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postfuguestate · 5 years

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Warning: Contains Fanfiction

Soooo...I have the beginnings of a new Chasefield Life is Strange fic. Wroking title: Icon. It is firmly in the genre AU side of things. First draft of the first chapter is below the cut, if anyone is interested...

When her phone starts ringing, Max Caulfield sits bolt upright and scrabbles around the wasteland of her bed until she finds it. She snatches it up and fails to suppress a groan when she sees who’s calling. “Dad! Hey, I’m so sorry I haven’t--”

“Did you die? Have you only recently been resurrected?”

Max flops back on her bed. “Not funny, dad.”

“It’s a crazy world these days. It could happen. But if it didn’t…why haven’t you called back, Max? You know your mom and I worry.”

“I’ve just...been busy.” Max rescues her teddy bear from the suffocating folds of her comforter and gives him a hug. “I’ve been really...busy.”

It isn’t a lie. Not really. Max has been busy taking photographs, putting her work out there, applying for jobs, trying to make something happen. But nothing has happened yet. Nothing that pays enough to maintain her share of the rent on the crappy apartment in a less than desirable neighbourhood in Los Angeles where Max ostensibly lives.

“You found a job?”

“...nothing steady. Not yet.”

“Max…” He covers the phone for a moment, probably to conceal a sigh. His care in trying to mask his disappointment in her only makes Max feel more keenly how far short of his expectations she’s fallen. “Maybe it’s time to come home? For a while, at least. You remember your uncle Pete? He says that Monolith are hiring. They’re a big media company.”

“Dad. I’m a stills photographer.” Max rubs her forehead with the heel of her hand. “Do they need a stills photographer?”

“Be realistic, Max. You’d be starting in data entry. This could be a foot in the door for you! A chance to earn steadily, make contacts...you could move back in with us.” He pauses, but Max is too busy trying to hold herself together to help him out. “Look at this as a chance to actually save some money. And then, a few years down the line, you can go back to freelancing or making art or...or whatever you want! Once you have a stable foundation.”

Max sucks in a breath. She wants to tell him that it’s only been a few months. That she’s making progress, if not money. That she’s learning valuable skills, that she is getting her name out there, that her break will come sooner or later. Max wants to tell him to believe in her talent, but why would he when Max doesn’t?

“It...yeah, it makes sense. Maybe…”

“It definitely makes sense.” He doesn’t try to hide the relief in his voice. Maybe he doesn’t even notice it’s there. Max does. “I wish I could tell you to keep following your dreams, kiddo, but we can’t really...we can’t support you out there any longer, Max. But, I think, I think this will be a good thing. For all of us! Your mom misses you. Obviously I can’t say that I do, let alone that I miss you more, but I can’t help it if you somehow end up thinking that’s true…”

Max almost smiles. “I do miss you guys,” she whispers, blotting out tears with the heel of her hand. “I don’t...I don’t want to be a burden.”

“Maxine. You are not a burden. You hear me? Don’t ever think that. It’s just...it’s been months. We don’t have the...it’s time. To come home. For now, at least. Okay? You’re only twenty-three, Max! You’ve got so much ahead of you. Remember, there are no setbacks! There are only…”

He pauses expectantly.

“Switchbacks,” Max whispers. She clears her throat. “Switchbacks on the road.”

“That’s my girl. It may take longer, but you’ll get where you’re meant to be.”

“Thanks, dad,” Max murmurs. “I...I’ll think about it, okay? I’ll look up buses and stuff. I, uh, I gotta go now, though. I’ve got to...there’s a birthday party thing I’m gonna shoot today.” For a ten year old whose mother took a chance on one of the flyers Max taped to a lamppost last month. “And I’ve got to sort out a portfolio for a magazine, so…”

“Oh, yeah? What magazine?”

Max bites her lip. “...Unmasked.”

“The superhero thing? Isn’t that kinda...tabloid?”

Max’s lip turns white under the pressure of her teeth. She forces her mouth open. “No. It’s a serious publication.” In fact, it’s a glossy gossip factory sprinkled with the odd interview and highbrow cultural commentator trying to make sense of the hero phenomenon. Max is more likely to be doing coffee runs than using her camera, too, but she isn’t about say that to her dad. Not right now. “It’s just an internship, but they pay for pictures of heroes. I, uh, it’s something I’ve been thinking about getting into for a while.”

“Huh. I didn’t think you cared much about the hero scene.” He pauses. Max can hear him breathing, though, so at least he isn’t covering up another sigh. “Max…I hope this pans out. I do. But if it doesn’t…”

“Yeah. I hear you, dad. Thanks for...thanks for looking out for me.”

“No thanks needed. It’s my job! And Max?”

“Yeah?”

“I love you. An embarrassing amount, frankly. Let me know about the...magazine thing, and let me know if you need help with the bus ticket. Okay? If, uh, if it comes to that!”

“...okay. Love you, dad.”

Max hangs up, cutting off his response. She tosses her phone aside and hugs Captain to her chest. It took her so long to work up the courage to come to LA looking for work. It took her whole life, all the way through college, to build up belief in her photography, belief that she could cut it as an artist, belief that she could make a living with more commercial applications of her skill.

It’s taken less than five months to whittle away all of her confidence and expose the truth of who Max is: she’s just another young hopeful among thousands, no better than any of them, likely worst than most. How many of the other people like her are lying around crying and hugging their fucking teddy bear instead of chasing down every possible opportunity they can?

Max is a failure. She’s pathetic.

From somewhere under her tangled comforter, her phone starts chiming an alarm.

Max groans. She might be a failure, but she’s a failure who needs to show up for a kid’s tenth birthday party. Max can’t ruin that, too. So with an effort, she drags herself out of bed, hurries through breakfast and a shower and packs up her camera gear.

She’s on the verge of leaving when she remembers her portfolio. Max hesitates, checks the time, then sighs. It seems pointless to make the effort. She’s tried so many times, with so many other publications, and she doesn’t really want to work for Unmasked. But...but if she doesn’t at least send in the application, she knows that it’s the only thing she’ll think about on the bus to Seattle, and every day afterwards.

Max takes ten minutes to tweak her standard cover letter, then uploads it along with the last portfolio she put together to Unmasked’s site. It’s a half-assed effort, but at least she can say she tried.

She makes more of an effort at the birthday party, and actually has a pretty good time. It’s certainly better than any party she’s been to since she became, by numerical reckoning at least, an adult. Max tries not to dwell on what that says about her, and just takes comfort in the fact that she has money for food this week in one jacket pocket and a large slice of birthday cake in a ziplock bag in the other.

The night is young and seems rich in possibilities until the man with the shotgun decides to hold up the convenience store Victoria Chase is in. This was only meant to be a brief detour to acquire cigarettes and candy, but now it looks like Victoria’s whole night is about to be derailed. She stops trying to work out how much chocolate she’ll be able to carry in the pockets of her hoodie--while still leaving room for a pack of cigarettes--and watches the idiot attempt his robbery.

He barges up to the owner of the store, holding the shotgun in shaking hands, and stammers, “The re-register! Give it to m-me! I mean, fuck, the money! NOW!”

There’s some irony in the fact that he’s wearing a mask, Victoria supposes. She is, too, of course, in the form of her hoodie and sunglasses. Both of them want their anonymity, and things they’re not supposed to have. Both of them are going to fuck tonight up for each other.

Victoria could ignore this, of course. The gunman is shooting panicky looks around him, and he’s so unfocused that his shotgun isn’t even pointing directly at the old man behind the counter. The gunman isn’t likely to bother Victoria or any of the other customers in here. He isn’t looking to hurt anyone, and--barring an accident or reckless stupidity--it’s unlikely that anyone is going to die here. Victoria could ignore this, and she could slip away into the night before the police come, and she could go ahead with her clubbing plans.

But she won’t. It only takes one camera, one witness, one person seeing through her disguise and asking why she didn’t act, and then Victoria Chase will come under the wrong kind of scrutiny. The kind of scrutiny that could destroy her reputation, that could destroy her.

“Fuck my life,” Victoria mutters. “I mean, what are the fucking odds?”

Victoria checks her reservoirs as she walks quietly up the aisle towards the robber. It’s more of a reflex than a concern: she has more than enough juice to deal with this idiot. It would be nice to do this anonymously and disappear, but there’s no real way of making that work. Too many witnesses. Since she’s doing this, and appearances matter, Victoria takes her sunglasses off and tucks them into a pocket. She unzips the hoodie and shrugs it off. She’s wearing a white crop top underneath. It isn’t perfect, but at least the colour is on brand.

The old man behind the counter catches sight of her as she clears the shelves. His eyes widen in surprise. The gunman snatches a handful of notes from the old man’s shaking hand, seems to realise from his expression that something’s wrong, and spins to face Victoria. He swings the shotgun round, aiming the muzzle at Victoria’s chest, his finger tightening on the trigger…

Victoria lets a little of the power she has stored flow into her from her reservoirs, and everything seems to slow down around her as her body speeds up. She lunges forward, crossing the last couple of feet to the unfortunate robber, and seizes the barrel of the gun with one hand. Victoria twists the shotgun so that the muzzle is aimed at the ceiling and the robber’s trigger finger is jammed against the trigger guard. Victoria puts her other hand on the idiot’s shoulder and shoves.

Everything reverts to normal speed. The robber yells in shock, though it changes to pain when Victoria’s shove makes his back hit the grubby linoleum and his trigger finger breaks against the unyielding metal of his weapon. Victoria might get into some trouble for that later, but right now she’s firmly of the opinion: fuck this guy.

Victoria leans over and yanks the hockey mask off of his face. “Hi, there! Do you know who I am?”

He whimpers, then nods frantically.

“So we’re done here, right?”

He nods again. He eases his injured hand away from the shotgun, relinquishing it to Victoria, then rolls over and puts his hands on his head.

Victoria resists sighing. She safeties the gun and puts it on the counter. She puts on a smile for the shaking old man as she pulls Taylor’s phone out of her pocket. “Can you handle the call to the police?”

“I...I, of course! Thank you! Thank you so much, I--”

“That’s great!” Victoria says, hoping it doesn’t sound as insincere to him as it does to her. “I’d do it myself, but, you know…”

To her surprise, he laughs, and his shaking subsides. He grins at her, pulling himself upright. “You’ve stopped a crime, so it’s selfie time?”

“Exactly!” Victoria raises her phone, and the old man angles himself into the shot, still grinning happily. Victoria throws up a peace sign, smirks into the lens, dies inside, and takes the shot.

The police arrive ten minutes later, driving the rest of her night irrevocably off the rails. By the time she’s done giving her statement, Victoria’s latest selfie has over a thousand likes on Instagram and her father has texted her to let her know that he’s sent a car and that they are going to Have Words.

“Fuck my life,” Victoria whispers through her best fake smile as she waves and leaves the store, heading for the white Mercedes idling across the street. Victoria groans. “I didn’t even get any cigarettes. Fuck my bullshit superhero life.”

#life is strange fanfiction #my writing #lemme know what you think #if you'd be so kind

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frangipanidownunder · 6 years

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Finding a Way: fic part 2 of 2

Read Part One

In response to a prompt from @i-dont-wanna-wrestle asking what would Bill Scully Jr’s reaction be to the news of Scully’s pregnancy? Tagging @today-in-fic

She’d missed the 12 week scan because she hadn’t realised she was pregnant.

“I’ve been missing periods for years. I didn’t think…the symptoms are similar to menopause. I don’t even know what made me do the test. I saw it on the pharmacy shelf and picked it up.” He held her as she shook against him. Even after all their years together, it was so Scully to do this stuff alone. To find out all the facts before revealing them to him. He thought of her cancer reveal. How she’d learned everything she could before presenting the fait accompli to him in that too-bright room.

“We can still get the scan, though?”

“I saw the OB-GYN yesterday.” She cast her eyes down, wouldn’t look at him. The flame of fear burst out of his gut.

“What did she say? Why didn’t you let me come? I want to be involved, Scully. I need…”

Her hand on his chest quelled his fear a little. “I’m sorry, Mulder. You’re right. I should have let you come. But you’ve been…”

“Is there something wrong, Scully? With the...?” His breath got stuck in his throat and a vague pressure built up in his temples. In his mind he was saying sorry again. Over and over.

There were tears shiny in her eyes, loaded, ready to drop. She shook her head. “Not that we could see in that scan. But they’re not always accurate. The risk of genetic or chromosomal abnormalities in geriatric pregnancies is high. An amniocentesis is the best way to be sure.”

“But do you want that, Scully? It’s invasive, isn’t it? There’s an inherent risk in the test itself.”

She pulled away from him, sniffing back those unshed tears. “Don’t you want to know what we’re dealing with here, Mulder?”

She spread her hands over her abdomen. He imagined the baby rolling and turning under them, seeking their heat. This baby, like William, was an unexpected invader. They had made love sporadically over the years they’d lived apart. Neither of them really wanting to draw a final line. But since she’d told him, she’d spent more time at the house and eventually, recently, moved back in. The inquiry into the deaths, into Jackson Van De Kamp’s disappearance, was being dragged out. Kersh had approved their leave with pay but only to save face. It was only a matter of time before everything changed. Before everything changed again.

“I don’t know, Scully. I’m not sure I’ve ever really known what we’re dealing with.”

***

Dinner is at 7pm. It’s too hard to get up. The soft bed pulls him further under, a warm grogginess enveloping him. His brain is mush. He remembers feeling like this for years, it’s why Scully left in the end. He couldn’t get up. Life pulled him under, kept him down for days at a time. While Scully worked, he slept and when he did wake, the fatigue made his limbs leaden and he sat in his study while Scully kept them both going.

“Mulder,” she says. “It’s time to get up.” There’s a whisper-kiss and the faint aroma of Earl Grey. It’s enough to rouse him but when he sees the curve of life at her waist, guilt pinballs through him again.

The light over the mirror is harsh. Maggie Scully judges him from a gold frame on the vanity. “Are we doing it tonight?” His hair is sticking out. His chin is sprinkled with peppery whiskers. His clothes are rumpled. Bill will see him as he sees himself – old, unkempt, not fit to be anything, let alone a father.

“We’ve faced worse, Mulder.”

He lifts her hand to his rough chin. “But has Bill faced worse than this?”

She lets out a laugh and it settles around his ears. “He’ll come round.”

Mulder breathes out, leaning on the basin. “I’m not sure I have yet, Scully.”

Her face falls serious. Her short hair is pushed back behind her ears, like she used to wear it, but twenty years and a late-life pregnancy makes her face sharper in places. She hides the grey. She uses more foundation to cover not just that fucking mole, but her lines. She’s been taking multivitamins for years, even though they both know they’re about as useful as bee pollen in yoghurt. She does weight training, Pilates, swimming. She drinks a little alcohol, too much caffeine and indulges in Ben and Jerry’s Salted Caramel more often than she’ll admit. She’s 54. He’s 56. The sum of their years is going to catch up with them at break-neck speed. It’s amplified now but when the baby is born, it’ll be blaring out of every speaker.

“We can’t have this conversation now, Mulder. We have to go down for dinner.” Her hands are kneading her hips and she’s looking at the polished floorboards.

“What happens if there’s something wrong with it? How can we look after it?”

The fear spills out and takes the shape of words. She turns to walk out. He swings round to catch her arm. “I wasn’t there for you and William. And truth be told, Scully, when I came back and he was gone the first thing I felt was relief, because I knew I couldn’t fuck it up. I’m scared, Scully. And I’m sorry.” His hands are around her neck, nails digging into the taut line of muscle across her collarbones. Tears sting his eyes but they won’t fall, just stay there, trapped and useless.

“We’ll find a way, Mulder.”

***

Scully straddled him and rubbed her wet heat along his length. She was full, ripe above him. Breasts heavy, inviting his gentle touch, hair hanging forward as she rocked, soft thighs bracketing his. She’d been sick but told him she needed to feel him inside her. Her mouth pushed against his and he let go of the fear that had balled up in his stomach like a clenched fist.

She lifted herself up to slide on, taking her time, easing herself down. She grimaced and he held his breath.

“It’s okay, Mulder. It’s just been a while.”

“I don’t want to hurt you. We don’t have to…”

She let her head drop back and he watched her throat as she swallowed and talked. “I want to. I need to. I want to feel something other than nausea and worry. I want to submit to my baser instincts. Besides, the release of hormones will do me some good.”

Her movements were tantalisingly slow, squeezing him. She felt different, thicker, slicker. He had to stop himself from thrusting up too hard but she was flaming around him and his baser needs were building and building. He clenched his buttocks and pushed into her, holding down her hips as he did so.

A pained cry and she sat higher, lifting off him, not quite clear but enough so the rush of cooler air surrounded him. “It’s okay,” she said, voice husky. “I’m okay.”

Her mouth sought his and her breasts fell against his chest. He ran his fingers up and down her spine. Her skin was cool, goose-bumped. “I’m sorry, Scully. Let me help you…”

But she rolled off and went to the bathroom.

***

Tara has cooked a feast. There are three kinds of roast meats, two types of potato dish, pumpkin, vegetable varieties, crusty bread rolls, salads and various sauces and pickles. There’s barely enough room at the table to breathe. Everywhere there is a jug, a pot, a bowl, all perfectly lined up, poised. Matthew has arrived and sits opposite Mulder, a carbon copy of Bill.

“It’s good to see you again, Mr Mulder.” The young man’s hand is thrust into his, over the glazed carrots.

“And you too, Matthew. How’s life treating you?” He’s mentally calculating how old this he would be. Have they missed his twenty-first? He doesn’t remember.

“I’m majoring in Economics, Sir. There’s a post-grad internship at one of the major banks in the city I’m applying for. How’s your portfolio looking?”

Bill guffaws and Tara smiles as she serves Mulder pumpkin and pork. “Oh, I didn’t check, you do eat it, don’t you?”

“For God’s sake, Tara, he’s not a practising Jew.” Bill piles beef and chicken onto his plate. “Any wedding plans, Dana?” he adds, as he mounds potato and peas next to his meat.

Scully, to her credit, simply smiles as she serves herself some vegetables. Tara holds her breath. Matthew pours red into Mulder’s glass and offers some to Scully. She covers her glass with her hand. “None for me.”

“Oh, Dana, I was hoping to get silly with you tonight,” Tara says, cheeks already pink.

“I’m not able to drink at the moment,” she says and Mulder notices the tremble of his hands as he serves himself some broccoli and cauliflower. This is it, he thinks. And he finds himself subconsciously reaching for his weapon. His pocket is empty, of course.

“Are you sick?” Tara asks. Bill watches his sister closely, eyes slightly narrowed.

“No, I’m…we’re… it’s unexpected, but Mulder and I…” she reaches across to him to take his hand. Warm and soft. “We’re having a baby.”

He squeezes, tries to breathe but the blow to his guts from her announcement has winded him. Out loud, here, before her family, hearing their news is like listening to the hundreds of people who confided in them over the years of the X-Files, about poltergeists, presences, ghosts, monster dogs, pixies, doppelgangers, unicorns, Yetis, blood-sucking goats and vampires. He shrinks into himself but at the same time knows he needs to be bigger, stronger, for Scully.

Tara is already around the table hugging Scully before he can even consider Bill’s response, who is watching his wife, his knife and fork clattering to the table. Bill finishes his mouthful, pushes his chair back.

“What in the name of God, Dana? What are you saying?”

Scully wrestles herself free from her sister-in-law. “I’m saying that I’m pregnant, Bill. That I’m having a baby. We’re having a baby.”

Mulder stands behind Scully, hands on her shoulders. She’s tense but he feels her breathing even out and he breathes too. In and out. The pit of fear solid in his gut but anger at Bill’s attitude making it a good fear, a useful fear. They can do this, they can prove them all wrong. They can give this child a life. A good life. A safe life.

“How about congratulations, Bill?” Mulder holds out his hand. Bill’s hands clench at his sides, his jaw sets firm, his eyes drilling through Mulder.

“Yes, honey. This is fantastic news. A surprise, yes, but it’s a miracle. A beautiful miracle,” Tara says, kissing the side of Scully’s face. She rushes to Mulder and hugs him close.

Bill puts down his serviette. It flops open on his food. “What will you do?” It’s not even a question. It’s a statement about their life. Mulder almost nods in agreement. What will they do? They haven’t even begun to work their way through this. There’s too much grieving to do, too much processing to wade through. They haven’t come to terms with the impact of losing William, let alone faced what bringing another child into the world will mean.

“We’ll do what we always do,” Scully says quietly, but with authority, with hope, with the sense of belief that they’ve both been searching for. She loops her arm through Mulder’s, tips her chin up to him and smiles. “We’ll find a way.”

#txf fanfic #my fanfiction #todayinfic #post season 11 #pregnancy fic

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grgop · 6 years

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Geneva, the French and the Međimurci

After months of residing in the darkness of inactivity here comes a fresh review of the recent trip to Switzerland. Those 3 days were without expectations and with plenty of spontaneous decisions that turned out...awesome. I even managed get my Master thesis done and sent to print hours before the trip thus not having to bring my laptop there and work at the airport. I would also use this chance to thank again our hosts for the wonderful time we spent there as well as for helping us with the stay in Geneve. Merci beaucoup...or whatever you write it. Now what was all this about, when, why and how...please start scrolling. The whole trip was planned a few months ago as one our best and closest Uni colleagues was going to get married. Since we were sitting next to each other since the day 1 of the University life (and were breaking the Erasmus Intership Exchange ice together writing the letters and creating our portfolios in the bars between the Uni lectures...) there was no way for me not to come there. Wait a bit more to see the wedding pics. The interesting story is that she had met her future husband during Erasmus internship in Paris while I was in Vienna (maybe I should apply again for the exchange?). One of the last things in life I imagined was ending up on a wedding in Switzerland and be surrounded with the French and the Međimurci. On the trip there and back again I was with a few colleagues whom we will refer to as “the Noone”. Let’s start with...

DAY 1: Travelling from Zagreb to Venice Marco Polo Airport. Getting lost in Venice. Evening arrival to Geneve

Just before our trip there were several problems that were kept in secret in order not to spread panic. Our return flight with EasyJet was cancelled due to French Airline’s strike and luckily I was online to check us in on the next one an hour later. Had we not had the second flight the same evening things would gotten nasty with the bus schedule and arriving home on Monday morning to hand in our binded Master’s thesises.

The second crisis emerged early in the morning around 3am when I realized:

a) I left the sunglasses at my barber’s desk the day earlier

b) I forgot the headphones on my desk!!

We travelled with Flixbus, direct line from Zagreb to Marco Polo Airport, at 7.30am and arrived a bit later than scheduled due to traffic problems on the Italian highway and a traffic mess at the bus station in Trieste (sorry Italians, it was another prejudice come true...).

We came to our destination around 2.30pm and had almost 5 hours free before the flight. And what should we do?

Go to Venice of course! For the price of 15 Euros you get the bus return ticket from the airport to Venice. My colleague was there for the first time and for me it was the 3rd. I honestly didn’t expect going there but ... was worth it. The plan was to drink coffee somewhere but we didn’t have time as...umm... I wanted to make a tour around and we got lost on our way back...just a bit. : -) In the end we managed to get in time back.

The overall impression of Venice?

Crowded, hot, stinky...few buildings and streets that impress you in the beginning and then you get bored and start counting nationalities and bricks in the walls. As well as the shades to hide in.

Just before the security check in I realized that I totally messed up with clothes and items in the travel bag...bringing unecessary stuff that took plenty of space. Never again listen to the others and just keep it simple. So I was forced to put my pants, part of ceremonial clothes etc. into the bags of my colleagues. :-D Just like Voldemort with the horcruxes.

Speaking of food and water supplies on your trips and specifically at the airports...there are two kinds of people in this world. Those who buy the bottled water in duty free shops... and those who drink and fill them in the restrooms (toilets). During my 3 days I only drank water from the restroom. Save money, save the nature.

Our flight was around 8pm and I spent most of it (one hour) sleeping dead tired. For those of you who’ve been following me from before you might remember I’ve already been to Switzerland but never in Geneve. (scroll down the blog for those posts).

Geneva airport? While going towards the exit you pass by numerous billboards of the Swiss watches...Rolex, Rolex, Rolex...and Rolex..and so on for the next 5 minutes. The good thing is that all the arriving guests have 80 minutes free public transport ticket so we went to the next stop (Geneve Cornavin). Our hostel (Geneve Hostel) was about 5-7 minutes by foot and close to the Geneva lake. Boys in one room, girls in another to avoid the potential problems. And unplanned weddings.

At the hostel we were also given free public transport ticket that was valid for the whole Saturday and Sunday which helped a lot. It included the train, the boats, the buses and the tram within Geneve. Since France was super close (cca 4 km) there was even a tram line leading there (about 30 minutes)...we heard you can have a cheaper lunch there and planned “to visit France” on Sunday but plans changed.

Before the sleep we searched around the hostel area for some cheap place to grab some food. Now, the word “cheap” in Switzerland is not as same as “cheap” here and the best for your psychological health is not to convert the currency. We found the Ali Kebab place right next to the hostel and ate Chicken Kebab with some salad and French fries for 17,5 Franks, a meal we split for two. This was relatively similar to some prices here so it was not that bad at all. I could have eaten though the whole plate again but my wallet couldn’t. No complaints anyway!

DAY 2: Morning tour around Geneve. Going to the ceremony. The wedding and the afterparty.

I’m a morning person and Saturday morning was no exception. Woke up early, took a shower, breakfast when there aren’t many people and already ready to go at 7.30am. I got the public transport and city landmarks map at the hostel staff and went to the lake with another early bird. Here are some impressions of the streets, people and cityscape.

Plenty of runners with bluetooth headphones, people walking with dogs, the cylists, expensive cars you see in James Bond movies, the specific architecture, plenty of hotels and banks, mostly clean sterile streets, the promenade and the boats. Pretty much international population and French language everywhere. And I don’t speak French except for few words but was interesting to be in an “alien” surroundings. The lake that is as huge as the sea yet fresh water. Ducks everywhere. What I loved was seeing the bike roads across the promenade and the streets of Geneve. More about it on Day 3. Speaking of traffic behaviour they all more or less stop when you approach the pedestrian zebra crossing and stop even 0,5 m before it if the red light turns on. On contrary, here you’d get run over even if you were sitting on your balcony.

We went back to pick up the third early bird and started our little tour around. There were several bridges in the center and you had a boat connection with other side of the lake. There is the huge wheel with cafes around the big bridge. One of the Geneve’s landmarks is the huge fountain which we reached later and had a free shower. One of the things that pleasantly surprised me was (as I had found out later) the artistic project “Happy City” where there were ca. 20 painted pianos placed around the city’s squares, parks, streets and bridges...where you do as it says “Play, I’m here for you”. So I did what they required you to do. Playing piano on Lake Geneva was another thing I never thought about ... but now I can say “new achievement unlocked”.

We walked a bit more to the inside of the other side up and down the streets, seen some churches and lots of interenational bars and restaurants. Expensive exotic cars again..and then decided it’s time to go back to hostel.

On our way back we checked out Lidl and took some emergency food to have just in case of unexpected hunger. This saved us on the next day. I also almost forgot that right now I can buy and drink Rivella.

Travelling to Gland and the Wedding.

We jumped into our suits and wedding clothes and went to the train station around 2pm. We had to arrive to Gland which is ca 20 minutes away from Geneve and there our fiancée’s family was going to pick us up and transport to the ceremony’s place. While there we got to know our French roommates and colleagues offiancé.

What I liked (and probably others) there weren’t many people as it usually is the case here. I won’t go into details here and throw emotions but here are some things. Close friends and family from both sides, that’s it. The ceremony took place at the fairy location called Le Moulin du Creux. Beautiful house with garden, creek and forest around located 100 meters from the road. Check the nice photos of it and you’ll get the idea.

We had two-three pastors, the French ones and the Croatian one. Since most of us didn’t speak nor understood French we had a translator. And it was funny because she was a Slovene translating into Serbian mostly. :)) Nevertheless, an interesting ceremony and a special moment for our now married couple!

What was also new was that after taking pictures and rushing to the tables with food and drinks we also had a game organized - seek and answer game. They hid around 30 photos around the area and we got the papers with questions in French and Croatian. For my team it was kind of a fail in the end. We were trying to learn a few useful French phrases such as J'ai soif which means “I’m thirsty” when sneaking around the table with served drinks.

The other games included a catapult and a cubic football. There was also a gigantic version of the Jenga Tower which was fun to play. We took and received as a memory the polaroid photo with our couple and later moved inside for the dinner and the rest of the show. We watched short movie clips that fiance’s family created about him and our friend. The only problem we had was that we didn’t understand anything as there were no subtitles. :-)

After few more games and meals it was time to go out on the field and light the lanterns. This was a cool thing and my first time to show up and do the thing actually, I think we all enjoyed it. I have no photos of it though but you can imagined what it looked liked having many of them flying up. Let’s hope non of them fell on the forest below. :-D

Soon followed afterparty with some dance music. Some people already had to part and leave. Finally, around 2am we also decided to leave as we didn’t want to miss our train back to Geneve. And of course we missed the first one by being 5 minutes late.

We came to the hostel around 4am and straight to bed.

DAY 3: Tour around Geneve one more time. Coffee & city bikes. Departure.

The final day is here. So far everything great! We made a deal to meet with friends from Nyon around 10.30h at the giant wheel in the center. Shower, breakfast and baggage packed and locked in the hostel. Ready to go.

We took the boat to the other side and soon met with our friends. We then wasted around an hour going to the “old center” only to find nothing interesting there. However, we saw more of the public pianos and parks. For the next half an hour we were on a quest to find a solid cafe to sit and talk about life.

We ended up below the giant wheel and had a tiny cup of coffee for 4 Franks. Naturally, we stayed for 2 hours sitting & chatting there to compensate the loss. I ran out of cash and asked the waiter where to go. After all, Geneva is the city of banks and I hadn’t seen a single ATM machine there. Before running for some cash we decided to visit the giant fountain. On our way there I stopped by the public piano which was now free of ambitious moms and their kids who just pressed random keys but had a cool photo. Actually, I was doing the same. It was funny to have the unusual audience around you.

Soon by the fountain. Time for a group photo!

Time flew by quickly and our friends had to find the bus station as they were leaving sooner than us. We went to the center in search of places to eat and after parting with them three of the original squad left. We had a few hours left before rushing to the train station and the airport. Having lunch in France? Visiting France by trams? Visiting France on bikes? Using city bikes to go around? We rushed to the nearst bike station and...all the bikes were gone. Second chance at the one across the bridge. We somehow were lazy to walk and wasted time on the boat. What happened there? Only two bikes left. I agreed to run to the other station as the rest follows me. But the guy working there couldn’t find the keys of the bike so we waster 10 minutes there filling the papers and waiting for him to come to common sense. The third and the last luck before giving up was using the tram to the Station No. 5 ... and...three bikes left, keys in the hands and off we go!

There is no better feeling than going around the new place by bike. Pure freedom and flexbility. We gave 20 Franks deposit and decided towards the north along the lake. Bike routes almost everywhere. Going between the streets was fun. No fear of the vehicles around us.

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We did cca 10 km in total in about more than hour stopping to take the pictues (the evidences). The idea was to go to France but by democracy 2:1 we gave up from that idea fearing something could go wrong and we get stuck in the middle of nowhere and miss the plane. So we returned the bikes close to our hostel, took the baggage and went to the train station. There we found a nice souvenir and chocolate shop....you can’t leave without one kitschy fridge magnet and a few Toblerones. We met the other Croats who were going back by plane to Venice and I again reorganized my bagge stuff into 2-3 bags of other people. The food from Lidl helped a bit. As well as the good old fresh water from the restroom. I slept again in the plane this time successfully hiding my cabin baggage under my seat as the plane was crowded and full of passangers because of the cancelled flight. New achievement unlocked. We had almost 3 hours to wait for the 2.15am Flixbus for Zagreb. Being dead hungry we checked the available offers at the backery there and found some snacks to survive till home. This time Flixbus didn’t have the second floor (on Friday we found the first row spots on the 2nd floor, the best view and the best way to get killed in an accident). But who cares, soon home! The route was shorter as we stopped only in Ljubljana...I woke up two times in total and the second on just at the Croatian border. The bus arrived precisely at 7.30am to Zagreb, to the most beautiful of the ugliest bus stations in the area. Finally, seeing “Mamiću cigane” grafitti around the station I can say “Welcome back home!”.

#geneva #switzerland #suisa #genf #geneve #venice #veneto #venezia #wedding #međimurje #međimurci

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damianimated · 7 years

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Pardon me, I dunno if you've already talked about this elsewhere or if you'd rather not say, but I hope it's okay to ask, were you an animation major in college and where did you study for your bachelors? and if it's not that intrusive, are you working in a studio right now? I've been contemplating getting a second bachelor's in animation and wanted to know if you feel it's helpful to get into the industry or if you feel alternative methods like online schools could be just as good? thank you!

I actually kind of avoid talking about animation because I feel like I’m somewhat of a downer. I don’t work in an animation studio, though I wish I did. I’ve been continuously applying to internships since I was in my undergrad.

Short Story: I wasn’t able to afford any of the schools I got into. And I don’t currently work in the animation industry, though I would like to.

Long Story: I was accepted into the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts), School of Visual Arts (SVA), and several others during my senior year of high school. Though my heart was dead set on CalArts because essentially if you want to pursue a career in the animation industry that’s where you need to go. The animation industry has a history of hiring primarily from CalArts, partially because it’s right near Walt Disney Animation Studios, DreamWorks Animation, Nickelodeon, and other top tier companies. So it’s easy for them to do student outreach.

Anyone who’s anyone has gone there: Tim Burton, Henry Selick, Pendleton Ward…literally everyone. Look up any major TV show and its creator came from CalArts. But it’s almost as expensive as Harvard.

This is why I think the majority of animated series come from upper class white men and why TV is slanted to present a certain perspective. People from low income areas will struggle to afford these schools.

Which for me…was incredibly disheartening. The end of my senior year of high school was spent crying over my acceptance letter. I couldn’t even scrounge together the massive startup fees. I was devastated because it had been my dream school since I was twelve. Then slowly I went down the latter and found myself unable to afford any of the schools. I fell into a deep deep deep depression and no longer cared about graduating or anything. I just stopped caring about everything.

I finally ended up getting enough energy to apply to a regular nobody state school In Massachusetts (it’s actually right near where J.K. Rowling’s American wizarding school Ilvermorny is located).

I majored in psychology and writing (because I figured my dreams of doing art were ruined). Then I started taking art classes (because I couldn’t help myself) and switched to sociology and writing. Then I dropped sociology and became an art and writing major. I transferred to another state school that was closer to my home (close to where the Dr Seuss museum is) and that’s where I ended up graduating. While there I got really into children’s books. I had always been a writer so I focussed on that instead.

Currently I’m in my final year at Simmons College program in Writing for Children MFA, and I freelance write while working on my children’s books and graphic novels.

Anyway, in this day of social media I don’t think these incredibly expensive schools like CalArts have the same power they once did. You see, they honestly were all about social networking and being in the right place at the right time. Half of the top tier artists and show creators have less talent than people I’ve seen come out of schools you’ve never heard of. And a lot of storyboard artists and visual development artists are starting to come from schools that were seen as “less than” CalArts.

Rebecca Sugar went to the School of Visual Arts program in comic arts and she created Steven Universe which was a first. Carrie Lao is a story board artist at Disney Animation who went to California State University-Fullerton. Fawn Veerasunthorn is a story board artist and Disney who went to Columbus College of Art and Design. And there are artists who couldn’t afford school who did there own thing online. Like Naomi Romero who is a boss at social media and does her own stuff, picking up jobs from major studios.

A lot of jobs are even given to people who go to ordinary state schools, or wherever, simply because they keep posting on social media. I have quite a few friends this has worked out for. I would advise against shady online classes or “for profit” schools like the Art Institutes. They are bad and just take your money and leave you with nothing.

My bit of advice is find a school you can afford. If it had a reputable program than that’s all the more better. And then draw, draw and draw some more. Keep drawing as much as you can and you’ll keep getting better. Draw from inspiration. Draw from others. Doodle. Scribble. Not everything needs to be perfect. Post it. Post it to social media and build a portfolio. AND don’t wait for jobs and opportunities to come to you. Interact with major players on social media, go to conventions, network. Whether in life or online. It might take some effort but you can get where you want, and maybe save yourself 200k along the way!

Anyway I have to wrap this up because I still have no pants on and I have class in an hour. Hope I could help a bit!

#ask

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martinmcg · 3 years

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Getting Started in Public Relations

So, a few months ago a student on Middlesex University’s journalism degree approached me with some questions about how a journalism student could prepare for work in public relations. Anyone who knows me will be entirely unsurprised to discover that I answered at somewhat stupid length. I think some of the stuff here might be of more general use to those at the start of their careers (although some of it is particular to students at Middlesex) so I thought I’d put it up here.

What are the most important skills you need to work in PR?

Rather than try to answer this myself I’m going to defer to the annual “State of the Profession” report from the Chartered Institute of Pubic Relations (CIPR – attached, along with the 2019 “PR and Communication Census” from the PRCA – Public Relations & Communications Association) which will both give you some insight into the current state of the profession.

The CIPR report (p28) sets out the top five skills most valued by recruiters as:

Copywriting and editing

Social media relations

Media relations

PR programmes/campaign planning

Research, evaluation and measurement

Writing well, being able to write in a variety of voices for different media, and having a working grasp of grammar and punctuation are still the fundamental skills for PR staff. Increasingly, those working in public relations have shifted from being “content prompters” (encouraging others to create material) to being “content creators” and while there can be lots of bells and whistles to this in terms of production skills, the basic requirement is to be able to craft a convincing message – and, most often, that requires a skill with words. No one (almost no one, anyway) is born a good writer – writing is a muscle that is strengthened by reading good writing (and paying attention to why it is good) and practice.

There’s still an assumption amongst some – older – people working in PR that the young (being “digital natives”) have a sort of innate understanding of how social media works that older generations lack. I’ve, generally, not found this to be true (being a consumer is not the same as being a creator) but you can take advantage of this prejudice if you can demonstrate an ability to use social media effectively. Having your own accounts with strong followings and interesting content (but possibly not too interesting) will be regarded as a definite positive by many employers.

Media relations – being able to demonstrate that you understand the needs of journalists, influencers and clients and that you have the ability to develop networks, manage relationships and build contacts remains a fundamental part of the PR role. The way these relationships work is different from sector to sector (financial PR works differently from fashion PR which works differently from political PR). The old-fashioned idea of schmoozing clients over long, expenses-funded, lunches (that, on a good day, became long, expenses-funded dinners) is, in these more austere times, very sadly, largely a thing of the past. But managing professional relationships is still crucial. Some people have a natural talent for the personal connection stuff, other people (like me) have to fake it by keeping meticulous files on contacts, their interests and previous collaborations.

Programme and campaign planning is not something I’d expect a new hire to be able to manage off the bat, but it’s useful if they have an idea how planning works and how their contributions have to fit into the broader scheme of things. If you want an introduction to the theory and basic outline of planning, I highly recommend Anne Gregory’s “Planning and Managing Public Relations Campaigns” – they’ve just published a new edition.

Increasingly pubic relations is expected to demonstrate a clear “return on investment” to managers or clients. So, the measurement and evaluation of projects has become more and more important. In journalism – where clicks tend to be king – measurement tends to be relatively straightforward. For PR it can be more complex – since individual public relations activities are often part of a longer-term strategy. The PR industry has developed the “Barcelona Principles” (introduction here: https://www.prnewsonline.com/barcelona-principles-2-0/) and the AMEC framework (https://amecorg.com/amecframework/home/framework/introduction/) as attempts to standardise and regularise measurement across the industry – but even where these are not formally applied, it is increasingly expected that PR campaigns and individual pieces of work will have clearly defined and measurable outcomes.

Is there any advice you have for me changing from a journalism field to pr?

So, as noted above, the ability to write and to manipulate words remains a key connecting tissue between the PR and journalism industries and if you have other content creation skills from your journalism background (audio, video, social or digital media) then you will definitely be able to leverage those in the PR field.

One of the most common complaints about PRs from journalists is that they get bombarded by useless stuff that isn’t relevant to their job (https://www.prweek.com/article/1668923/pr-pros-dont-understand-story-is-say-majority-journalists) and I think this is a fair criticism of a lot of bad PR. If you can demonstrate an ability to do the research into what the journalists/influencers you are targeting need and can use, then you’ll be doing your clients a favour.

I think one of the things that most journalists don’t get about PR is that, when done well, it is (usually) a much longer term and more strategic role than journalism. Good PR isn’t just about churning out today’s story (in the form of a press release) but developing long-term approach that establishes your client in a particular niche or as having a particular relevance. So, good PR isn’t just reactive – it involves being prepared for events and having crisis plans and developing campaigns that fit into strategies that deliver results over relatively long periods. You do, sometimes, get the buzz from tight deadlines and needed to respond instantly to crises but in between it’s about creating relationships that sometimes don’t pay off for years.

Do you have any suggestions on how you stand out in the industry?

My instinctive response to this – because of my background – is don’t stand out. My experience is in PR for political/social campaigning (unions, charities, causes) and one of the mantras on that side of the industry is “never become the story” and, as such, I’m always a bit suspicious of PRs who spend a lot of time promoting themselves.

That said, I recognise that not all areas of the PR industry are like that and that you do need to build a reputation within the industry.

I’m a big believer in professional standards – I’m a Chartered member of the CIPR – which means I do my “continuous professional development” (CPD) each year and get a little badge that says (to me, and I hope to others) that I’m a good boy who takes his job seriously.

As a student at Middlesex you are automatically entitled to membership of the PRCA – you can sign up here (https://www.prca.org.uk/membership/join – make sure to use your Mdx email address). Their website has lots of interesting and useful links and (in normal times) lots of opportunities to connect with others. You can also, I think, get free access to view their online training – which is normally £200 or so a session.

I’m very sceptical about specific “networking events” as they very often attract people who only have a very instrumental view of building contacts (what can they get out of it for themselves) but – in normal times – London is great for attending industry related events where you can rub shoulders with, get to know and maybe build up relationships with people at high-levels in the industry. Again, the PRCA website is a good place to start – if we’re ever allowed to gather in the same room as other humans again. But right now it’s actually easier to attend things because Zoom calls tend to be a bit less exclusive or exclusionary and – at least for me (I’m not great at the schmoozing bit) – a lot less stressful, though clearly the intensity of engagement is lower online.

Managing your own PR persona is important. A professional website (don’t do what I do, do what I say!) that shows off your skills/abilities/personality can be useful – especially if you can keep it up-to-date with something like a blog that discusses issues in the industry. Similarly, a strong LinkedIn profile can help and good, professional social media accounts that you use to engage in discussions about the industry and build up connections (not just spam people for job opportunities).

Finally, and I say this to all my students, there’s a mindset amongst some people that you can’t do PR or show off your abilities unless someone else has given you instructions – so students sit around complaining about lack of internship opportunities or the chance to show what they can do. This is not true. I am an internship-sceptic – too many of them offer poor opportunities to learn or a real foot in the door. Rather than waiting for the perfect internship, I encourage professionals starting out to “intern for themselves” – find a cause or an issue you care about (a local charity or a community group) and volunteer. Develop a portfolio of stuff that you’ve done that shows you are a self-starter and that you have the skills employers are looking for so that you’re starting to define your future career on your own terms. I graduated into he middle of a recession in the early 1990s and spent two years volunteering – building up a body of work and contacts while doing jobs I didn’t much like (barman, supermarket shelf stacker…) – until I made my first break into working in journalism.

Lastly, is there anything I can do or read to keep myself informed?

This lot should get you started…

MAGAZINES PR Week (https://www.prweek.com/uk) is probably the key industry magazine. It’s online content is mostly behind a paywall but you can register for free for limited access and there’s the blog (https://www.prweek.com/uk/blog). I also like the CIPR’s magazine “Influence” – but the print version is only available members and the online version is relatively limited in content (https://influenceonline.co.uk/).

BLOGS Stephen Waddington is a key UK commentator and writer on PR in the UK https://wadds.co.uk/

Famous campaigns: https://www.famouscampaigns.com/

Power & Influence: https://ellaminty.com/

Comms2point0: https://comms2point0.co.uk/

All Things IC: https://www.allthingsic.com/blog/

Neville Hobson: https://www.nevillehobson.com/

Dan Slee: https://danslee.wordpress.com/

Jessica Pardoe: https://jessicapardoe.com/

Wildfire PR: https://www.wildfirepr.com/blog/

Scriba: http://scribapr.com/blog/

PODCASTS

PR Week’s “The PR Show” is a good general interest effort: https://soundcloud.com/prweekuk

#FuturePRoof Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/futureproof-podcast/id1176718600

PR Moments – https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/prmoment-podcast/id1334739765

Talking points – https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-talking-points-podcast/id900363572?mt=2

For Immediate Release – https://firpodcastnetwork.com/for-immediate-release/

SpinSucks: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-spin-sucks-podcast-with-gini-dietrich/id1356305060?mt=2

PRovoke: https://www.provokemedia.com/latest/podcast

PR Resolution: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pr-resolution-podcast-with-stella-bayles/id1423627061?mt=2

Today In Focus: https://www.theguardian.com/news/series/todayinfocus

Getting Started in Public Relations was originally published on Welcome To My World

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flanngo · 6 years

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Hello! I'm that anon that sent those asks to allthecanadianpolitics. I saw your response & I do have a few questions: How cold do the winters in Canada get? I was also wondering if you know of any good colleges for comic artists? I'm a cartoonist & there was one college I was looking into but I'd like to see what you think. ;v;

Ayyy! :D

So my other Ontario followers, feel free to chime in with your experiences too! I can only give my side of it, and I know it will help hearing from artists in other schools too. Buckle up cause this is gonna get long.

Winter Sucks

Firstly, the winters. During the coldest times we usually average around -15c to - 25c, not counting the wind. It’s dipped to near -30c too and…in general it kind of sucks.

The biggest thing to keep in mind is that our winters last long. It’s not wild to see snow in October sometimes….I’d say that we start getting into our winter (below freezing) at the end of October till about April? So expect a good 6 months of cold weather.

It’s been snowing less here over the years, but I’d still recommend a decent pair of boots. Most importantly, a good coat and gloves. The wind is what’s really nasty.

Art Colleges

Okay, college. If you’re looking to go into the arts, definitely go this route instead of going to a standard university and taking an art degree there. Universities haven’t made a name for themselves in the arts, and a great college will have a better reputation and will ultimately look better on a resume (and it will teach you more!)

I’ve been to both, and I am enjoying my college time vastly more than when I did my degree.Mostly in part that the instructors are wayyyy more knowledgeable, and still work in the industry instead of just teaching! Everything is much more updated and relevant, and it’s less likely you’ll get the scenario of “teacher who used to work in the industry 20-30 years ago”.

Onto School Specifics

I would recommend steering clear of OCAD. The quality has declined heavily over the years, and what they teach isn’t really relevant to the industry anymore, so I hear.

VanArts has a great reputation, but it’s all the way in Vancouver so…i’ll put that aside if you’re just looking into Ontario schools.

The big ones in Ontario: Sheridan, Seneca, Max the Mutt

These schools will overlap heavily with having a great animation program…because they tend to also have great illustration and sequential arts (comic arts) programs too! A lot of times the teachers will teach across multiple programs and multiple schools, and they usually rotate around these three!

Sheridan

Out of the big three, Sheridan is the one that has the longest standing program and reputations for it. They’re in the top 10 of the world for animation, and by graduating from here you really have a name that will back you up. They’re really well known for illustration as well, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they had a program specific to sequential arts! They like to train students for more director/higher up positions, so keep in mind that it may be difficult to find a job right after you graduate.

Pros

Has a worldwide reputation, looks great on resumes.

Long standing programs, and some of them have an internship requirement built it.

There’s a great chance you’ll have a solid portfolio ready for after you graduate and start job hunting.

Cons

The college is looking to become a university within the next few years, and there’s no doubt that teachers and programs will be affected with this change.

Very competitive and tough to get into. The portfolio requirements to apply are changing and some of it looks a little weird…

Class sizes might be very large, and there may not be enough materials/space/teacher feedback for everyone.

From the perspective of other art schools (not from the general public), Sheridan can have a sort of elitist culture, and a vibe of “I only want to help myself”.

Seneca

Seneca, another top 10 in the world for animation. They’re making their name big with that and improving fast! This is where I study animation, so my (biased) recommendation is always to look into this school too. Most of the professors here graduated from Sheridan in the past, and they all still work in the industry! This school’s focus is more on getting you a job after you graduate, so they want to easily slot us into the industry!

Pros

Very small program size, and thus class sizes. You have lots of 1 on 1 time with the professors.

Out of all three, Seneca has the best hiring rate. You’re more likely to get a job fast coming out of this school.

In animation especially, has an atmosphere built on helping each other and sharing knowledge. If you only look out for yourself, you won’t get far here.

Cons

Doesn’t have a dedicated sequential arts program yet…it’s in the works!

Very competitive and tough to get into.

There’s only really two programs that Seneca is well known for. The illustration program is not as strong here and needs to be fixed up, so I hear.

The campus that most likely will have the sequential arts program is Seneca @ York, which is a special building we have located on York University campus. Living close around this area can be pretty dangerous. Keep in mind that we are also a bit affected by York University’s stuff, aka when they go on strike. (They’re on strike as of today, so this is the second strike I have had to deal with during my second year…..)

Max the Mutt

This one is kind of an oddball new player into the mix. They transformed themselves around over the course of 6-8 years, and I’m excited to see how they keep improving. They have an interesting variety of programs, with one even being specific to concept art! No doubt they should have something up your alley that’s worth looking into.

Pros

Improved greatly over the course of a few years and is proving to become a strong contender, with great graduates.

Solid professors who have gone to Sheridan/Seneca, and are close knit in the industry.

Has the strongest ties with APW (Animation Portfolio Workshop), which can help greatly with getting into any of the schools. The fundamentals they teach in APW translate to many programs.

Cons

Tuition here is usually more expensive than the other two.

The newest of the big schools, so their reputation is still being formed. Apparently it may have been a bit rocky at the start, but they found their footing.

Just by the name alone, it can look weird on a resume. Be prepared to explain if the company has never heard of it.

Not sure if this has changed recently, but they used to accept almost anyone while they were still growing. This can make for some large skill gaps between students. Max the Mutt won’t be afraid to hold people back a year if they need to improve in a specific area!

Pheww this is long, but I hope that helped answer some stuff? If there’s a specific school you want to know about, or get more info, i’m always happy to help!A note again that this info is from what I gathered with my own experiences, hearing stories, researching when I was looking to apply, etc.

I’d love to hear experiences from other people across schools! Please feel free to chime in!

#Anonymous #seneca #sheridan #max the mutt #long post /

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artists-everyday · 7 years

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An open invitation to Artists from Artists Everyday

Hey everyone! It's Sean, and I have SO much stuff in the works, for both myself as an artist, and for Artists Everyday as a whole!

For those of you that don't know, I started Artists Everyday around the time I came back to school from my internship at Cartoon Network in 2015. I went to SIU (which I just graduated from), a state school in the middle of nowhere Southern Illinois. (Carbondale to be exact; I’m pretty sure its the center of the Universe, but I digress). I studied animation, but I knew from personal experience how hard it was to be an artist who wanted to work in animation, especially being that I didn't go to a fancy art school, and didn't have any connections in the industry. I’ve always been a big fan of blogs that serve as galleries for artists and share artist’s work, so I made the blog initially as a way to reblog other people’s art.

My internship allowed me to meet a host of amazing and talented artists, some I definitely still consider friends, but one of the things that it opened my eyes to the most was the sheer lack of information and transparency that there was in animation. Prior to being hired, I couldn't find more than scraps of information detailing the internship experience, or how to even go about really getting one. The lack of information, or the lack of the right KIND of information, is what drove me to make this post about my experience and my time as an intern at CN: http://seanwillustration.tumblr.com/post/137138709510/my-life-as-a-cartoon-network-intern-and-how-i

I was expecting people to appreciate what I'd written, but I never could have imagined the response to my post being as massive as it was.

When thousands of people started sharing what I'd written, and messages from artists either looking to find out how/where to apply for internships, or asking me to review their portfolios (a laughable thought considering I still have yet to create a proper animation portfolio) started flooding in; I KNEW we (artists as a collective whole) were fucked. Every new message in my inbox drew my mind back to one idea: nobody knows what to do. NOBODY seems to know how to get into the industry. I was receiving messages from artists on here that I'd followed YEARS prior, and thought were working professionals... (based on their talent levels/audiences etc.) and they were asking ME: a junior (at the time) at a school in Southern Illinois for help on getting into the animation industry.

And I don't know SHIT about getting into the animation industry. Not a thing. Even though I interned there, I don't have any of the magical keys that lead to Cartoon Network. Or any of its employers (for those who've asked)

I created Artists Everyday so I can share art, because I know how hopeless it can feel to be a small creative swimming in a vast, endless internet; trying to reach this mythical magical idea of working in animation. I know how it can feel to work on something for hours and put your work, passion and life into a piece- only to share it online and get 3 notes, or a reblog, or a like.

It's frustrating to feel like this intangible thing that you've loved since you were a kid could be yours... if you only had more followers, or a wider reach, or more information, or the RIGHT information, or if you drew a certain way, or used the right hashtags. It's all too much, and it all takes away from what's important: your art.

Artists Everyday is my own personal answer to a lot of questions I've had in my short career, and some you all may have had yourselves; so here's the point:

(Finally)

I've shared my story as an artist, and as I do more and experience more and work more, I'm going to continue sharing my story. Not because I have all of the answers, but because the answers that I DO have, have allowed me to graduate from a school in the middle of Illinois, and still work full time as a freelance animator, supporting myself fully by making art.

I can share the negative experiences and pitfalls that I've experienced freelancing, and dealing with clients, and how to avoid all of the crazy bullshit that goes along with making art your job, and I plan to..

But this is an invitation to you all; to anyone who read this far and anyone who can relate to some of the things that I've talked about in the past or even in this post; I want to hear your stories. I want to hear about your triumphs and pitfalls as an artist. I want to share not only your art, but your stories as well; because it's that information that I feel is the most important, and the most helpful.

My inbox is OPEN; tell me about the terrible clients you've had. Tell me about the bad employers (In animation or art) that you've had to deal with; tell me about ALL OF IT.

I want to hear about the troubles and the fears that you all have about your own art, so that I can better learn how to share and make artists feel like they can share what they make with an audience that will receive them; even if they're not drawing Steven Universe fanart or even if they're not a professional in the industry. Your stories; professional, amateur, and otherwise are all just as important as the art that you make, and it could help another artist somewhere down the line.

So please, reblog this; send me a message; tell your artist friends, send me some artists to look up, send me your work, tell me your stories, tell me how you made it, how you didn't make it, all of it.

You're not alone. Even you, sitting there on your computer late at night, ready to post that artwork you made and hope people see even though you didn't go to CalArts. Even though you go to a state school. Or you, the person who's never even seen a mountain in person, let alone LA, or anywhere else animation is made... Or you, the CalArts student who didn't make the best film, or had professors that don’t like you... or ANYONE in between. Share this. Share something. Send me a message, draw something for yourself. I'm cool with all of it.

I want to continue building Artists Everyday as a resource and tool for artists, not just a submission blog. And your stories are going to be the beginning

If you read this far. You're dope.

-Sean

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hskeleven · 5 years

Text

Q1 Update 2019

Hello, it’s been some time since I have written anything but let’s have a mind dump and let me fill you in what has been happening

It’ll be long like most of the time lol but if you like what I write...be my guest and read

I appreciate it

The first three months of 2019 has been interesting. There had been some ups and downs, and to be fair.....it was possibly a moment of my life where I felt not only the most lethargic and lazy but I also felt like I lost control of where my life is heading

I am not the type to speak ill, poorly, or badly about anyone or any companies that I’ve worked with or worked for but I’ll admit this

My last job was something I was hoping things could work out and I could actually do something and make something happen in AV or Audiovisual field industry....

However, I am not saying that I with my former employer was not meant to be in a strong, healthy working relationship to move forward for the company’s growth in a foreseeable future which is up for debate

Again, I will not make any sort of negative remarks but here is the conclusion that I reached once it began to be more clear of how I am treated and what I believe they see me as.

I guess I was someone to them of little value or no true potential....to them, I was just cheap labor to stretch out and pretty much do all the “dirty” work

Initially, I am someone that is willing and want to show my worth that I can be a good asset for them and prove my capabilities of essentially learning the ins and out of a field if taught properly

However, one thing that I personally prefer when it comes to learning is.....it is not about teaching me the basics and practically showing me from the ground up but rather I believe it is more practical for me to shadow someone and then ask questions

So if it’s audio...basic questions I can ask are;

Why are the main speakers arranged this way

What signals are essentially needed to be sent for stage monitors

How are you determining which frequencies are to be cut out based of the spectrum analyzer

What mixes needed to be sent in the foyer

If it is lighting;

How bright is too bright

Where are you aiming

How do focus and properly set up the LEDkos with the gobos

How are you able to use a light controller

How are you able to program the DMX lights to essentially communicate and function accordingly to the stage configuration

If it is video;

What are the contents provided

What are the contents that was prepared by us

What video signals are been sent

What is the order of the event to cue the correct media

If it is stage setup or strike (Strike meaning cleaning up);

How to run cables

How to tape cables down to be more clean

How to wrap and clean up cables

Where to run power

Etc etc

Although I never knew AV as it is, it is something that I’ve always had interest in but only had a basic grasp of it due to my experiences in church but I was always fascinated with it

Pretty much, I was doing some form of AV before I knew what AV was

I’ve done simple but productive sound setups which was sufficient enough

Anyways, to sum up this long explanation pretty much

They only wanted me to run errands and do the pre-production setup but never have me go and do the actual productions with them

I finished up my internship at a recording studio and I told them that I’m more available so please plug me in whenever you can

I finally got a chance to speak with the owner but my supervisor was like

“Don’t ask for a pay raise” or “more hours”

Immediately, I had a gut feeling that this is just a waste of my time and I won’t be able to pretty much move up and get more experience that can help me with this industry

Instead...I get asked;

“How is it working here”

“What more do you think we can do to help with the storage of our equipment”

“Is there anything you want to suggest”

To be honest, I have nothing more to suggest or add because the amount of work that I am given is honestly piss poor and it was stuff that nobody was wanting to do so they just threw it at me because I am the “bottom feeder”

My dad already realized that a year in and I’m not getting more hours with events that they can do and he suggested that I go find other options with employment

So I played the waiting game but I applied and applied and applied

March was really when things took a good turn and I just finally got some response

Some of the jobs that were selected were my choices but I wanted to see the options because it was not just about having good pay but it was also about having hours

I cared more about having hours than the pay because anything was better than my current job situation at the time

But I started a new job with Metro as sales but I also had other interviews happening, especially regarding jobs at the airport

I honestly had uncertainty whether I was going to get the job or not mainly because airport jobs are only stable if you are able to keep up and maintain performance

I’ll admit...all of my jobs weren’t too strict so I was able to be really flexible and kind of do whatever I pleased but I was fully aware that airport jobs are strict and there is no “freedom” aka there is no “do as you please”

I heard back from two airlines, Alaska Airlines and Korean Air and I already completed one interview via phone for both

Then I heard back from the two airlines and proceeded to do the only interview in person which were located at remote sites; one at the airport and one at their many buildings

Unfortunately I did not continue get the okay with Alaska Airlines but I still had hope with Korean Air

I believe that when you do not get the approval for the next step of being hired, it is all on the matter of fit and I was not a fit for Alaska Airlines at that given time

With Korean Air, I was able to complete three separate interviews (Skype video call interview but it ended up becoming a phone interview with Sea-Tac Station Manager, then in-person interview the Station Manager, Passenger Service Manager, and Cargo Manager, then lastly one more Skype video call interview with Korean Air’s HR department in LA)

I honestly did not think I would get the job...I just felt it was not even possible mainly because I have no experience in this industry

As I just started my week with Metro and giving my other job a two week’s notice regarding that I will be leaving, it was a change for me and I was excited to do something that I can learn but also have some confidence in

However, I get the call from Korean Air that completely changed my situation and caught me by surprise....I was hired

I resigned after two days of employment with Metro (it really count as anything for they were going to train me part-time and send me around other stores nearby but it wasn’t gonna happen) and I just straight up dropped the bomb on my other job saying I’m out...bye-bye

Personally, I felt relieved and excited because it is something new and something that I can actually build a career and do something long-term, have more stability

At the same time, I now feel more happy because not only do I actually have a sufficient income to do other endeavors such as building my portfolio as an audio engineer (I am still trying to balance out my life to maximize my daily schedule) but also live a more productive life where I can improve my health, my social life, and be an actual “adult”

I know this is getting really long and it seems like I dragged it on longer than it should be but here is the conclusive final thoughts

I no longer have to deal with people that just uses people

I no longer have to work with people that stretches me out thin but rather want me to succeed alongside them

I no longer have to struggle and “settle” for less because I feel trapped

Thanks for reading

God bless and til next time

Deuces

#q1 19 #2019 #update #changes #life

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meganfloreyprintdesign · 7 years

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Interview with Ali Cottrell via Facebook on 27/02/17

1. What is your job title and do you work for a company?

“I work for a digital print company called Think Positive. We actually digitally print for customers and work on commission design work. The company is still classed as a startup and have been going for just under two years. We have 12 full time members of staff and a sister company in Australia. In one way the startup aspect makes the job pretty hard cos it's long days and the company is continually evolving and growing, and I have to help push the business, but on the good side I am learning so much about setting up and running a business and it means I grow with the business - I've already had two pay rises in 7 months and I am expecting a promotion soon. With a new business you can move up the ranks so quickly as it grows.”

2. What do you do on a daily basis?

“At the moment I am Artroom Coordinator but it is starting to evolve into more of a management role. It is great for my cv but means I am doing less and less of my own design work. I still work on improving and getting the most out of our customer’s design work that they send us to print using Photoshop and have learnt a ridiculous amount about digital design since working here.

Most days I am in the office speaking with customers, preparing files and managing the Artroom, and I also do a lot of visits to London and to shows all over the place. Last week I went to London twice and to a big interiors show in Dunblane and visited customers in Edinburgh.

It's hard juggling it all but so with it as the contacts I'm making and the networking is something I love and that will help me as I start out on my own which I what I hope to do at some point.”

3. Do you get to work as part of a team much or mostly design on your own?

When designing for commissions 4 or 5 of us sit around the table and design to a brief. Sometimes bits of everyone's work goes into one design.

4. How regular are your deadlines and how much are you expected to produce?

“We don't have deadlines really, it's more focused on getting the design right and the customer accepts drafts and then we get feedback and make amendments.”

5. Do you find it mostly stressful compared to the amount of enjoyment you get out of the job?

“The job is quite stressful, but rewarding. I don't want to be doing it forever but can see it as a great opportunity and a varied job to have at this point straight after graduating. I have a lot of responsibility and meet some really cool people.

I was really worrying about what sort of job I wanted after uni, but since leaving I look at it differently. Getting that first job is the hard part and it may not be the thing you want to do forever but you have to get out of it what you can.

That first job doesn't have to last for long before you move onto something closer to what you really want. It's easier to get that second job once you've got some experience, but seeing how few people I went to uni with who have an actual job in design, it's worth going after anything just to get your foot in the door without being overly picky. Plus, the momentum totally drops after uni so go for it straight away or it gets harder the longer you leave it.

Also I don't know what sort of thing you're doing but if you're looking to get into a commercial print house they want florals. Make sure you have lots of different styles of commercial stuff in your portfolio, and don't stop designing when you finish uni, so you're constantly refreshing your portfolio.

Have a look at the types of places you want to work on Instagram and the type of thing they design, that’s what you need.

I hope this helps, ask me anything - happy to help.

Hope your third year is going well and sorry for the GIANT essay! I just remember how stressed I was about finding the right job and it's not worth it! If you put in the work and push it'll happen.”

My reply

I replied with this below message which shows me reflecting on what Ali has said to me in the her above answers.

I said, “Thank you so much Ali! That sounds really exciting but also a lot of hard work, working for a startup business. I can imagine it’s really good learning so much about a startup business because as you said, you’re constantly growing and improving with Think Positive. Wow, that’s amazing Ali!! You really deserve it though. You’ve got a really quirky and amazing style so I’m not surprised that you’re doing so well

I see, but it’s good to have experience within a management role! It also gives you a good opportunity to see what you like more and the role you prefer. I love that aspect of your job, that you aren’t just doing one thing but you’re also speaking to customers, researching and preparing files. That’s the sort of job I think I would like where it’s not just one thing but a variety of things! I really enjoy speaking to people and working as a team but I also love designing so I think I would quite like that mix. I’m not sure where to look or who offers a job like this?

Ah yes, that’s a really good idea. I can really imagine you with your own business and from this job, you’ll have all the knowledge behind you and skills to create a successful business! I’m drawn to what you said about not really having a deadline, I like that! I’m not really great with deadlines, I can do them but I like the idea of doing it until you get it right! Yeah your job is a great job to start with out of University! I would be extremely happy with that! Ah that’s really good, shows how good you are at your job!

That’s incredibly true. That’s definitely a good approach to looking at it as your right, it doesn’t have to be a job that I do forever, it can be a starting to point into getting closer to what I want to do. I think I need to remember that and realise that any job is experience and a step closer. If I got offered a job and it wasn’t exactly where I would like it be, I wouldn’t turn it down! An experience is an experience. That’s so true, not many people seemed to get a design job when you all left, must be really hard! Yeah, I can imagine it gets harder the longer I leave it to get a job. I would like to try and get a placement lined up just as something, whilst I hope to get a job in the meantime.

I did Japanese designs for the last projects and I’m now looking at florals and geometrics. That’s very true, I think a lot of people forget to carry on designing when they leave University! Yeah that’s a good idea, I will look on Instagram and try and find where I might fit.

Thank you so much Ali! That must have taken you a while to write but I really appreciate. It’s really helpful! That’s very true. I guess it’s more about making a beautiful portfolio, than worrying about if I get a job. I guess it’s good to have a sort of direction. Your job has made me wonder though if I would fit better at a company like Think Positive. I really like the idea of working as a team to produce a commission and also having a varied job. I’m not sure if having a strict deadline, churning out a million designs and just designing would be right for me. I wouldn’t know where to really look to find opportunities like Think Positive though. It’s so hard to know where you fit until you start working.

Sorry to ask more questions but your job has really sparked my interest but if you have any free time, I would really appreciate it!

What would you say are the most important skills that Think Positive want?

If you were employing someone new onto your team, what would you look for?

Ali’s reply

As I said above, I was attracted to her job because of the variation it offers. Ali said, “The variety is one thing I really love. I like using my brain as well as doing some design work but I would love to be doing a little more of my own design work. It's something I can build up in my own time though so I'm happy my employers support me doing that.”

1. I’m not sure where to look for a varied job role?

“I would think if you want a varied role you would be better looking for a smaller company where you get to do different things rather than full on design. I found that internships and placements are a key thing employers are looking for too so setting some decent ones up for after graduation would be a great idea. Maybe try to get placements at different types of places cos it'll help you narrow down a bit more what you want to do and you never know if it might lead to a job if it goes well. “

2. What would you say are the most important skills that Think Positive want?

“The thing that my company look for is passion and drive. A lot of places are the same, they want people who are excited about the industry and who are hungry! You can be pushy to a degree, if people can see you are keen and want it enough, someone will give you a chance!

There are so many small design businesses out there, look on Instagram, I know a few people who got internships and jobs from getting their Instagram really good and then contacting companies on there!

New designers was fantastic for me. I got lots of opportunities from it, mainly cos I pounced on anyone who looked at my work and tried to be open and chatty and interested in what people had to say even when I had the biggest hangover ha.

I'd just work hard on your portfolio and keep passionate about your work even if you have a couple of knock backs. And your bubbly personality will help so much!!”

3. What do you want to see in a portfolio?

“Honestly with my portfolio I've had to do so much since Uni to help fill all areas. Literally google design jobs as you would do when you leave uni and for the jobs you'd want to apply for, have a think about what you'd need in your portfolio to apply for those jobs. You'll realise that you need stuff that works for quite a few different contexts. Literally start adding that sorta stuff to your portfolio!”

Reflection

My interview with Ali was extremely informative, inspiring and helpful as she raised many good points which I’ve highlighted in yellow. I’m not sure where to start as there’s loads of things Ali has mentioned to help me with thinking about careers and portfolios. I reflected on her job and on her first set of answers to my questions which are highlighted in yellow in my reply. I think it’s amazing that she’s landed herself such a great job as it’s given her the opportunity to basically learn a business from scratch and this experience will help her build her own one. As I mentioned, I was really drawn to the versatility in her job as I like the fact that she’s working as part of team and engaging with clients and with commissions. It sounds, exciting, informative, hard work but fun. Even though as Ali said, there’s less designing with this job, I really think I would enjoy the team work atmosphere and the variety in the job. I would love to a have a job like Ali’s as it’s an amazing starting point because she’s learning everything as she’s growing with the business. Once again, there’s a worry that I would miss the designing but like what Ali does, I could build a portfolio in my spare time so it’s not impossible. Also, she raised a very good point that I keep mentioning throughout my reflections. She said that my first job doesn’t have to be forever, it gets me on the career ladder and it makes it a lot easier for me to get a second job. The longer I’m out of it, the harder it will be to get my first job. I’ve already said I’d hundred percent say yes to any opportunity that came my way because whatever happens, I’ll learn something from the job and I’ll discover if it’s for me or if it isn’t. I could then look for another job if it’s not for me as I would finally have enough experience behind me.

One thing that also stood out to me was that she said that she doesn’t really have a deadline. It’s more focused on getting the design right which I really like. I get very stressed with deadlines, even though I am easily capable to deal with them but this more relaxed approach might be the way forward with me. Although, it seems quite unrealistic as most design jobs have deadlines but it could be interesting to look further into.

Also, Ali commented that if I wanted a more varied role, she said to look at smaller companies as you get to other things rather than full on design that’s associated with the larger companies. Therefore, I will definitely research further into this and read the descriptions and discover what I might prefer.

Ali also made a good point about my portfolio and said to basically google what companies I want to work for and find out what I need to have and put it in my portfolio This is what I’m doing currently but I’m being more generalised and looking at a range of companies and writing down what they all want in a portfolio. I want to make sure I’m covering all aspects so I can appeal to most companies. She also reiterated that I need to keep refreshing my portfolio as she started to working on the gaps in her own portfolio. As a result of this, I will make sure I keep updating and refreshing my portfolio to keep it on trend so I appeal commercially and to keep improving my drawing and design skills.

#reflection

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luke-porter · 7 years

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My Freelance Journey

So I began my journey as a designer roughly five years ago. I was a 14-year-old school kid interested in making music, creating short films and taking photos, so my creativity was already flowing in other areas. Looking into the design/illustration world seemed like a logical step to see how I could apply my creative thinking and express my ideas through a new and exciting medium.

My interest in design, and particularly illustration, bloomed through my fixation with the program Adobe Illustrator more than anything else (I owned a torrented version of Illustrator, which I hadn’t paid for because I was a kid with no money. I was naughty. Sorry. Of course I now pay for the full Adobe Creative Cloud subscription). Simply learning how that program could make things look a certain way and figuring out what the hundreds of tools and buttons did was thrilling. Nerdy, I know, but I would come home from school each day and look up Adobe Illustrator tutorials on YouTube to teach me how to use a specific tool or how to achieve a certain illustrative style. Will Paterson & Chris Spooner were particularly helpful with their excellent tutorials. Each time I followed a tutorial I would end up with a design or an illustration, which I would save to my hard drive whether I thought it was good or not. I was unknowingly starting to build a portfolio of work.

Through my school years I would tell people I didn’t watch much TV (I do like a good Netflix series, but I was never one to just sit down in front of the TV and watch whatever was on). Most people would seem pretty shocked and ask ‘what do you do then?’ I found it quite hard to answer that question. My general reply would be 'I don’t really know. I guess I go on my computer a lot’. Only now I’m looking back do I realise that I spent the majority of my time (other than being in school, doing homework and seeing my friends) designing and learning about design. I find it pretty cool that I was almost subconsciously training myself in the theory and skills of design. It’s just what I enjoyed. I enjoyed a lot of things, but I always found it hard to stick at one thing for a long period of time. After a few months of being gripped by design and the endless possibilities it offered, I knew this wasn’t just going to be something I’d lose interest in over time.

It got to a point where I had created a good amount of what I thought was decent(ish) looking design and illustration work, but it was all sitting unseen on my hard drive, so I decided to start a Tumblr blog and I posted various pieces I had designed on there. It was a quick and easy way to show people the kind of work I was creating. Having a website of any kind is really useful, whether it’s a full portfolio website or just a simple blog of work, so you at least have something to show if anyone asks! As time went on more and more friends and family saw the stuff I was creating. I wasn’t making any money from designing at this point, but at least people were beginning to hear that I was interested in this design thing.

I started to do free design jobs for friends and family members. My skills steadily grew with each job I did. Then I began getting the odd £10 for this and £15 for that. It would be sparse to start with, but I was excited to be making any money at all from doing the thing I loved! I eventually moved away from using the Tumblr blog as my portfolio and used some of the money I had earned designing to pay for a proper portfolio website. The work on there slowly evolved from solely work I had made for fun into a mixture of personal projects and paid design pieces.

A perk of having creative brothers is that you get to meet a lot of their creative friends. I went to a portfolio review/creative meet up that my older brother helped organise, and there I met a guy who owned a design and branding agency in the city. I quickly showed him my stuff and he invited me for a proper sit down portfolio review at his office. We arranged a time and I went along. Although it was rather scary it was really worthwhile having a professional designer look at my work and give me feedback. The input you get from someone who really knows what they’re talking about is invaluable. From this meeting he invited me to do a week-long internship at his agency. The week I spent there was the first proper glimpse I got of how a design career would feel. It was a really great experience.

Rather luckily the creative department of my church The Belfrey was growing in size and skill at the same time I was developing my own creative skills. I began to work quite closely with them, mostly for free, producing a variety of material from flyers to videos to logos. The Youth ministry at the church, which I was part of, was also growing and the team were in need of a lot of different creative services. This gave me a fantastic opportunity to keep developing my skills and to get my work seen by hundreds of people, whilst earning the odd bit of pocket money on the side! Churches are a brilliant way to make connections and chat to people who may need creative work, and a lot of the clients I work with today come to my attention through the church.

By the time I turned 18 I was earning enough money from freelance work to not need a part-time job whilst studying at Sixth Form. It felt pretty good being able to sit in my pyjamas, at my computer, on a Saturday morning whilst my friends were out working in cafes and shops! I also began branching out a little beyond just design work and landed a few paid film and photography jobs (both of which I was still doing as hobbies anyway). As I came towards the end of my time at Sixth Form I had to make the choice of whether to go to university or not. I looked at many creative degrees and design-related courses around the country, but none of them seemed quite right. Since I had been working with the creative department at The Belfrey I heard about the part-time, year-long internship scheme the church ran. I could spend a year working in that creative department whilst learning more about the Christian faith. It sounded really interesting to me. I told my Sixth Form tutors about it and eventually decided to apply for that rather than university. I went for an interview, was accepted, and after a great summer I started the internship.

I’m now in the last few months of the internship at The Belfrey, but when I first started there I didn’t feel I had enough freelance work coming in to support me financially. The internship is unpaid, but the church offers rent-free accommodation for the year. Therefore my bills aren’t huge but I still need enough money to feed and clothe myself! So I started looking for design jobs in York. I applied for a part-time design job at a startup called RotaCloud. With no design-related qualifications (other than a GCSE in Graphic Design) and somewhat limited design experience, I was unconfident I would even get an interview. Surprisingly I did get an interview, and I got the job! My time at RotaCloud was amazing. I got to use my skills to create blog illustrations, user guides, logos, t-shirts and all sorts of other really cool stuff. I learnt a lot whilst I was there. But at the same time as working there I began to get more freelance work coming in. It eventually got to the point where I had to turn down client jobs as I didn’t have enough time to work at RotaCloud, The Belfrey and keep a freelance business going all at once. So I made the decision to leave RotaCloud, as I felt that freelance work was more suited to me than working for a company. It was a sad move but definitely the right one.

Since leaving RotaCloud my income has come from freelance work alone. I’ve delved into the world of motion graphics, and a large chunk of my time is now spent on motion graphics and animation work. Business is constantly improving and I’m planning on freelancing full time after the internship ends this summer! Going to university may be an option for the future, if necessary, however I’d like to grow my freelance business as much as I can and see where that takes me.

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ramialkarmi · 7 years

Text

The 'messy' way a former Goldman Sachs employee grew a $150 million startup, then turned half his employees into millionaires

Scott Belsky is an early investor in startups such as Uber, Pinterest, and Warby Parker who began his career at Goldman Sachs.

He realized quickly that Goldman wasn't for him, so he spent the next four years saving $18,000. He used the money and some help from those close to him to quit and bootstrap a startup called Behance. Belsky didn't take a paycheck for the next two years.

In the end, the hard work paid off. Adobe purchased Behance for a reported $150 million, and Belsky went out of his way to turn half of his employees into millionaires from the sale.

But he says the sale isn't the interesting part of his story. Instead, it was the stressful "messy middle" years of Behance that defined his career.

Belsky sat down with Business Insider for an episode of our career-focused podcast, "Success! How I Did It," to discuss how he built a $150 million company, how he discovers billion-dollar startups like Uber before anyone else, and how he turned half of his employees into millionaires.

And if you're looking to join a startup, Belsky has advice for you too. He says there's one simple stock-option question everyone needs to ask before accepting a startup job.

Here's the episode (or keep scrolling to read the lightly edited transcription):

Shontell: We have Scott Belsky, a venture partner at Benchmark. He is also an entrepreneur who left Goldman Sachs to start a company called Behance, which was acquired by Adobe for $150 million. He's a best-selling author.

We'll talk about all of that, but first I want to go back to the Goldman days. You graduated from Cornell and went to Goldman Sachs, which is where a lot of people want to build and end their careers — but not you.

Scott Belsky: In 2001, 2002, I wanted to be in business and was looking for an internship or a full-time job. And people say, "You have to cut your teeth on Wall Street," especially if you were on the East Coast back then. And so I did — I migrated to a very mundane job on the trading floor at Goldman Sachs.

It was the 50th floor of 1 New York Plaza at the time, and it definitely did whip me into professional shape. I learned a lot about how the markets work and certainly improved my finance skills. A year and a half in, I realized this was not where I was going to spend my career.

Shontell: And you stayed for four years?

Belsky: Yes. So when I realized that I said, "OK, finance is not my thing." I had a design background from undergrad, and I was interested in flexing some of those muscles as well as learning about how a company is run. I was fascinated with leadership development and succession planning.

There was a job that opened up in the executive office that was focused on organizational improvement and succession planning, and they needed an analyst-level person to come in and help. I thought that was such a cool opportunity to be a fly on the wall, seeing how the firm was run. So I did that and then I stayed for three years before going to business school and starting my company.

How a Goldman Sachs employee launched a bootstrapped startup with $18,000 — then survived without a paycheck for 2 years

Shontell: So you had a plan in the works and you were squirreling away money with the hopes of someday starting your own thing?

Belsky: Yes. When I was in the second job at Goldman, I was learning so much. I had a group of colleagues I really looked up to who were mostly academics. In the world of leadership development I worked with people like Jack Welch at GE, that sort of thing. And then at night I was kind of working my own ideas.

Things really got real in 2004, or early 2005, when I met another designer by the name of Matias Corea. And he and I started having a bottle of wine at night at 9 p.m. after work and sketching out this idea for what would ultimately become Behance.

Shontell: So what is Behance? Or what was it? Is it still around?

Belsky: It is still around, and it's now a network of over 10 million creatives all around the world showcasing their work and getting jobs and opportunities and that sort of thing. It's probably the largest creative professional network in the world at this point.

And so the idea behind Behance was to put up your work, have your own personal portfolio hosted on your own domain, but also to have all that portfolio content categorized and organized for people to find it and give you jobs.

Shontell: So, when you were starting this company — which sounds extremely different than being an analyst — it was not cool to leave Wall Street for a startup. You were one of the first, and then there was this wave of people moving from Wall Street into tech. Was that scary?

Belsky: It's strange thinking back about how scared I was to leave this comfortable womb of Goldman Sachs, where I had healthcare and all of these little perks. I felt like I was in the mix in New York, being employed. And to explain to people that I was leaving with this idea just didn't make sense to most. So I more often told them I was leaving to go to business school. Which in some ways was a hedge. It was, "If this idea doesn't work out, at least I can probably get a job again, because they'll have seen me go to business school, which is somewhat normal."

Shontell: Do you think the business-school era of your career was necessary?

Belsky: It's a great question. I would say it's like 51-49% I can't regret the relationships I made and certainly some of the things that I learned. Also I would say that business school does not add a lot of credibility in my field of technology and entrepreneurship, and I don't find that it gives me a ton of value.

I also think that it's really helpful to learn the playbooks of the past, but when you're really, really innovating at the edge of an industry, the playbooks of the past also can paralyze you. And so maybe it's a help to understand them, but sometimes being naïve at the top of the funnel of doing something is helpful. You know, it almost makes you think that there's potential beyond what's been done before. And when you know too much about an industry you get scared away from it.

Shontell: And I assume you went to Harvard, just because you're so successful?

Belsky: Yes. Actually, there's this woman named Teresa Amabile who is a professor at Harvard focusing on creativity in business. And so I actually emailed her before I even applied anywhere and tried to ask her about her research, and if I got in would I be able to work with her? And she was like, yeah sure, if you can get in, call me.

And so I only applied to Harvard and with the explicit reason of working with her. My essays were actually about building this company to organize the creative world. And I'm sure they were like, I don't know who this kid is, but he definitely knows who he wants to work with and what he wants to do with it. That probably helped me, because my scores were not very good.

Shontell: So let me get this straight. You were a Harvard guy and a Goldman Sachs guy, and you chose to bootstrap your startup when you started Behance. You probably could have raised money, I would assume, with that background, from a good number of VCs.

It's kind of like being a Google engineer — it seems like the money just sort of rains down on you when you're looking for a seed round. So why did you put that burden on yourself financially? Why bootstrap?

Belsky: I think there were two reasons. One was probably I just wanted to control my own destiny at that point, and I wasn't sure whether ... This might be a lifestyle business. I mean we started ... We always liked to say we were medium-agnostic but mission-centric, so the mission was to organize the creative world, but we would do it through any medium possible, whether it was a book or a conference or a blog or a technology like the Behance network. And so I knew that was really a red flag to VCs, who would say: "Oh, not focused. We're not going to invest in a company that's going to spend the money on producing a conference."

I knew that that just didn't resonate. And so I said to myself, OK, I want to control my own destiny here, and I want to be able to do these things because I think they're important for our brand. And also I want to allow for the ability for this to maybe be a lifestyle business, where we provide for the team and everyone can make a decent living, and we don't have anyone else owning our equity.

Shontell: And so how long was it that you went without a paycheck?

Belsky: I went without a paycheck for about two years.

Shontell: And your family was cool with it? They're fine — it wasn't scary?

Belsky: I had money saved up from Goldman. I had been there for about 4 1/2 years. I had family that was willing to kind of help me on my rent and stuff like that, so I certainly wasn't on my own completely, but I definitely had a small bank-account balance. And I was definitely always saying to myself, "OK, when am I going to have to get a 'real' job?"

It got to the point where I just wanted the business to succeed so much that I remember actually not even reimbursing myself for taxi receipts because I'd be like, OK, I just want these numbers to look as great as possible. And the least that I can take out of the business, helps us kind of show that the business is working. And I also just wanted to make sure that the team was as comfortable as they could be in this period of time where there was so much uncertainty, and we weren't really making it yet.

Shontell: And so at two years, is that when you, I assume, started making money? Because to me, sounds great to connect the world's creative people, but it's not obvious how you're going to make money with that. So how did you kind of get the ball rolling there?

Belsky: Our first product ever was six months after the company was sort of officially founded in late 2005, and this was a paper product line. And so they were basically a design line of paper products that I actually used to design for myself when I was at Goldman. And it had a really defined area where you capture actionable items, and a sketch area, and the idea was to push designers towards capturing actionable stuff that came out of meetings and brainstorms.

And so we put this line out there and Matias helped do the final design and make it look good. We got it printed by a printer in Massachusetts, and we got featured on some blogs like Cool Hunting and a few others right away. And immediately there was this loyal following of people who were purchasing these products. And so that was when we first had revenue, and then as that scaled up, and we had a retail distribution channel as well, I said OK, I should probably take a little bit of salary to pay my bills. And then that led to conference, led to us being signed with Federated Media alongside Business Insider and other early publications to get ad deals for the pageviews we were amounting. And this is back in the day when there were good CPMs (cost per thousand ad views) for things like that.

Shontell: Definitely. Yeah, so for people who don't remember who Federated Media was, it was basically the way your company, our company, TechCrunch, Bleacher Report, all of the great sites that were founded I feel like in 2007, 2008, or even a little bit before were funded by this company, Federate Media, who would sell ad deals for you when you didn't have a sales team yourself.

Belsky: Exactly, which we didn't. And for a medium-agnostic platform like us, we didn't have an ads sale team of course, so that was a perfect partner at the time. And that's we bootstrapped the business, and it was really hand-to-mouth type of activity. We were always maybe a few months away from not making payroll. It made us really feel the granularity of our business, and it was extraordinarily tough.

Shontell: Did you have some sort of benchmark in your mind where you're like, OK, if I'm not at this point by this amount of time, I'm just pulling the plug and going back to corporate America?

Belsky: That's a really good question. No. I didn't. And also, and this is crazy, but until we raised venture funding five years into the business, I had never had a conversation with my team about an exit of any sort. Even Matias and I were the first two people there, we never even over coffee said, "Well, should we ever exit?" It just never was in our lexicon until we had these meetings with investors. We just were loving what we were doing. We felt like it was important. We felt like design was becoming a competitive advantage in the business world. And we said OK, if we're the number one platform for designers and design is becoming the competitive advantage, we're going to be fine.

Shontell: And so how did bootstrapping for all those years, and then you later raised money from Square Ventures and a few others, how did that help your terms with venture capitalists?

Belsky: Well it helped extremely — I don't advise people to do this, because there were many near-death experiences. I do believe that we in some ways squeezed blood from stone at times and maybe survived at times we shouldn't have. So I don't think it's wise, per se. However, it's one of those things where if it doesn't kill you, it makes you stronger. And so five years in, we were a breakeven business. We had a team of over 15 people probably. We had a brand that was established. We had a network that was rapidly growing. We went to raise money, and we could do it on our own terms. And we only sold a very small percentage of the company, because we had earned that right. But I don't know if the odds were ever, you know, good enough to have made that decision wisely.

Shontell: So, what are some of these near-death experiences?

Belsky: Ad deals falling through and realizing, oh, our three months of runway just went down to 1 1/2. Or people not paying their bills. Not being able to hire certain people that you needed because you didn't have the cash to do it. The downturn of 2008, when things just kind of went south. And I was doing some of these little speaking things for companies on helping them have better-organized design teams, and suddenly the budgets go away for something like that. Realizing we built our network wrong, basically had to recode the whole thing because it wasn't scalable. Or that we signed on to the wrong hosting partner and realized, oh shit, they're not going to be able to scale us either.

It's all of those things, that each one of it — it's sort of like death by a thousand paper cuts in some way, but also at times we just realized oh my goodness, this may not work. And we just persisted. I think it was the team, and the culture, and the fact that we really liked working together. Also, we were in New York, where people weren't always buzzing about like, another company just got funded, or, another job at Facebook they could get. There was a degree of loyalty that I think was essential in New York uniquely, to keep our team together long enough to survive.

Shontell: One benefit that you get when you have a team of investors, and I guess you had a board probably, but when you get investors there's strategic investors. They can help make connections for you; they can help advocate your brand; they can be someone to vent to all the time. How did you get through those highs and lows when you're bootstrapping and you don't necessarily have access to all that?

Belsky: Well I think as the leader of a company it's always lonely. And you look for mentors and other people that you can go to for specific things, and I think I did that. I didn't have anyone that I could just tell everything to and who could just be there shoulder to shoulder with me, until we actually raised money and I had the USV and other folks in the circle. I think I was just really selective about it, and it was really lonely. It was anxiety-filled, and I also believe that as an entrepreneur one of the greatest costs is the constant processing of uncertainty that your brain is managing. It's almost like dedicating 20% of your RAM to one task that is always running. And you're never as present with your family, or your friends, and you're always just processing. And I think that's really, really hard, but it's part of the cognitive costs you pay.

The 'messy middle' of a startup no one ever talks about

Shontell: And so part of the reason why I'm touching on this is that you've kind of coined a term for all this called the messy middle.

Belsky: Yeah.

Shontell: Which is something that the press doesn't really get to write about or doesn't write about very much. It's usually the launch, or the ending of a startup when you sell, or something like that, or going under. But there's all these things that happen in the middle of a startup that are really hard for entrepreneurs to grapple with.

Belsky: I'm glad you ask about it — it's my obsession lately and over the years. Which is that the press and media, and everyone else, loves covering the romanticism of the start, when people quit their jobs and start something and launch a new idea or raise some funding. And then we also love covering and talking about the finish, whether it's an acquisition or an IPO, or a bankruptcy. Or a legal investigation. These are piffy headlines that people love to write about. What doesn't get covered really as often is just everything that happens, as like you said, in the messy middle. And all of that is really, in my mind, two things. It's endurance. It's enduring the amenity and the uncertainty and the lack of rewards, or financial rewards, or customers — or anyone telling you you're doing a good job or anyone even knowing what you're doing. And then it's enduring that, and hacking yourself and your team to be able to withstand that.

And then it's also optimization. It's constantly optimizing anything that actually is working, like the way your team is working, the way you're hiring, the way you are working and being productive. Optimizing your product or service, constantly making it better. When anyone says they liked it for some reason you accentuate that. All of those things make up the optimization side of the messy middle. And I just think it's one of those parts of the journey — not only entrepreneurs but artists and anyone else that people seldom talk about.

Shontell: So the press person in me, titling this podcast would probably be something like, "Man puts $18,000 into startup." That was your initial investment, wasn't it?

Belsky: Yeah.

Shontell: And turns it into, dun dun duh, the end, the 150-million-plus sales to Adobe.

Belsky: Which tells you absolutely nothing, right? The writer in me would also look for the same, piffy, whatever. But in truth, that was so sort of ancillary to all of the real calculus. In the real strokes of fate and luck, and individuals that joined our team, that made all the difference. And there are probably at least a dozen or so people that without any one of them, the stars would not have aligned and Behance would have never succeeded.

Shontell: Well we do have to talk about the ending a little bit.

Belsky: Sure.

How a giant startup acquisition actually happens

Shontell: So, you did end up getting this great exit to Adobe. How did that come about? You guys had been partners for a while. How long had you been talking to Adobe? How does a deal like that come to be?

Belsky: Yeah, well, there's always a relationship. And my attitude was we were never looking to sell the company. We were never really thinking about--

Shontell: People always say that, but if you're a first-time founder, it's hard to not imagine what it would be like.

Belsky: But also is in vogue to never think about it too.

Shontell: Right.

Belsky: I mean you just, you had this idea of, oh, well, you know Facebook never thought about that, and like, I'm just going to stay focused on the long term.

Shontell: I'm sure he thought about that when Yahoo came around.

Belsky: Probably.

Shontell: I think he was pretty close.

Belsky: Well when you get an offer you do think about it. But before you get an offer, you just tell yourself you're in it for the long haul. You have a vision of what this is going to look like years from now, and anything that gets in the way of that, including talking to Corp Dev people and stuff, is sort of noise. And so I really didn't like these sorts of conversations, but sometimes there were partners where I said OK, they could do an ad buy. They could do a partnership where we could get people who download their products to automatically sign up for Behance portfolio. There are a lot of things like that.

When Adobe decided to make the switch from software to service, and really literally overnight that flipped a switch, and they became one of the largest SAS businesses on Wall Street. Over a billion dollars and annual ARR in annual occurring revenue, they realized that they needed a network at the center of their offering. And we were the really best alternative out there, aside from building it. And so it became very clear to me that we were very strategic, that we would not be a tech acquisition, or something that was broken up. We would be like a core, product-strategy acquisition.

I loved the team that I was working with there when I was starting to really get to know them. And then from the financial perspective, the question was — it was really a simple math problem. It was basically OK, we've taken very little dilution. We've only done one round of funding and it was small. The team owns a big percentage of the company, and if we don't do this now, we're going to have to probably do a B and C. We're going to take this much more dilution — we're going to take this much more market risk for a team that's already been together for five-plus years.

There's a lot of risk there, and if you actually do the math and start to think about it, the outcome of this acquisition versus waiting for five more years and potentially getting bought for $500 or $11 billion. It's actually the same. It's literally the same. And the question is, well, if that's a really good outcome from an investor perspective, and we think it's a really great acquirer, and we're going to be really centralized and empowered at this company, maybe this is our parent. Maybe this is meant to be.

Shontell: You know I think there's a good point in that. If you look at the exits of Huffington Post versus TechCrunch, Huffington Post sells for $300 plus million; TechCrunch $20 million to $30 million. But both Mike Arrington, the founder of TechCrunch, and Arianna Huffington, the cofounder of Huffington Post, made about the same. They both walked away with about $10 million or so, I think were the reports.

Belsky: I wrote an article recently about the sort of unicorn space that — it was also shared with Business Insider, and you guys were generous enough to republish it. And it was really about this question of the economics of these financings and trying to get employees to understand the ramifications of these things. Obviously the billion-dollar acquisition sounds amazing, compared to a $100 million acquisition or $20 million acquisition. But when you actually, as you're saying, do the math, you start to realize it's all about not only the dilution but also the terms of the financings that these companies have done and what the liquidation preferences are. And there's a lot of other math that happens where — I remember when Tumblr got acquired for $1 billion. There were people who didn't get much of anything that worked there, right? And you see, I hear those stories all the time. So it should really be about the mechanics of the company, and the decisions that were made in the financings and less so that total number that the press likes to cover.

The one stock-option question everyone should ask before accepting a job at a startup

Shontell: So, talk a little bit about what employees can do to realize what kind of a situation they're in when they join a startup. What questions should they be asking? What do they need to know about stock options? How do you know if — you know it sounds great when your company raises $50 million to $100-plus million, but what does that actually do to you?

Belsky: Sure. The two things that I think are important are one, is to realize that when you're joining a startup the likely outcome is nothing. And even if the company does OK and has an exit, if you're a later-stage employee, you should really be making sure that you get an experiential education that is extremely rewarding, first and foremost. But if you are sacrificing salary, you have a right to upside. And you also have a right to understand what your upside might be.

And so rather than suggest to every engineer or designer or anyone else out there to get copies of term sheets and look — I mean it's really hard to do all that stuff and to ask a million questions. You're probably not going to get far in the interview process if those are your questions. But what you can do, when it's in the final stage of accepting an offer, is you can ask a simple question. Based on the equity you're offering me, what would my stake be worth if the company were acquired for $200 million, for $500 million, for $1 billion? Just ask that question.

Your answer might be that if it's acquired for $200 million, your stake is worth zero. If it's acquired for $500 million, your stake is worth zero. And if it's acquired for $1 billion, your stake is worth $100,000. Or whatever. But at least that answer can give you some sense of really what's going on. And I think that's the company's obligation to at least give you some directional guidance on what the likely value of your equity would be in those circumstances, and those are the questions people should ask.

Shontell: And any negotiating tips if you do hear that what you're being offered is zero?

Belsky: Well I think that just having that knowledge allows you to say something like, "Well, if the company were to be acquired for $1 billion and my equity is worth zero, maybe my salary should be a little higher," right? So it's that kind of calculus. Recently an entrepreneur called me with an acquisition offer from one of these unicorn companies. And he said it was like an $85 million acquisition offer for a company that had raised basically seed funding. And he was really psyched about it.

And he had not even asked these questions yet. And when he did, because I said to him, if you got your company acquired right now for $85 million in equity from this unicorn company, and you found out that they ended up exiting at the valuation they raised their last financing at, ask them like how much you would end up getting. And he ended up learning that it was basically nothing. And he didn't go through with it. So, I think he could've negotiated a much larger acquisition price I think based on that. But he chose not to just proceed at all. I think these are the types of questions and they open up obviously the types of negotiating points you could pursue.

Shontell: Are companies obligated to tell you?

Belsky: I don't think they're obligated to. But then as a prospective employee, you can decide whether you want to work for them or not. And that's just part of the calculus.

How to sell your startup for $150 million and turn half your employees into millionaires

Shontell: So one thing that you did when you were selling the company is you actually went out of your way to make sure that a lot of your employees were in good shape financially. Not something that you legally had to do — you actually looked at how many options they had been granted and how much they would make from the sale. I think you had a spreadsheet, right? Where you said like, OK, this is how much they have, and here's how much I think they deserve. Talk me through that, because that's very admirable. You don't hear a lot of people doing things like that.

Belsky: Well I'll tell you what, I first of all, selfishly, that was one of the most important things I ever did. Because I have a team of people that I got to continue working with for another three years at Adobe, and we were all rewarded again for the work that we did because we stuck together. It was like a long-term greedy decision I would say, because when everyone feels like they're taken care of, they're more loyal, and they stay engaged and focused on the right things. And you can have what I like to call second coming at Adobe, which is, just you know, doing something all over again and making an impact and being rewarded for it.

I also think that I've already realized that those sorts of stories get out. I want to admit that there is a selfish side to that, right?

Shontell: Yes, but if you had your $100 million exit or whatever you could ride off into a sunset and never worry about if you piss people off or not.

Belsky: I think that that happens too often, and I think that there's something about the values of an entrepreneur should be. That you should be able to look at everyone that's worked for you, look at them in the eye, and know that they feel like you took care of them. And I think it's like the stewardship role of an entrepreneur is to take care of your team. And I think that goes through in difficult times as well as in great times.

My math is very simple. I looked through the whole roster of everyone on our team--

Shontell: And how many people were there?

Belsky: So at the time of acquisition maybe like, 27, 32, I forget. That's something in the high 20s or low 30s. And what I did as an exercise with Will Allen, our COO, at the time, is I said OK, what would be the re-up grants that we're going to give all these people over the next two to three years? And let's assume that all of them had vested over those two or three years, and we had sold the company for $150 million, $200 million, what would their stake be worth?

And the let's make sure that's what they get out of this acquisition. So I can go to all of them and say this is what your equity would've been that you were going to get over the next couple of years. This is what it would all be worth once it's all vested. I want to make sure you have that now, and so for the next three years we can make some of the greatest work of our lives and we can all feel like this is resolved and exceeded our expectations. And we did that for every single member of the team.

Shontell: So you basically accelerated the vesting process?

Belsky: So we accelerated their unvested equity, as well as allocated additional value across the board to people, based on what we felt like their future grant would have been. For example, we had some incredible engineers who had joined us just six or eight months ago but really made the difference between this deal maybe happening or not. But none of their equity had been vested, and they'd only gotten one grant so far. And we wanted them to be a part of the team for years. And we figured if we could just synthetically make them realize that they were kind of getting what they would've gotten as sort of locked in, with some retention of course, some retention incentive that we could do that.

And so it kept the team together at the expense of some of the return to the investors and myself. And one thing I have to say about square ventures is I had one call with them, where I told them this and it was basically millions of dollars off the top in return for them — they were totally OK with it. And supportive.

Shontell: So you have to get by from your investors and the company that's buying you to do this. And I guess for some entrepreneurs, it's an acquire situation where they might not have the most negotiating power during a sale, but--

Belsky: In our case we did, but Adobe loved this idea, because this is to their benefit. I mean if you think about it, they were having less money go in my pocket and investor's pockets, and they were having more money going into the team with some retention incentive. So to them it was like, yeah sure, this is great. It was really the sell to the investors that I was worried about, but they were supportive.

Shontell: So it ended up being that about half of those people, like a dozen or so, became millionaires in the sale. Which is pretty amazing. So half of your team.

Belsky: Right. A million more. And it was great. I mean it's really rewarding. And I will never forget the conversations I had with each person, where I knew about each of their situations: I knew about their college loans. I knew a lot about these things because as a bootstrap business, you get very intimate with people's financial situations because you're working with them to figure out what will make it work. And to deliver that news and see their faces, and share it also with the whole team, is probably one of the most emotional moments of my life.

How Scott Belsky discovered and invested in Uber, Pinterest, and Warby Parker before everyone else

Shontell: I want to switch gears, put your other hat on a little bit, and talk about your investing that you do. Since you've left Adobe, you were an executive there for a couple of years after the sale. You joined Benchmark as a partner, and you're a venture partner with them. But you've always been a seed investor for as long as I've known you, anyhow. And a couple notable things that you've invested in very, very early on are Uber, Pinterest, Warby Parker, Periscope, which sold to Twitter before it really even launched. So how do you find these things? And what are you looking for in entrepreneurs to know if they're going to win?

Belsky: Well, I think — you know, I like to say that a labor of love always pays off. And when I meet entrepreneurs that excite me, solving problems that are interesting to me, and they allow me to roll up my sleeves and take in a product a little bit, I geek out over it. And I get involved, and if I can, I put in money. And that's sort of in my seed-investor playbook, right? To be honest. And of course when one of those companies does well, then you get more, as they call it in the industry, deal flow. Because people who know you were involved with say, Uber, then say OK, well do you want to see this? Do you want to see that?

So I've enjoyed that part of life and have dedicated some percentage of my energy towards investing and working with these really sage teams. I think I went into the full-time general-partner role at first at Benchmark. My assumption was that my love of that would be a proxy for me loving the traditional investor job at a kind of classic venture-capital firm, and I just realized that they're actually very different. And while there's some of that that you would do, being at a VC firm, I just like the flexibility and the creativity. And the problems that are faced at an earlier seed stage versus like the late stage, postmomentum, series A or series B, that a firm like Benchmark traditionally does. And so that's why I am spending more of my time on the earlier-stage, venture-partner-type deals now.

And what do you look for? You look for a team that is really receptive to feedback, really not just passionate but also empathetic with the customer. That's really one of the biggest mistakes I see in entrepreneurship, is a team that's super passionate about a solution, but they really don't have empathy with the people that they're targeting.

Shontell: So what was the first meeting you had with Pinterest? Ben Silbermann, the CEO there, finds you. He's in New York; you're in New York. What happens?

Belsky: Well he was building a product that was grid-centric, from a design perspective, and Behance was always also a grid of projects. He also realized that the most valuable pins were well designed. They were beautiful pieces of art and design and whatever and--

Shontell: But this is back in what year? People didn't even know what pins were.

Belsky: Yeah, this is so when, 2010? Pinterest was already live and already getting some traction in unexpected places like middle America, not popular at all in Silicon Valley. But he had always a design sensibility, and he was going around New York meeting people for product advice. And we were introduced by — actually one of our interns who was like, oh, I know a guy who knows a guy who's here, he's building this. And I looked at it, and was like, "Oh, this makes a lot of sense." And so we just spent a couple hours brainstorming around on mechanics of pinning something and following somebody. And maybe automatically following their boards versus just following certain boards, and the problems, and that sort of thing. And he was actually trying to raise a seed round and was struggling to do so. I think that was why he was in New York in the first place.

Shontell: I remember a story that he told to I think Y Combinator people where — he said I walked into a VC meeting and everybody was in there, and I was so excited because I thought they were here to hear my idea. And then I realized there was a, like, plate of cookies on the table, and as soon as all the cookies were gone, all the people left.

Belsky: They could leave. Right.

Shontell: So yeah, it was not a layup bet that you made then.

Belsky: First of all, Pinterest has always been an underdog and still is today somehow. But he is extraordinarily anchored with what his product does for its users. He's also one of those people that's always thinking about process as well as product. And you ask him what his goals are, sometimes they're actually even more processed goals for how his team can better function and perform than they are what the product can become. He's extremely mission-driven, and those are the things that excited me during that time with him. And so even though I had no business seed investing in 2010, believe me, I was barely making a salary at the time, but I told them I'd put in some money. And I also I wanted to just stay involved with the product conversation. It was one of those things where I just wanted to have another conversation like this and realize if I wasn't an investor, it would be harder to do so.

The first version of Uber seemed like a terrible idea — here's why Scott invested anyway

A similar story with Garrett Camp. Which also happened in 2010, where he and I were doing deals together because he was the CEO of StumbleUpon, which he had recently repurchased from eBay. And StumbleUpon was one of the biggest driver of traffic to Behance. And some of the best-performing stumbles were photography projects on Behance. And so we were doing some type of ad credit deals together and at the end of the meeting he actually whips out one of our notebooks and shows me this diagram that he had made of the Uber prototype. Which wasn't Uber at the time — he was going to call it Uber Cab, and it was basically a livery service. And he was asking me if I wanted to help on some product and brand stuff, and just be like one of the New York people to help them out. And my first blush response was, What're you doing? You just bought back your company, and you're now CEO and trying to grow it, and I'm an entrepreneur as well. Like why are you building a livery service?

Shontell: Yeah, and back in those days I think it was Black Cars for the 1%. So does that sound like a good idea to an investor? When I heard it I was like ugh, what is this company?

Belsky: I just remember back to my Goldman Sachs days — I remember the slips that I used to always have to give the driver, who would then send back to firm, that would come to accounting, and they'd go to my assistant, and then they go back to me for every Black Car I took. And so I figured OK, maybe you can streamline that process, but good luck getting a firm like Goldman Sachs to work with you on this little mobile app. But again, it was the product problems that they were trying to solve, the back and forth that engaged me. And I just started to feel some sense of connection to the prototype and this concept. And then your mind starts to run, it's like well, what if all transportation was done this way? What would that mean for other things like delivery? It's always exciting when you open up a product problem and then it becomes this Pandora's box of opportunity and questions. And that's one of the things I look for when I meet an entrepreneur.

Advice for aspiring entrepreneurs, and tips on how to land an investment

Shontell: So now that you've helped a lot of companies with early-stage deals and you've been a seed investor yourself, what advice do you have for people who are looking to raise their first round, trying to navigate the whole venture-capital scene, figuring out how to get endorsed, how to negotiate terms?

Belsky: Well I think that the meeting with individual investor angel-types who really you can tell a story to that they can resonate with, you can get them excited about some problem that you're solving, when you do that, those people have great connections to other firms. I have a lot of different firms in the seed and later stages that I collaborate with, but it's based on what the company is doing, what the story is, and who the people are. And then I say in my head OK, who would be the perfect person to extend this conversation and bring it to another level? And presumably invest.

And so I do find one role that I play as early-seed-angel type is to help people find their match from a larger raised perspective. So I do think you should target angels, and I stay away from angel groups, because I find that it's more about the money and less about the story and one to one mentorship and resonance in terms of chemistry. I think that individuals, in my biased opinion, are the way to go. I also think that having a really good splash page that just emphasizes what your go to market is and the marketing copy. All that stuff matters not only for potential customers but for investors who get a pitch and then just go to the website URL. It's amazing how many times you'll get a deck or a one-pager, but then you'll go to the URL and there's like nothing there, or even if the company's launched, there's just not really established and updated yet. And it's like well, that should always be a perfect representation of your story, because your go to market matters. That's what people are investing in you in the first place.

Shontell: So know you've got also this great view of the landscape of what's happening in Silicon Valley and the tech world in general. What sort of trends are you seeing? Are you seeing entrepreneurs all starting to tackle one thing? Another thing that's happening in the valley is we had all this investment flowing through, and you had all these companies become unicorn billion-plus-valuation companies. And that seems to have slowed, so how do you look at the trends of what people are building, and how do you look at what's happening in the venture-capital landscape?

Belsky: I'm seeing a lot more of companies building things off of the address book rather than off of Facebook or other established social graphs.

Shontell: So through your iPhone, address book, contact list, what are people kind of working on in that space?

Belsky: I think anything can be built — that is ultimately the source of truth of your network, right? Is who you have a connection to via email or phone. And if the quality of the connection matters more than the number of connections, which I think is another trend by the way, that real connection over mass connection. Facebook is really just about the number; LinkedIn, or whatever. But when it comes to commerce and collaboration and working together, whatever, your network is basically already in your phone. And so I think more products are being built off of that, and so I think there's options there whether it's marketplaces or different things like that.

I also think that we're seeing — the whole live-video phenomenon is exciting to me, but the potential of it is always killed by notifications that just drive us crazy. And so I actually think one of the other sort of auras or levels of innovation is around notifications themselves. How can we make them smart and intelligent? What if you were only notified about something when artificial intelligence knew that you cared about it? And so whenever you're at work, it just didn't notify you about stuff. But whenever you were moving in a car and they knew you were idle and just like hanging out, suddenly you got notifications that your friends were live about something. That should be happening, and it's not yet. And I think insights like that around media and the core operating system that we use will unlock things like live video and other sorts of new modern social networks.

It's a great time to start a company, but expect a 'reckoning' in Silicon Valley

Shontell: And what about what's happening broadly in the tech world right now? You have companies that are raising tons of money, they're waiting a really long time to go public — there's just a lot happening. How do you look at that? Do you think that some of these unicorn companies are going to die? Like what's the danger of over raising, and what are the struggles there?

Belsky: I think that we're going to see a lot of them die. They're going to happen at moments where they're not able to raise another round, because of the climate or because they've just raised too much at this point, or they've exhausted any investors that would be willing to. And then they're going to realize that their unit economics need to come into check, and so they're going to stop spending so much money to acquire new customers, which means that their new-customer numbers are going to go down, which means that their valuation is going to go down.

Which mean that even if they're good companies, they're going to get acquired or go public at a much lower valuation than they last raised. Which means a lot of employees will not get the return they were hoping, which means that they will leave.

You can kind of play that out, and you can see that there will be a reckoning, where there will be a lot of M&A activity that a lot of investors and employees will not benefit from, and some companies will probably just go under. And it's just kind of inevitable — I actually don't see how that could not happen.

Shontell: So is now then a good time or a terrible time to start a company?

Belsky: I think it's a great time to start a company.

Because again, it's easier than ever to start something. It is getting increasingly harder to scale, but if you start something that really needs to exist, you will find your audience for it. There are so many new modern ways of raising money like AngelList and crowdfunding. You know, there was this new upstart publication called The Hustle that just raised $300,000 of seed funding in one day from their users, from their readers. You're going to see more things like that happen, and that's exciting. And I think that a lot of them will not work, and some of them will, but the point is that it's great time to take that idea that you have and see if it has legs.

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