What Stept Studios does

Stept Studios is a privately held, full-service creative production studio headquartered in El Segundo, California, with a workforce of 11–50 employees. The studio represents a roster of more than ten directors and creative talent, headlined by Academy Award–winning documentary filmmaker Jimmy Chin (Free Solo, Meru) and Emmy/Webby/Clio/Cannes Lions–recognized director Warner Shaw, alongside other directors and photographers. It delivers end-to-end creative services for global enterprise brands spanning sportswear, automotive, technology, fashion, hospitality, beverage, retail, financial services, and outdoor categories, with a disclosed client set that includes Nike, Apple, BMW, Toyota, Ferrari, Marriott, Target, The North Face, REI, Oakley, Chase, Whoop, Smirnoff, Carhartt, and Crown Royal.

Its core offering is organized around a Creative Studio service that covers strategy, creative direction, campaign ideation, design, copywriting, branded entertainment, art direction, and retouching, and is delivered through four production verticals: Commercial and Documentary filmmaking, Narrative and Stept Film Fund projects, Photography campaigns, and Social content, plus an Experiential division branded Stept X for live brand activations and immersive installations. Post-production is handled through affiliated sister company Lockt Post, which provides editing, VFX, motion graphics, and AI-assisted post capabilities, giving Stept a vertically integrated pipeline from ideation through final delivery. The core technology is the studio's curated talent roster and proprietary creative workflows; no software platform, API, or standalone product is sold.

Stept operates a pure B2B, project-based professional services model, earning revenue through branded content contracts quoted per project based on scope, talent, and production requirements; pricing is not publicly disclosed. Go-to-market is direct enterprise sales to brand marketing teams and agencies, supported by a website portfolio and organic social presence on Instagram and TikTok, with no resellers, marketplaces, or intermediaries. The studio targets premium creative budgets from major consumer brands seeking high-quality visual storytelling across commercial, documentary, social, and experiential formats.

Name

Stept Studios

Website

https://steptstudios.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Stept Studios is an El Segundo-based, full-service creative production studio representing elite directors and photographers to deliver commercial, documentary, narrative, social, photography, and experiential content for global enterprise brands such as Nike, Apple, and BMW.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

El Segundo

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Creative Production Services: Project-based creative production for brands including commercial filming, photography campaigns, documentary production, social content, and experiential activations. Revenue generated through branded content contracts with enterprise clients.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Stept Studios is a full-service creative production studio that develops and delivers branded content for enterprise clients, spanning commercial filmmaking, photography campaigns, documentary production, narrative projects, social content, and experiential brand activations. The studio provides end-to-end execution from original brand ideation, strategy, and creative direction through production and post-production (via sister company Lockt Post), leveraging a roster of 10+ elite directors and photographers.

Product overview

Stept Studios is a full-service creative production company offering a platform of interconnected creative services. The core offering centers on the Creative Studio as the central creative engine, supported by specialized services including Photography, Social content creation, Experiential/Stept X brand activations, and a roster of Directors. The company also maintains a Stept Film Fund for documentary/narrative projects and an affiliated post-production company, Lockt Post. Together these services span the full creative pipeline from original brand ideation and strategy through production (commercial, documentary, narrative, social) to post-production, enabling end-to-end campaign development and execution for brand clients.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• Got Milk climbing wall activation generated Olympic-level buzz ahead of climbing becoming an Olympic sport
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers15 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Lockt PostcoreOthersSister company providing post-production services including editing, VFX/animation, motion graphics, and AI capabilities. Lockt is described as 'Next-Gen Post Built For a New Generation of Media' and features editors Dan Abraham, Ali Alsalem, Marcello Sanna, Jackie Roda, Ryan Hunt, Scott Hanson, and Patrick O'Leary.
• Vault CinemarentalsminorOthersEquipment rental partner for production needs, referenced as an additional resource on Stept Studios website.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Radical Media: Director-driven, full-service creative production studio producing commercials, documentaries, and branded content for global brands, with an overlapping roster-based talent model and similar B2B client mix.
• Anonymous Content: Independent production company representing a roster of award-winning directors and filmmakers across commercial, documentary, and feature work for major brands and platforms.
• Park Pictures: Director-led production company producing commercials, branded content, and long-form projects for premium brands; shares Stept's talent-roster business model and brand-client focus.
• Prettybird: Creative production studio representing directors and talent for commercials, branded entertainment, and content with an integrated creative and production offering similar to Stept's.
• Somesuch: Global production company with a stable of directors producing commercials and branded content; comparable in roster model, premium positioning, and brand-client orientation.
• RSA Films: Ridley Scott-associated commercial and content production company with a long-standing director roster serving global brands; directly comparable on commercial production services.
• Tool of North America: Bicoastal production company producing commercials and branded content for enterprise clients, with overlapping service categories in commercial, social, and experiential.
• Epoch Films: Director-driven commercial and content production company with a comparable roster model and similar brand-client portfolio across categories.

Broad incumbents

• Wieden+Kennedy: Major independent creative agency with in-house production capabilities and longstanding relationships with the same enterprise brands (Nike, etc.) that Stept serves through production partnerships.

Emerging players

• VaynerMedia: Digital-first creative and production agency serving large consumer brands with integrated content, social, and experiential capabilities that increasingly overlap with Stept's service stack.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/steptstudios
• TikToktiktok.com/@steptstudios
• Xx.com/steptstudios
• Facebookfacebook.com/SteptStudios

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Stept Studios