It didn’t take long for word to spread across the Las Vegas Convention Center to look for the team wearing yellow pants, turning NAB Show into a real-life game of “Where’s Waldo?”

The goal was to create a ray of sunshine on the show floor, symbolizing the team’s passion for their work, said Lisa Watts, CEO of the two-year-old startup CREE8. Their mission: break down traditional barriers in technology.

Back for its second year after officially launching in 2024, the company made the strategic decision to set up shop in West Hall, where attendees can find exhibitors focused on innovation, cloud, streaming and artificial intelligence services, including companies like AWS, Microsoft and Google. In what could be considered a brazen move, Watts explained why she decided to place her startup among the industry’s biggest players.

“I do think it is a validation of sorts, right?” she said. “These are companies that have been around a long time. But they are very respectful, very supportive and very welcoming, and we couldn’t be more grateful to take our place among them.”

Taking a Chance in West Hall

Watts’ decision to level up was, admittedly, a calculated move.

“We were kind of terrified, actually,” Watts said. But the NAB Show sales team helped them determine the best placement and strategy for the business.

“For us to get that expert support from the team that’s running the event really gave us a lot of peace of mind,” Watts said.

In the end, the gamble paid off. They attracted the right audiences, capturing more than 200 leads across the media and entertainment industries, sports and live broadcast, agencies and brands, along with gaming studios.

“That ability to actually do business on the show floor, have those conversations with decision makers. I think that’s been the most gratifying for us,” Watts said.

Business decision makers come to this show. This isn’t just scouts going out to see what’s available. They come here to buy. They come here to make decisions. They come here to meet face-to-face with the people that they want to buy from.

— Lisa Watts, CEO of CREE8

Growing with NAB Show

Before founding CREE8, Lisa Watts attended NAB Show as a participant. Over time, she began hosting meetings at the event to build awareness about her plans for the company. Then, in 2025, Watts purchased a turnkey booth for CREE8 in the Creator Lab. She describes this as a decision that was transformational for her business.

Based on her experience, Watts encourages companies of all sizes to work with the NAB Show sales team to build a customized plan that aligns with both their goals and budget. For CREE8, that included speaking opportunities at the 2026 NAB Show. Watts participated in six educational sessions, reaching hundreds of attendees across NAB Show’s Workforce Development, Sports Summit, Enterprise Video Strategies and Creator Lab programs. The visibility helped drive traffic back to the CREE8 exhibit space while creating opportunities to connect with potential customers and collaborators.

“Participants have been so wonderful coming by,” Watts said. “‘I saw you on a panel,’ or ‘You had a great point’ or ‘I want you to meet this other person.’ The community here is so supportive and I would say now we’re already talking about going bigger next year.”

Momentum on the Show Floor

CREE8 used NAB Show as a case study to demonstrate how its Studio in-a-Box product could speed up workflows, instead of simply talking about it. To do this, they captured real-time content on-site while a remote producer in London edited footage and delivered finished content back within minutes.

Highlighting this innovation in remote production, Studio in-a-Box was recognized with a prestigious NAB Show Product of the Year Award. The company received its first Product of the Year Award at the 2025 NAB Show, when its product “CREE8” won in the Remote Production category.

With momentum continuing to build, Watts said she is already planning what CREE8 will bring to the 2027 NAB Show.

“I’m 100% confident you’ll see us next year.”

About CREE8

CREE8 is the operating layer for modern production. Its Studio-in-a-Box platform brings tools, teams and workflows into one secure cloud environment so creative work moves from idea to delivery without waiting on infrastructure. CREE8 is a back-to-back NAB Product of the Year winner (2025 and 2026) and supports leading broadcasters, sports organizations, in-house marketing teams and studios worldwide.

Learn more by visiting their website: cree8.io.