Exposing The Call

I’ve been doing some self exploration; of what I really want to do with my life and where I want to go. I have an incredible career in UI design which I won’t be giving up for anything. But at times it’s my career and not where my passion really resides. Of course I love design – and will always be a designer. But I am one of those people who cannot just do one thing. I have to be doing multiple things at a time; like projects, music, writing and photography.

Lately my attention has been drawn to designers starting tech startups. I have been intrigued on the shift from being a designer to becoming the CEO of a company. I will be having some interviews with designers with startups. There is so much potential in designers and not just in the creative side. I believe we all have to be somewhat business savy to have clients, outgoing to express creativity and the ability to sort information. We’re a rare breed and such people should not go unnoticed. I feel that the design/art fields have been overlooked and one of my goals is to make that change. Every human being is brillant and sophisticated. This is why I want to zone in on creatives who are starting companies. Because that to me, is quite the leap.

I want to write about what’s going on underneath the Tweets and Dribbble posts. Where the sweat and tears are falling onto. Exposing a side of designers and the tech industry that we haven’t seen before. Blazing past the politics and going to the core. Are you with me? Are you ready?

If you’re interested in being apart of this and want to be featured on my site with your startup, please feel free to contact me. I’ll respond as quickly as I can.

Designer Fair – Presentation

I had the incredible opportunity of representing TinyCo at the Designer Fair with my co-worker Laurie today. Stanford is a lovely campus, although confusing streets! The weather was incredible and the amount of people that showed up was amazing. There must have been at least 500 + people. I met some many people and hope to build upon those connections made.

Here is the presentation on the topic I spoke about!

When Ideas Come to Shove

Living in San Francisco, I can’t help but sense the energy of wanting to create something, anything. There is as pulse in the city that cannot be described but it is certainly evident. Just like NYC has a pulse, and so many other cities, so does SF. Before moving to SF I didn’t have any “ideas” inspirations to build anything. Building an idea is like sailing into uncharted waters. You really don’t know what will happen till you’re there. But once I moved into the city, it was like a contagious cold. I got the start-up bug, that feeling of freedom from not working that boring 9-5 job. Moving to SF actual made my ideas tangible. It’s funny when people say “You need to move to San Francisco, it’s where it’s all happening.” but it’s nothing but the truth. Now is the time to get funding, to be a designer or engineer. Start-ups all over the city are lurking for designers left and right, if you have talent and a keen eye for detail, you have already paved your way. Great engineers are sought out even more. If you want to get your foot in the door this is the place to be. The small city, foggy weather and the sad amount of homeless people may not be your thing. But it if you can overcome that with incredible food, great dive bars, endless things to do and start-up parties, you’ll be very happy. I promise you, you’ll never run out of t-shirts from all the parties you will be going to. There is something about the heartbeat of San Francisco that urges you to create anything. You can’t live here and not be motivated.

Building an idea is like sailing into uncharted waters. You really don’t know what will happen till you’re there.

Rent in the city is pretty intense, but when you think that you won’t own a car and won’t be paying for parking, it all is relative. Although a lot of people do prefer to live outside the city, which us urban folk call bridge and tunnel people. Rent this year has considerably gone up, thankfully for people that got their places before this year, have rent control. I personally like living in the city, it’s easier to meet people, get together to work on projects and it’s great living so close to everything.

There is something about the heartbeat of San Francisco that urges you to create anything. You can’t live here and not be motivated.

Sure SF is cold and foggy, but it has a lot of diversity (Which I love) so you can always find the right place for you. Overall, this city is the place to be if you want to build a new idea, get a round of funding and learn from the brightest people in your industry. There is something about the heartbeat of San Francisco that urges you to create anything. You can’t live here and not be motivated. I wouldn’t pass up a job offer for here if I was you, and you were able to move. Just to even test the city out for year, you don’t have to stay. Most people I know that have moved here, love it and never want to leave. But like a lot of cities, you have to find the one that works best for you and your dreams.