Splice has cracked the code on dual-market operations. By anchoring in Minneapolis and Atlanta, they capture production budgets from both traditional advertising hubs and emerging film centers. Their 64% direct traffic proves clients aren't finding them through SEO tricks—they're being referred, repeatedly. This is a relationship business disguised as a VFX studio.

While larger studios burn through cash on overhead, Splice operates at $140K revenue per employee—nearly double the industry average. Their tech stack (Ruby on Rails, Tailwind, HubSpot) is ruthlessly pragmatic, not flashy. They spend on talent, not tools. This is how you build a sustainable creative business: lean, focused, and dangerously efficient.