Karen Arcilla on Using Feedback to Strengthen Video Storytelling
Strong creative work does not always begin with certainty.
Karen Arcilla, founder of Set Forth NY, built her candle brand without prior experience running a product-based e-commerce business. She learned the legal, financial, operational, branding, and retail sides as she went, while staying connected to the personal story that inspired the company.
Her Authority Magazine interview offers useful lessons for video teams about learning, asking for help, evaluating feedback, and recognizing when a story starts connecting with people in ways the creator did not originally expect.
For Beverly Boy, those ideas apply directly to production, where teams often need to make progress before every creative or logistical detail is fully solved.
Arcilla’s five formal lessons are to start before knowing everything, recognize that inspiration can come from unexpected experiences, learn what you do not know, seek advice without giving away your judgment, and pay attention when the story begins belonging to the audience too.
Start Before Every Detail Is Solved
Arcilla says one of the biggest barriers people create is believing they need to know everything before beginning.
She started with what she understood, admitted what she did not, and learned the rest through research, questions, and help from more experienced people.
Video production often works the same way.
Early in a project, the team may not know the final interview structure, exact shot sequence, or every post-production need.
Beverly Boy can establish the objective, solve the most important questions first, and develop the remaining details through pre-production.
Progress does not require pretending every answer already exists.
Let the Story Come From What Is Real
Set Forth NY did not begin as a long-planned entrepreneurial dream. It grew from Arcilla’s personal ritual of lighting candles after losing her mother.
She later realized that inspiration does not always begin with ambition. Sometimes it comes from an experience that changes what someone wants to do next.
That is relevant to branded storytelling.
Video teams do not always need to force a dramatic origin story.
Sometimes the strongest material is already present in why the organization exists, what problem led to a service, or what experience shaped the person being interviewed.
For Beverly Boy, the producer’s job is to uncover that material rather than manufacture it.
Say “I Don’t Know” Early
Arcilla openly discusses learning parts of business she did not understand.
Her mentor pushed her to examine business planning, finances, costing, and other fundamentals. Instead of pretending to know the answers, she treated the gaps as things she could learn.
Production teams benefit from the same honesty.
A producer may need a specialist for a complex technical setup. A local crew may understand a location better. A client may need legal guidance before approving a claim.
Recognizing the knowledge gap early gives Beverly Boy time to bring in the right expertise before it becomes a production problem.
Listen for Patterns, Not Every Opinion
Arcilla learned this while speaking with retailers.
Several store owners told her that her pricing was too low and that customers could bypass retailers to buy the same candle more cheaply through her website. Instead of accepting one person’s opinion immediately, she noticed the same feedback appearing repeatedly, considered the experience behind it, and then adjusted.
That is a useful rule for video feedback.
One stakeholder may simply have a personal preference.
But if several viewers misunderstand the same section, struggle with the same message, or react similarly to the pacing, there may be a real communication problem.
For Beverly Boy, good judgment means listening carefully without treating every note as equally important.
Keep Your Judgment While Asking for Advice
Arcilla says asking for advice does not mean accepting every recommendation.
She considers who the advice comes from, what experience they have, and whether it actually fits the business.
Creative production needs the same balance.
Clients, executives, agencies, crew members, and editors may all bring useful perspectives.
The producer still has to evaluate how those ideas affect the approved objective, audience, schedule, and budget.
Collaboration works best when advice improves judgment rather than replaces it.
Notice When the Audience Expands the Story
One of Arcilla’s biggest shifts came after she shared the story behind Set Forth NY at an event.
People responded with their own experiences of loss, love, celebration, change, and starting over. She realized the brand could no longer remain centered only on her own story.
That principle matters in video storytelling.
A company may begin with one message, but audience reactions can reveal a broader theme.
Customer interviews may show that people value something different from what the brand expected. Employee stories may uncover a stronger cultural message. Comments and performance data may reveal which moments resonate most.
Beverly Boy can use those signals to make future content more relevant without abandoning the original brand story.
Take the Next Useful Step
Arcilla’s advice to entrepreneurs is practical: obstacles will come, and the answer may not be obvious immediately.
The next step might be learning something, changing the approach, asking for help, or finding someone who knows what you do not.
That is also a useful production mindset.
When a shoot or edit hits a problem, the team does not always need the entire solution immediately.
It needs the next decision that moves the project forward.
Team Beverly Boy’s Takeaway
Arcilla’s strongest production lesson is that uncertainty does not have to stop progress.
For Beverly Boy, that means being willing to ask questions, bring in expertise, evaluate feedback carefully, and adjust when the audience reveals something the original plan did not anticipate.
The goal is not to know everything at the beginning. It is to keep learning without losing the purpose of the project.
Conclusion
Strong video production requires curiosity as much as confidence.
Start with what is known, admit what still needs to be learned, listen for meaningful patterns, and remain open to the possibility that the audience may show you something valuable about the story.
This article is based on an interview originally published by Authority Magazine. Read the full interview here.
