About
Built the room.
Now building the model.
Will Toms is the co-founder and Chief Creative Officer of REC Philly — and the person conferences, cities, and brands call when they want creativity to become infrastructure.
The short version
Ten years ago Will co-founded REC Philly in a 600-square-foot North Philadelphia warehouse. The idea was simple and, at the time, unfundable: creators don’t need permission or a lucky break — they need infrastructure. Dedicated resources, collaborative community, and the education to build a business model that pays them.
That idea scaled to an innovative 10,000-square-foot creative ecosystem in Center City — 12 studios and a 250-cap venue in partnership with Live Nation — that has put millions of dollars directly into creators’ pockets. Partners like Google, Comcast, Sony, and T-Mobile fund it. Cities study it.
Will’s work now is telling that story from stages — TED among them — advising the cities and developers who want their own version of it, and putting the playbook in creators’ hands through his book, (Un)Common Sense, and forthcoming book, For Those Who Build.
Recognition
Trusted by
