In this episode of Working Forward, Jason Cochran sits down with Rob Eyler, CEO and co-founder of Capturely, a photography platform that deploys vetted photographers for professional headshots at scale. Rob shares how he co-founded Capturely in 2019, landed LinkedIn and Facebook as early clients, then watched revenue drop to zero when COVID hit. After two difficult years of pivoting into product photography and video, the team finally launched virtual headshots in 2024, allowing anyone with a phone and a window to get studio-quality headshots in minutes with a real photographer controlling their camera remotely.

Rob discusses Capturely's vision to democratize photography by building the world's first agentic AI photographer, where human creatives move up the complexity chain rather than getting replaced. He also shares why vision and communication are the two most important tools for leading through change, how routine check-ins at every level prevent teams from filling silence with fear, and why genuine human connection remains the connective tissue of effective teams, even in fully remote environments.

Additional Resources:

Connect with Rob on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-eyler/

Learn more about Capturely: https://www.capturely.com

Watch the Working Forward Podcast on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/@Jason.Cochran

Connect with Jason on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-d-cochran/

Follow PeopleForward Network on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/peopleforward-network/

Learn more about PeopleForward Network: https://peopleforwardnetwork.com/

Key Takeaways:

• Staying obsessed with your customer can reveal pivots hiding in plain sight, even when survival mode makes them easy to miss.
• AI will elevate creatives rather than replace them by automating routine tasks and moving human talent up the complexity chain.
• Vision and communication are the two most critical tools for leading teams through uncertainty and change.
• Consistency in habits, communication, and personal development will always outperform occasional great moments.
• Genuine human connection is the connective tissue that holds remote and distributed teams together.