Business Upstairs... Bizness' Downstairs

Advertiser, entrepreneur, foodie, cyclist, traveler, Sea Doo sinker/exploder/mechanic, Eagle Scout, photographer, etc.  If it was possible to accurately describe myself in a sentence, I would be a very boring person.  And boring is one word that I can’t put on the list.

A little about myself… I graduated from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill in 2009 and I’m currently attempting to make my mark on the world.  The economy isn’t helping, but I’m happy with little steps.  As a person, I have never been easily categorized.  I’ve always seen life as an opportunity to gain as many experiences as possible.   My life has not always worked out exactly as I hoped, but I try to look at everything as an opportunity.   It has not failed me yet, but sometimes you just have to take a chance and end up taking a leap of faith.   Even if it does not work out, you at least tried and hopefully learned something.

Ultimately I hope to integrate my super traditional liberal arts undergraduate degree of German Literature with my creative drive and business aspirations.   After exploring as many diverse fields as my opportunities allowed me at UNC and Wirtshaftsuniversität Wien, I believe I have found my path: The advertising and venture capital businesses.  I would also take a career as a pro cyclist or photographer (why not mix them!), but I also know chances are pretty low that will happen.

Of course, I want take my advertising dreams and bring them to the next level.  Hence why I’m interested in VC.  Ultimately I want to establish myself as what I like to call a “brand developer.”  Not only do I want to strategize, design, and manage product advertisements through traditional and non-traditional media, but rather, I want to help establish brands by integrating product design, marketing, advertising, and promotion.   In other words, I want to help create and manage my client’s products from conception to store layout.   I want to provide my clients with a fully integrated brand development service.   When you purchase one of my client’s products, I want you to purchase not just a product, but an experience.   That includes everything starting with your initial shopping experience to the feeling you get when you open and use the product.

As of today, I am working on researching, visiting, and eventually applying to graduate schools.  I hope to get back into school sooner than later.   My time off has been revitalizing and a great learning experience, but I really want to go back to graduate school.  As a result, I am actively looking for that next opportunity to make itself visible.  School is wonderful, but I have found the right “real life” experiences make the rewards of school even stronger.

In other words… I am always open to new experiences.   At this point in my life nothing is set in concrete and that is fine with me.

I am not quite sure where I want to end up in the end, but after spending much of my undergraduate career in Europe, I am ready to explore North America for a while.   And if I can make it happen, South America and Asia have been calling.  I love Europe, but I’ve been there and done that.   I may very well end up back in Europe in the future, but I honestly have no clue where I will be in 10 years or even 5.  Currently I am looking at moving to NYC in the next year to work and eventually enter graduate school.