Podcast Summary: The Digital Executive

Episode: Jared Navarre – Building Immersive Brands That Blend Music, Tech, and Storytelling

Host: Coruzant Technologies (B)
Guest: Jared Navarre (A), Multidisciplinary Founder & Creator of Zilion
Episode Number: 1084
Date: July 16, 2025

Overview

This episode features Jared Navarre, a creative strategist and founder with extensive experience launching and scaling ventures in IT, logistics, entertainment, and more. The conversation centers on his approach to building resilient businesses and brands, with a special focus on Zilion—his immersive, multimedia music project. Jared discusses the fusion of music, technology, theater, and storytelling, offering insights into the current and future landscape of immersive entertainment.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Principles Behind Launching a Successful Venture

[01:35–03:44]

• Track Record & Approach: Jared has consulted for nearly 300 businesses, emphasizing foundational values in every venture.
• Core Principles:
  • The business must solve a real problem and provide either a strong product or genuine service.
  • True success depends on the intention and risk tolerance of founders:
    • Many seek funding simply for security, not innovation.
    • Vetting potential partners’ motivation and ensuring genuine passion is key.
  • Clear distinction between creating a job (just work) and a venture (scalable, with exit potential).
• Quote:

  "At the end of the day, to succinctly answer what you're saying, it has to be solving a real problem. The business does... it has to be a product or a service that I believe in and it has to have some sort of exit potential."
  — Jared Navarre [03:17]

Inspiration & Genesis of Zilion

[04:29–06:48]

• Personal Roots in Music: Jared’s lifelong passion for music laid the groundwork for Zilion.
• The Spark: Witnessing a hard rock concert (Three Days Grace and Disturbed) showed him the genre’s lack of integration with cutting-edge technology and immersive theatricality.
• Vision: Inspired to merge sensory-rich theater (e.g., Cirque du Soleil) with hard rock music performance.
• Innovative Approach:
  • Full-scale shows blend music, scent, artificial snow, and interactive environments—“Broadway meets Cirque du Soleil meets a hard rock show.”
  • Discovered a cultural and professional divide between the commercial music industry and theatrical production worlds.
• Evolution: Zilion continues to push boundaries, evolving with new technologies.
• Quote:

  "When we drop snow on the audience, it push and pulls and blends the lines between theater and music... I found that... if there was a line in the sand between the commercial music business that we know... versus this theatrical world... So as I had conversations... it felt like both two sides of different armies."
  — Jared Navarre [05:38]

Future of Immersive Entertainment & Technology’s Role

[07:36–10:07]

• Tech & Art at the Forefront:
  • Zilion’s development coincides with the rapid advance of AI in music creation, presenting opportunities and copyright challenges.
  • The creative process involves a collaborative team (not just Jared), building characters and stories for multi-platform expansion (albums, comics, AR).
• Immersive & Interactive Audience Experiences:
  • Experimentation with AR enhances live shows.
  • The challenge lies in deciding between a permanent venue (residency) or touring format for Zilion.
  • Balancing bleeding-edge tech with artistic integrity; constant adaptation is necessary.
• Quote:

  "Every day I'm battling back and forth with tech versus art and trying to figure out how that fuses back into Zilion. So it's a beautiful push and pull. And I don't know what tomorrow looks like, but I know that [I’m] going to stay on what we call the bleeding edge."
  — Jared Navarre [09:23]

The Collapse of the Fourth Wall & Audience Integration

[10:52–13:32]

• Blurring Boundaries:
  • The “fourth wall”—the separation between performer and audience—is dissolving faster than ever.
  • Future shows might use real-time biometric data from attendees to adapt multisensory output.
  • Jared envisions (and is cautiously excited by) a future where immersive technology could respond personally to each audience member.
• Cautions:
  • The potential to lose humanity in overwhelming technology underscores the importance of maintaining the “voice of art.”
  • Emphasizes the responsibility of creators to preserve human experience amid innovation.
• Memorable Quote:

  "We are in the middle of witnessing the collapse of the fourth wall and I see it deteriorating quickly... imagine... you could cater all of the different senses and all of the different deliverables from stage to the individuals themselves in real time in a responsive way, I think it's limitless from there. And that also terrifies me, right, because... the beauty of art itself is birthed from human trauma, from human experience."
  — Jared Navarre [11:01]

• On Ethics:
  • Both host and guest agree on the crucial need for ethical vigilance as AI and immersive technologies advance.
  • "There's a real risk that the voice of art can be smothered and suffocated and maybe even extinguished if we're not careful."
    — Jared Navarre [13:20]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On True Entrepreneurship:

  "People seeking money... they're searching for security and comfort rather than searching for something that's going to solve an actual cash flow problem. And so for those people, I usually bluntly tell them, 'You're not a founder, you're not a entrepreneur, go get a day job, move on.'"
  — Jared Navarre [02:35]

• On Tech and Art Fusion:

  "Some of that comes with some wounds and scars and some high expenses. But that's what this project is for me, is to push the limits and see how far we can take it and blaze something, whether it's us or somebody else that comes after us."
  — Jared Navarre [09:49]

• On the Future of Audience Experience:

  "Imagine it’s a responsive sonic piece that is tracking every one of your vitals and controlling your mood towards whatever you've requested... Those are some of the beautiful and terrifying potentials we have as music blends together with technology."
  — Jared Navarre [12:15]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Intro & Guest Intro: [00:08–01:07]
• Core Principles for New Ventures: [01:35–03:44]
• Origin & Vision of Zilion: [04:29–06:48]
• Tech’s Role in Immersive Entertainment: [07:36–10:07]
• Future, AI, and Ethical Concerns: [10:52–13:32]

Conclusion

Jared Navarre shares an unfiltered, passionate look at what it means to build not just companies, but experiences that resonate. With a strong foundation in both artistry and technology, he advocates for ventures that solve real problems and create new worlds for audiences—while always remembering to protect the humanity at the heart of creative work.