In the talent agency wars, is it possible to be small without being second class? That was the question posed by Verve, which Endeavor’s Bill Weinstein, Adam Levine and Bryan Besser launched 13 years ago as a “boutique” for writers and directors like Michael Arndt (Little Miss Sunshine, Star Wars) and Victoria Strouse (Finding Dory). Now Verve has grown to more than 50 agents, with divisions for talent, non-scripted, publishing, theater, film finance, and audio, and clients like Rings of Power showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay, and WandaVision creator Jac Schaeffer. It’s tiny compared to the Big 3 in CAA, WME, and UTA, but the Verve partners now hate that B-word, preferring “bespoke.” And this week, they elected Weinstein as the company’s first C.E.O. With the agency landscape in upheaval—CAA buying ICM Partners, Verve’s writer clients ending the lucrative packaging business and now threatening to strike—it seemed like a good time to check in with Bill on how he plans to compete, and grow, but not grow too much. I edited this interview for length and clarity.   

Matt Belloni: Why’d you guys decide to have a C.E.O.?