going full time on holstee
For the past seven months (up through may) I had been working at Blenderbox, a twenty person interactive web agency based in williamsburg, Brooklyn. My official title was ‘creative strategist’ and my role was a combination of business development, strategy, and social media. In many ways the job represented a dream role within a dream company. From the equipment, to the physical space, to the people, I was surrounded by an environment that enabled my to produce value for myself and the company.
While working at Blenderbox, I continued moonlighting on incubaker and holstee, splitting my time and energy between my work for pay, and work for passion. About four weeks ago I returned from a two week vacation to London to visit Niamh, and do a bit of travel. It was an amazing trip all in all. I got to spend a ton of time with Niamh, learn more about London, visit Scotland for the first time, swing by one of my favorite city’s (paris), eat delicious food, and (re) connect with great people. I came back to NY refreshed, and as often happens after travel, with a fresh appreciation for life.
The following weekend we had our “incubaker weekend” where Thianh came from SF and we all gathered to discuss on Fabian’s campus our strategy for the future of incubaker, holstee, myheartbeatsfor, and the bag of other projects we had been juggling. We spent the whole day on saturday talking about our personal and professional aspirations. That sunday mike and I decided that it was time to take the plunge. Without much of a scientific analysis, we questioned and reassured each other – it was time to focus our time and energy full time on Holstee.
The next morning the first thing I did when I walked in the office was give my two week notice, I knew any hesitation would lead to more analysis. In reference to an old quote I posted by Bernbach: “Logic and over-analysis can immobilize and sterilize an idea. It’s like love – the more you analyze it, the faster it disappears.” The last thing I wanted to happen was to sterilize this burning passion I felt with logic.
Mike and I left the house at the same time that morning (April 13th), so we captured some thoughts while walking to the subway.