Our Story

VINCO Creative was founded in Chicago by Michael Panico, a former student-athlete at Northwestern University who found new purpose through filmmaking, discovering the power of visual storytelling as a way to connect people, preserve emotion, and create meaning beyond sports. Michael began his professional career at Cinespace Film Studios working on major productions including Empire (FOX), Chicago P.D. and the critically acclaimed Fargo (FX) where he met Matt Miller who quickly joined the VINCO team. Before that, Matt shot and edited videos for the athletic teams at the University of Illinois and worked for the Big Ten Network and ESPN.

Since 2018, VINCO Creative has produced work for brands such as DoorDash, Ralph Lauren, BOSE, Netflix, Uber, Budweiser, the Houston Astros and more. Through a residency with Independent Film Alliance Chicago, VINCO produced the short film Carjack (2021) earning praise and recognition on the festival circuit. This lead to their most recent feature film, Room Six (2025), which they brought from initial concept to global distribution while picking up a few awards along the way.

The name VINCO is derived from two Latin roots: VIN, meaning to conquer, and CO, meaning together. Working within such a collaborative industry, this philosophy is central to everything we do. Our goal is to produce high-quality visual content for global brands while providing small businesses in the Chicagoland area with a cost-effective solution for their social media needs.