Three years. That feels strange to type.
If you had asked me in 2020, or honestly even in January of 2023, if this is where we’d be today, I would’ve told you that you were absolutely out of your mind.
Back then, this all felt impossible. The idea that we’d build a company with clients across the country (world?), a team of ridiculously talented people, and a business that has somehow become my life’s work? No chance.
And yet…here we are. Three years later.
When I look back, it’s funny because I don’t actually remember the milestones as much as I remember the moments.
I remember Winston and I trying to figure everything out as we went. I remember wondering where the next client would come from. I remember late nights, airport terminals, impossible deadlines, saying yes before we knew exactly how we’d pull something off, and slowly realizing that maybe…just maybe…we were building something special.
Today, we’re a team of nine. That sentence still catches me off guard.
Growing from just the two of us into a team of incredibly talented, wildly creative humans has been one of the greatest privileges of my life. None of that happened because of me alone. It happened because amazing people believed in what we were building long before there was much proof that it would work.
I think that’s what I’m most grateful for. The people. Not just our team, but our clients too.
Somewhere along the way, clients became friends. That’s probably my favorite part of this business. We genuinely care about the people we work with. We celebrate their wins, stress over their challenges, and more than anything want their businesses to succeed because when you spend enough time embedded inside someone’s brand, it’s impossible not to care.
That’s really what we’ve always done differently. We don’t show up as an agency…we become a part of your team.
We learn your business and challenge ideas / the norm. We obsess over details and celebrate your victories with you. We lose sleep over launches and take an insane amount of ownership because that’s simply how we’re wired.
It’s difficult to explain until you’ve worked with us. And honestly, I hope we never lose that.
I’ve also become incredibly thankful for an industry that took a chance on us.
The Pro AV and Live Events world has embraced our team in ways I never imagined. They’ve trusted us with their brands, introduced us to incredible people, challenged us creatively, and allowed us to become true students, and now experts, of an industry that I genuinely love. It’s a community that has given us so much.
At the same time, I’m excited about what’s next. Healthcare, hospitality, consumer products, tech, manufacturing. The more industries we get to immerse ourselves in, the more creative problems we get to solve. That’s the fun part. Every business has different challenges, but great strategy always starts the same way: understanding people.
The truth is, owning a business is really hard. There are days where you question everything and where you wonder if you’re making the right decisions. Did I price this the right way? Why did I schedule four back-to-back work trips? How do I buy more hours in the day??
But leading this team? Working alongside these clients? Building something that didn’t exist three years ago? That’s easily the greatest professional joy of my life.
I’ve learned a lot over the last three years. Some lessons came from success and more from making mistakes.
Here’s a handful that come to mind.
Go with the flow. Some of the best opportunities I’ve ever had showed up looking nothing like I expected them to. The more I’ve tried to force things into what I thought they should be, the more frustrated I’ve become.
Find your people. Team members…Clients…Partners. The right people make everything easier. The wrong people make everything harder. It takes time to find them, but it’s worth being patient.
Hire a great accountant. Seriously.
IV drips are worth every penny after three straight weeks of travel.
Team retreats aren’t optional when everyone works remotely. They’re where relationships are built, and those relationships really matter.
Love your people. Sometimes that’s encouragement and sometimes that’s accountability. Usually it’s both.
Respect goes a lot further than talent.
Reputation is everything.
Being a genuinely good human still matters.
Taking one full day off can change your entire outlook.
Managing people is hard. It’s a whole lot easier when you actually like the people you’re managing.
Charge your worth.
I’m still terrible at sitting still.
I’m still learning…we all are. And maybe that’s the biggest lesson of all.
I don’t think you ever really arrive. You just keep getting a little better. You keep learning and building and surrounding yourself with good people. You keep showing up. And three years later, that’s still the goal.
To our team: thank you for believing in this crazy vision and making work feel less like work and more like creating something meaningful together.
To our clients: thank you for trusting us with your brands, your businesses, and your biggest ideas. It isn’t something we take lightly.
And to everyone who’s been part of this journey in any way…
Thank you.
Year three has been incredible.
I have a feeling we’re just getting started.