Portal A is a digital content studio that creates branded and original entertainment. Portal A was founded by three childhood friends, Nate Houghteling, Kai Hasson, and Zach Blume. Portal A is independently owned and has offices in SoMa and Downtown Los Angeles. In early 2019, Portal A entered into a strategic partnership with Brent Montgomery and Jimmy Kimmel's Wheelhouse Entertainment, with Wheelhouse taking a minority stake in the company.
Original Entertainment
Portal A's originals division is represented by WME. The studio is known for creating White Collar Brawler, an original digital series which ran for multiple seasons on TV with the Esquire Network. In 2017, Portal A released Song Voyage, a musical comedy series shot across Asia following YouTube musical group The Gregory Brothers. The show was distributed by Disney's Maker Studios, and earned over 30 million views, including the viral “Chicken Attack” music video. The studio released One Shot on Youtube Red in February 2018, an unscripted special that follows “WilldaBeast” Adams on his journey to find the next underground dance star. In 2018, Portal A developed and produced 5 Minutes From Home, an episodic series starring Stephen Curry, airing exclusively on YouTube. The series received 6 million views over the course of its first three episodes. In 2019, Lyft sponsored the second season of 5 Minutes From Home. In September 2018, Portal A announced State of Pride for YouTube Originals, a documentary feature film directed by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman set to debut in June 2019. The film premiered at the opening night of South by Southwest.
Branded Content
Portal A works closely with YouTube and Google on brand video campaigns, and with brands like Lenovo, Clorox, Amazon, Twitter, Sony Pictures, Procter & Gamble, Warner Bros., Universal Pictures, and more. Portal A is known for producing the annual YouTube Rewind, which has accrued over 1 billion views in aggregate since 2011. The company also produced, noted as the most disliked video on YouTube. The company has worked with Clorox for multiple efforts, including "Best Roommate Ever" with Stephen Curry and King Bach, featured as a Google case study. Portal A's work on the "#MotoMods + YouTube Heroes" campaign for Lenovo won a 2017 One Show Pencil. In 2018, Portal A won the Streamy Award for Best Branded Content and the Streamy Award for Best Influencer Campaign, for its work with Glad and Brita respectively. Portal A has worked on a variety of political initiatives, and partnered with the Hillary Clinton 2016 campaign to reach young voters in swing states.Portal A Interactive#cite note-11|
Recognition
In 2018, Portal A was named Content Agency of the Year by Digiday. In 2019, Portal A was named Video Agency of the Year by Digiday. Portal A was named Digital Studio of the Year by Cynopsis in 2016 and was named a top Content Agency by The Drum in 2019. The studio's work has been recognized by the Webby Awards, the Shorty Awards, the Clios, the Streamy Awards, the Mashies, the IAC Awards, the Hermes Awards, the Telly Awards, the AVA Awards, and more. Portal A was profiled by Adweek in its Portrait series and Business Insider wrote that Portal A is “a go-to for social video work for marketers anchored by influencers.” In 2017 and 2018, Portal A announced new rounds of hiring and promotions, as reported by Tubefilter. In 2019, Portal A hired former Disney and Maker Studios executive Todd Barrish as its Head of Revenue and Growth.
