The Entrepreneurial Mindset
During my junior year of high school, I met an entrepreneur named Luke Wyckoff. As marijuana became legal in Colorado, many of the large agencies in the state didn't want to associate themselves with the marijuana industry, leaving a huge vacuum for new companies to prosper. Luke’s company, Social Media Energy was a newer player in the social media space but already had some large clients under their belt, including Remax, History Channel, Sports Authority, and Colorado University. When presented with the opportunity to work with the developing dispensary market, they jumped on the opportunity to become a dominant marketing force in an emerging market. That being said, their blog hasn’t been updated since 2018, and it doesn’t look like the company is still in business.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, I’ve also met individuals I would consider Intrapreneurs. During my internship this past July, I had the opportunity to shadow a production company based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, known as Foothold Studios. Foothold is a subsidiary of SmithsAgency, one of the primary marketing agencies in the Pittsburgh area focusing in the food and beverage space. Some of their clients include McCain Foods, Premier Protein, and Tribe Hummus. While Foothold has worked on a variety of campaigns during its short life, the team hasn’t yet had a chance to be a part of the conversation while developing executions. Zach Eisenfeld, the director at Foothold, has continuously been trying to increase the quality and scale of productions in order to become a more consistent choice for Smith’s to utilize when producing campaigns that utilize multiple forms of media and become a part of those brainstorming conversations.
Ever since I’ve been young, I’ve dreamed of having my own company in the commercial advertising space, but while I used to believe I wanted to be an entrepreneur, I’ve since realized I just want to be a small business owner. If I can ultimately find a way to upset my market, I’ll gladly do just that, but I currently can’t think of any fundamental way to disrupt this field as it still emerges. I’ve spent time developing niche skills that separate me from my peers, but nothing which would fundamentally change the landscape of my future field.
