months or even years after its original release. → Streaming platforms can differentiate themselves by creating simpler processes and more accessible pathways for independent productions to reach audiences. → Strong distribution requires reaching audiences across multiple channels, not just uploading content and hoping viewers will discover it. → Inclusive media platforms can create opportunities for creators from diverse cultures, countries, and content categories rather than focusing on a single, narrow audience. Rachel Renee is a CEO, investor, entrepreneur, media executive, and business strategist whose work spans technology, media, consulting, commerce, and cultural innovation. As CEO of Chameleon Holdings, she oversees a growing portfolio of businesses that connect people, ideas, and opportunities through entrepreneurship, storytelling, and emerging technologies. Her career reflects a unique blend of creative vision, operational excellence, and long-term ecosystem building, enabling her to bridge business, entertainment, and community development. Connect With Rachel: Website: https://linktr.ee/Rchl_Renee https://rachelrenee.me/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rchlrenee/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rchl_renee LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rchlrenee/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4F-PjLgjAAWtsl-riCfxSQ

• 0:00Speaker 00

  Welcome to the Sharkpreneur Podcast with Kevin Harrington and Seth Green. Kevin Harrington is the inventor of the infomercial, one of the original sharks from the hit TV show Shark Tank, and has generated over $5 billion in TV and digital direct response sales. Seth Green is the world's first trusted authority on cutting-edge direct response marketing, a bestselling author, and the only three-time marketer of the year nominee. On the podcast, Kevin and Seth interview sharkpreneurs who share straight talk on what it takes to explode your business.

• 0:38Speaker 01

  Forty-nine faces looked to him in triumph. Over the last 12 months, they had each taken turns and promoted his business for a week at a time, driving over $987,342 in revenue. What if you had a network of 50 centers of influence who promoted your business every week for a year? Grab your copy of the number one Amazon bestselling book, The Ultimate Guide to Growing Your Business with a Podcast at 33% off the Amazon price by going to ultimatenpodcastbook.com. Again, that website for 33% off the Amazon price is ultimatenpodcastbook.com. Welcome to the podcast. This is your host Seth Green. Today, I've got Rachel Richardson-Renee here from the OG Network.

• 1:18Speaker 01

  We're going to talk about media ownership culture, streaming, creator economics, working with her dad, and what happens when entrepreneurs stop being content creators and start owning distribution. And of course, talk about the OG Network founded by Courtney "Big Court" Richardson II with Ice-T. Rachel, thank you so much for joining us.

• 1:36Speaker 02

  Thank you for having me, Seth.

• 1:39Speaker 01

  Our pleasure. So let's go back in time a little bit. How did you get into the business in the first place?

• 1:44Speaker 02

  Oh, man. So I do have to go back in time. So we are originally from Kansas City. My dad was a local rapper in Kansas City. He was corndogged the Kansas City Chief. He was signed to No Limit Records in the 90s. He got, he brought home the first gold plaque to the city on Down South Hustlers compilation. And from that point on, we were in media. In 2003, we relocated from Kansas City to Los Angeles, California. And my dad started working in media, and I was right there by his side along the way.

• 2:19Speaker 01

  Awesome. And how did the OG Network come about?

• 2:23Speaker 02

  So now we fast forward into 2020. So my dad launched Holden Court Podcast. I was actually in Kansas City, Missouri at the time, and he interviewed Ice-T. It became, it instantly became a fan favorite, went viral, and then it was so good that he invited Ice-T back for a second interview. And then from that point on, they formed a relationship, friendship, partnership. And then a couple of years after that, after a few failed false starts, my dad said, you know what? I think Ice would be a really good partner for the streaming platform that I want to do. He pitched Ice. I said, "Hell, yeah." You know? And here we are.

• 3:05Speaker 02

  OG Network was launched at the Q4, at the end of Q4, 2025. And now here, 2026, we have about six to seven million viewers a month.

• 3:16Speaker 01

  That is absolutely incredible. You know, when people first hear OG Network, what do you want them to understand that they probably don't?

• 3:24Speaker 02

  Yeah. It's the year of the OG, as my, as my, as my dad and I say. So we are, what they, what we want them to hear is classic. We want them to hear inclusivity, you know, but also a little bit of smooth, a little bit of, you know, a little bit of swag, you know? My, you know, Ice-T has been so instrumental in music, television, Law and Order, you know, even rock and metal. And my dad in the podcast space has really been, you know, making his mark. So, but more importantly, we also want people to know that we're open, you know? We're, we're open to all cultures. We have Indian, we have a Bollywood channel, a Nollywood channel, Nigerian content, you know? We have a lot of international content. So OG is all over the world.

• 4:09Speaker 01

  Awesome. I gotta ask, why does the world need another streaming platform, right? What did your family see was missing from Netflix, Hulu, Tubi, and all the other major players?

• 4:19Speaker 02

  That's a great question. So my dad, so it's funny that you mentioned Tubi. Val whose name shall not be spoken. No, I'm just playing. We can mention Tubi. But when Tubi, so Tubi, when they first started, was essentially the black and brown creators platform. It was literally dubbed Tubi Movies, you know? You had films like Shata's or whatever, but you know, people really like those indie, kind of rugged, you know, non, non-polished movies. And so when Tubi, as Tubi grew, a lot of their creators that they built the platform with were offloaded essentially. So my dad wanted to create a platform that were, that stayed true to the independent

• 5:02Speaker 02

  creator, you know, those creators that are fresh out of college, the creators that are making their first film, you know, that, you know, maybe don't know how to navigate the licensing and distribution world, you know, or that simply didn't want to wait nine months in the Tubi lot, or it gets sent to the YouTube graveyard. So as my father says, you know, OG Network is the inmates run the prison now, is what he likes to say. And we, you know, are kind, even on the backend, our contracts are clear. We, we work with our creators in a different way, and we really have created an, an infrastructure for independent productions outside of the Hollywood landscape that is changing.

• 5:43Speaker 01

  So let's talk about that difference. So what's the difference between the traditional entertainment company and like the ownership structure you've built?

• 5:50Speaker 02

  Yes. Another great, I love these questions. So one I would say is our systems and processes. So like, for example, if you pitch a show to Tubi, if you get in, if you get in touch with one of their aggregators, you're essentially going to be in a lot with other pieces of content, and you don't know how long that lot will take to get seen or viewed. And then from what I heard, I don't know, because I haven't pitched to Tubi, but from what I've heard from one of the 27 production companies that have come under our full-service media company is that they don't know why they get declined. And then you're in this lot waiting for nine months. With OG Network, you're about two, three weeks for ingestion. You're on the platform.

• 6:34Speaker 02

  As long as you meet the qualifiers, which are very basic, you're able to get on the platform. Our contracts, from what our production companies and content owners have said, are relatively simple. You don't need a lawyer and, you know, three paralegals to, to, to read it to you, which is also great. And then we give them, with also with our value add, is we give our content owners the option to market their, their content on other marketing platforms through our marketing distribution channel.

• 7:04Speaker 01

  So why has ownership become such an important conversation in the entertainment space?

• 7:09Speaker 02

  Man, so as Hollywood is crumbling, and I'm so happy about it, ownership is everything because as, as people know, when you are creating, especially for our production companies, when you are putting your life savings into a film, you know, you're working to pay the writer's salary, the producer's salary, and you're, and you have a lot of skin in the game. So you, ideally, you would want to see some type of return on investment without the overlord, without the exploitation, you know, of a big studio saying, "Hey, we just want to take your idea, make it into this and create our own IP." No, we teach our creators licensing, distribution, the structure of the business, the importance

• 7:52Speaker 02

  of ownership, because when you own it, you never know when a piece of content is going to pop. It could pop today, it could pop, it could trend two years from now. So you want to be able to collect your ad revenue. You want to be able to build out your IP broad of merch and t-shirts and things like that. So ownership is very important.

• 8:10Speaker 01

  Now, you talk about how Ice-T is not just a celebrity endorser. He is a co-founder and a partner in the business. So what's something you've learned from being around Ice-T that people wouldn't expect?

• 8:24Speaker 02

  Ooh, that people wouldn't expect? That's hard, because I feel like you would expect. You know, I, he is very, is, he's savvy and he's cautious, but he balances being savvy, cautious, but also very direct in what he wants. He knows when to move and how to move. He's also not easily rocked by anything, which is like, he, he really is that cool, smooth ice that you would think of. So I don't even know if this is, if this would be out of the wheelhouse of what somebody thinks, but it's nice, I would say, from my vantage point, watching my dad get a founder and a partner that meshes well with him, that gets him.

• 9:07Speaker 02

  I haven't seen him have that in all of my years of seeing my dad do business. I haven't seen this synergy with anybody else.

• 9:14Speaker 01

  That's awesome. So how does, how can business owners participate in the OG Network and use your marketing muscle to help them grow?

• 9:26Speaker 02

  All this, okay, this is a fun question. So we have a few different avenues. So I'm also the founder and CEO of Gemini Moon Media, which is a full-service media company and also an OG Network studio. So I am diversifying content and bringing more content to the platform. And in that, we have a sponsorship model, which allows businesses to integrate their brands into original productions, rather than scripted series, docu-series, shows, reality shows, what have you. They're able to integrate their brand into an original series. They will get their media assets that will not only be distributed directly on the OG Network and other platforms, if we so choose to pitch, but then they are also able to

• 10:09Speaker 02

  market with our partners, which that's anybody from Hulu, Netflix, you know, BET, MTV, wherever your demographic is, we can market your, your assets and provide you with those analytics as well to the distribution.

• 10:25Speaker 01

  Why isn't getting millions of views necessarily the same thing as building wealth? And how do you help entrepreneurs do that?

• 10:32Speaker 02

  Oh, that's a good, oh, that's so good. So millions of views, yes, it's not enough, because as you know, you have to assault the algorithm. You have to hit the algorithm from every point. So that's what we do, especially for our, whether it's our independent productions or entrepreneurs that are wanting to integrate. We offer the programmatic marketing, the geo-fencing, the foot traffic attribution, because you know now that it only take you maybe two or three weeks to get on a platform, you can set up premier. So you're able to engage with your viewer, your customer, your audience across different mediums, not just hoping that they'll pick your title out of a thousand, you know, one

• 11:16Speaker 02

  Saturday, when they're, when they still just may want to binge-watch Game of Thrones, you know?

• 11:23Speaker 01

  You have reached so many tens of millions, if not hundreds of millions of people and helped so many filmmakers, content creators and entrepreneurs grow their brands. What's your biggest challenge now?

• 11:36Speaker 02

  Oh man, so our biggest challenge now, I would say is, that's actually hard right now. I would say maybe the, because we are onboarding a lot of independent productions, it's making sure that we are able to, one, fund their projects and what they need. So more sponsors, more brands, which is always a nice for us. But then I would really just say, just managing, managing expectations sometimes because you know, like people, we're still new, we're still baby, you know, we haven't even been up a year, but I'm very proud of what we accomplished in a year. But at the same time, we're not quite at the level of a Warner Brothers yet. So you

• 12:20Speaker 02

  know, when somebody comes and they're like, hey, I want 10 million for a project. It's like, well, hold on now, I want 10 million too. So I'm right there with you. But managing expectations, I would say, but then also, which I wouldn't say is a challenge, but I love it, is educating and kind of getting productions to kind of relearn their value, their capabilities and what it looks like in the landscape of Hollywood now. Hollywood, you know, and I would say working with, yeah, Hollywood. And I would say working with Hollywood producers because sometimes they still go at the pace of Hollywood. Like they want to pitch me and I'll see and then maybe you'll get the green light and you know, they want

• 13:03Speaker 02

  to spend six months having conversations and meetings. And I'm like, you know, we could have been filming by now. We could be in post-production by now.

• 13:10Speaker 01

  I gotta ask the non-politically correct question. Do I have to be black or brown to be on your platform?

• 13:16Speaker 02

  Yeah, absolutely not. No, we, and that's what I love. That's what I was saying earlier. OGs all over the world. Absolutely not. We are, you already know, being black and brown, it has its challenges, especially in certain arenas. And you know, historically, it's been what it's been. But because of that, you know, if anything, like I say, we know what it's like to be excluded. We don't want to exclude anybody. We have, you know, like I said, we have, you know, we have our Bollywood channels, we have our Nollywood channels. I right now am expanding the content into the outdoor hunting, southern Appalachia space. I'm super excited about that. You know, we have a lot of post-apocalyptic, you know, action. So no, we are open to all.

• 14:01Speaker 01

  Your passion is obvious. What do you like best about what you're doing now?

• 14:04Speaker 02

  Yes. So I, being a producer and being in media, I love the vehicle that it allows us to, not only for us, but for our creators. And my favorite thing that I will say that is, that has been on this journey is it's nothing like getting on a Zoom with a production company or a creator and seeing the light come back in their eyes when they realize, so it is possible for me to make a movie. It is possible for me to be able to create something and then get it distributed. So you know, it's, because I know what it's like as a tech founder to have an idea. And literally, I went through this. Nobody could, I ended up having to build my own platform because I couldn't find anybody that could execute

• 14:47Speaker 02

  it with me. And it was years of struggle. It was years of internal turmoil. You don't realize how much you internalize the things that you love and that you want to do until you start going through it. So that, that's, I'm very passionate about that. And because I am so systems and process, processes oriented and being able to bring that to the creatives, that's what I say. I like teaching business people how to be creative, but also like teaching creative people how not to get screwed in business. So being that epicenter for both is my absolute most favorite thing.

• 15:19Speaker 01

  For our folks who are watching and listening and want to learn more, maybe they want to watch the network and consume content. Maybe they want to look at how their business can get featured on the platform and grow. What are the best places for us to send them to?

• 15:31Speaker 02

  Oh, that's perfect. So you got two places. You can go directly to the OGnetwork.net. Or if you have an Android or Apple, you can go right to your Play Store or Google Play Store or Google App Store and download the OG Network. If you have Roku or Amazon or Apple TV, you can also access us there. If you have a Samsung Smart TV, you're gonna have to wait to the beginning of the year. Okay. Because then we will be there. And then also, if you are a business and you would like to integrate your business into an original production, distribution and marketing, then you can visit GeminiMoon.media and you can contact us for that.

• 16:09Speaker 01

  All right. This has been Seth Green with Rachel Renee from Gemini Moon and the OG Network. Rachel, thanks again for joining us.

• 16:15Speaker 02

  Thank you.

• 16:16Speaker 01

  Thanks, everybody for watching or listening. We'll talk to you or see you next time.

• 16:20Speaker 03

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