In the latest episode of the Exit Right podcast, host Mike Silver welcomes digital innovator Ryan Kieffer for a fascinating dive into the heady highs and dizzying pace of entrepreneurial life, from middle-school hustles to selling a cutting-edge metaverse agency in under a year.
Kieffer’s entrepreneurial spark ignited early. As a teen, he ran a lemonade stand to afford WWE tickets and even sold Pizza Hut breadsticks from his school lunch to fund video games. “Basically, I had this little hustle where I was making money selling food that my parents bought me,” he recalls with a laugh.
Though initially set on becoming a lawyer, Kieffer quickly veered into the creative world, landing at an animation startup where he wore many hats – legal, sales, production and even directing. That scrappy versatility led to work with major names, including Maroon 5, Journey and Carrie Underwood, and even an Oscar-shortlisted short film.
Then came 2021 and the rise of NFTs and the metaverse. Clients flooded in with questions and rather than dive in recklessly, Kieffer did his homework. “I very cautiously proceeded to hire a blockchain attorney,” he explains, prioritizing legal clarity before fully engaging with the technology. What emerged was Bear Marketing, a new venture spun out of his animation studio.
Within months, Bear Marketing produced the first Metaverse Music Festival in Decentraland. Complete with avatar wearables, live DJs and NFT transactions, it was a hit, earning a mention in Forbes. “We were like this little scrappy startup of three people just putting this together as we were going,” he says.
The momentum didn’t stop. Meta’s entry into the space turbocharged demand and Bear Marketing’s credibility soared. The agency soon worked with clients such as Atlantic Records and Miller Lite, eventually catching the eye of TerraZero, which acquired it less than a year after launch. “It was like the quickest turnaround,” Kieffer says, describing the whiplash of a fast-paced acquisition.
His time with TerraZero was equally high-octane. In just two years, he led projects with PwC, Bacardi, Duolingo and Warner Records, riding the crest of a metaverse wave that (like all hype cycles) eventually calmed.
When TerraZero itself was acquired in 2023, Kieffer decided to step off the treadmill. But not for long.
After just two months of downtime (“playing video games, watching sports, hanging out with friends”), he was itching to build again. “I get bored,” he admits. “There’s just this maker part of my brain.”
Now at The Electric Factory, a creative tech studio, Kieffer is back in his element, exploring spatial computing and AR experiences. “It tickles the animation part of my brain,” he says, relishing the mix of tech, creativity and client storytelling.
Reflecting on his journey, Kieffer shares a simple but powerful lesson: “Meet everybody. Never be afraid to take a phone call. Don’t be afraid of rejection.” It’s a philosophy that turned breadsticks into blockchain and curiosity into a career.
As Exit Right continues to unpack what it means to leave behind what you’ve built, Kieffer’s story is a testament to the rush of creation and the unshakable urge to start again.
