In this special solo episode, Anita Sharma flips the script on Signed: Conversations with Digital Mavericks. Instead of interviewing guests, she's answering the top 10 questions she gets about entertainment law, working with creators, and building a practice in the digital media space.

Anita opens up about her unconventional path to entertainment law, from that lightbulb moment seeing "production legal" in movie credits during law school, to leaving a big law firm in New York, actually quitting law altogether to attend film school, becoming a producer, and eventually founding her own practice representing digital creators.

She tackles the questions she gets most from creators, law students, and industry professionals: Why entertainment law? What were the key moments (including "cliffs she drove off") in building her firm? What did she see in 2013 when she started representing YouTubers that others missed? Her first YouTube client was getting more views than Canada's #1 TV show, and that's when she realized digital creators had all the leverage that her indie film clients never had.

Anita shares practical advice for law students (her networking philosophy: "be nice to everyone, that law student could end up running a studio someday"), insights about the constantly changing digital media landscape, and why entertainment law in the creator economy isn't just about talent agreements anymore, it's about understanding that each creator is their own media company.

She addresses when creators should hire lawyers (when you're signing contracts, and please don't feed them into ChatGPT), whether she tells clients to walk away from big money (it's about fit, not just the amount), and what the hardest part of representing creators really is (no precedents exist, you're making them up as you go, plus the mental health concerns when clients face online harassment).

The episode concludes with myth-busting: entertainment lawyers' lives aren't an episode of Entourage, they're sitting at desks reviewing contracts and filing trademarks, with the occasional fun screening or party as a bonus.

This episode offers honest insights about failure, persistence, relationship-building in entertainment, and why sometimes you have to quit law to become a better lawyer. Essential listening for anyone interested in entertainment law, the creator economy, or understanding what really happens behind the contracts.

Disclaimer: I'm a lawyer, but this podcast isn't legal advice. It's for general information only. Listening doesn't make us attorney and client.

Credits:

Produced by: Anita Sharma & Phoebe Dunn

Creative Producer: Khairi Williams

Script Editor: Mac Montandon

Technical Production Support Provided By: Seth Richardson

Edited by: Carmine Mattia

Social Media Strategy: Maureen Lloren Sedlak

Signed Theme Music By: Carmine Mattia

Follow us at @signedthepodcast on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube!

In Part 2, Nadya Okamoto continues her conversation with Anita Sharma, diving into family reconciliation on social media, the recent TikTok ownership change, and evolving from solo creator to strategic business leader.

Nadya opens up about going no contact with one of her sisters for three years, and how they navigated that journey publicly as content creators. She discusses the decision to finally set boundaries around what to share online, the unexpected community they found from others experiencing family estrangement, and why all three sisters being full-time TikTokers complicated (and eventually helped) their reconciliation.

In this episode, Nadya shares her approach to content strategy, revealing she recently hired managers for the first time after years of posting with zero strategy, just "quantity, quantity, quantity" treating the algorithm like a lottery. We explore her evolved role at August where her co-founder now runs day-to-day operations while she focuses on her unique strength: leveraging her 6+ million follower platform for business growth. She shares her thoughts on the TikTok US ownership change two days after it happened, why she thinks it was rooted in xenophobia rather than data privacy concerns, and her strategy to diversify platforms by growing her 700K YouTube subscriber base.

This episode covers her advice to young creators (know yourself offline before going online, your digital footprint never goes away) and entrepreneurs (build a team, find co-founders with complementary skills), plus the lightning round reveals her coffee order, why she's terrible at cycling, and her surprising alternative career: NBA dancer.

This episode is about evolving your role as you grow, setting boundaries while staying authentic, and adapting when platforms (and algorithms) change overnight.

Follow Nadya: @nadyaokamoto

Disclaimer: I'm a lawyer, but this podcast isn't legal advice. It's for general information only. Listening doesn't make us attorney and client.

Credits:

Produced by: Anita Sharma & Phoebe Dunn

Creative Producer: Khairi Williams

Script Editor: Mac Montandon

Technical Production Support Provided By: Seth Richardson

Edited by: Carmine Mattia

Social Media Strategy: Maureen Lloren Sedlak

Signed Theme Music By: Carmine Mattia

Follow Signed on socials: @signedthepodcast

Founder and bestselling author Nadya Okamoto joins Anita Sharma for a conversation about building purpose-driven businesses, using social media intentionally, and destigmatizing periods for 6 million followers. In Part 1, Nadya shares how she went from teenage activist to entrepreneur, founding both a nonprofit and a thriving period care brand.

Nadya opens up about discovering period poverty at 16 when she learned people in her community were using toilet paper, socks, and cardboard to manage their periods. She discusses founding PERIOD.org in high school, leading it for six years while building 800 chapters across 50 states and 40 countries, and her time at Harvard (including graduating remotely during COVID).

In this episode, Nadya talks about the frustration that led her to start August, wanting to create sustainable period products while changing culture through a brand, not just activism. She shares her early social media strategy using Facebook to organize volunteers, learning that social posts had "currency" through sponsorship deals, and going all-in on TikTok during the pandemic. We explore how she keeps herself separate from the August brand (the anti-Paris Hilton approach), going viral for wearing a pad at Electric Forest, and why hate comments motivate her rather than discourage her.

This episode is about turning teenage passion into sustainable impact, using your platform with purpose, and staying authentic while building a brand.

Part 2 coming next week!

Follow Nadya: @nadyaokamoto

Disclaimer: I'm a lawyer, but this podcast isn't legal advice. It's for general information only. Listening doesn't make us attorney and client.

Credits:

Produced by: Anita Sharma & Phoebe Dunn

Creative Producer: Khairi Williams

Script Editor: Mac Montandon

Technical Production Support Provided By: Seth Richardson

Edited by: Carmine Mattia

Social Media Strategy: Maureen Lloren Sedlak

Signed Theme Music By: Carmine Mattia