What’s your backstory — how did you end up starting (or joining) an agency?

I started as a fine artist—drawing, painting, sculpting. Then Photoshop showed up. So did the digital camera. I fell headfirst into the world of digital design, and when Premiere Pro dropped, I became obsessed with motion. Southern California came next. Short films. Branded content. That led me to NYC, where I discovered my true addiction: commercials. Big storytelling, tiny runtime. My art became brand-building. Colormatics is the logical result—where creative obsession meets commercial outcome.

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What was your first entrepreneurial moment as a kid or teen?

At 9, I was commissioned to sketch a historic house in Spokane. The buyer? A home seller my mom represented. The payment? $500. At 9. In the ‘80s. I felt like I could buy a Ferrari. Turns out, I bought something better: the entrepreneurial bug.

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What’s a belief you’ve changed your mind about in the last 3 years?

That we had a ceiling. We were targeting mid-size work. Then a whale came through. We hesitated, then realized—this isn’t above us. It’s where we belong. We crushed it. That job blew the ceiling off our own thinking. Never again will we build walls around our potential.

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When do you feel most energized at work?

Set day. It’s controlled chaos, adrenaline, and artistry colliding in real time. And when the first cut lands? Pure dopamine. Seeing raw ambition become real—that’s the drug.

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What’s a day in your life really look like (no filters)?

It’s part ops, part therapy, part growth hacking. I’m managing people, culture, chaos. We’re still building the machine while we’re driving it. And when a big production hits? I’m in the trenches—fully immersed. It’s both my superpower and my blind spot.

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What’s a personal ritual or habit you credit for your success?

I calendar block like a man possessed. Break massive goals into daily bricks. Get up early. Do the work. And carve out time for my kids—non-negotiable. Balance doesn’t happen. You build it.

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What’s one mistake you made early on that taught you something lasting?

Saying “yes” when my gut screamed “run.” Clients who didn’t want great work. Or worse—thought they were the creative directors. Also: never skip deposits. A $40B company ghosted us. Lesson learned. Paper. It. Up.

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What’s something people get wrong about you?

I work in marketing, so I make everything look good. But sometimes I’m underwater, and no one sees it. Perception ≠ reality. If I look bulletproof, it’s probably the moment I most need backup.

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What do you do to recharge outside of work?

Family. Golf. Mountain biking. Snowboarding. And quiet prayer. I go fast at work. I go deep outside of it.

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What’s your definition of “success” right now?

Growth. Creative. People. Clients. Revenue. If we’re all leveling up—even a little—that’s success.

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What makes your agency different from others in your space?

We’re not a legacy agency. We’re built for now. No egos. No fluff. Just tight, senior-led “Tiger Teams” that move fast and deliver premium creative that doesn’t blow budgets. We combine creative, strategy, and production under one roof. High output, low drag.

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What type of clients or projects are a 'no' for you?

Clients who don’t want to make a dent. If you just want to blend in, we’re not your people. We’re allergic to ego and death-by-committee. We need mutual trust and ambition.

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What’s a principle or value your agency lives by?

Execution without compromise. World-class creative, on-time, on-budget, every time. No missed deadlines. No bloated teams. Just the work—and the results—to prove it.

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How do you hire? What do you look for in people?

We ignore cookie-cutter resumes. We look for hunger, humility, and freakish talent. Bonus points if you’ve got something to say and know how to say it. Interns often become hires. Fit and firepower matter more than pedigree.

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How do you foster creative thinking on your team?

Inspiration is a team sport. We share what excites us, hype each other up, and leave space for wild ideas to breathe. Regular creative check-ins and real-time feedback loops keep the engine running hot.

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What trend in marketing/advertising do you think is overhyped?

Performance marketing worship. It’s fast food. Fills the short-term hunger. Builds no brand. Zero equity. You need the long game and the short game to win.

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What’s a trend you’re betting on long-term?

AI—fully integrated. From storyboards to voice snippets to editing. It’s in our stack now, and we’re building productized AI tools next. This is the future. We’re not watching. We’re shipping.

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What’s one small decision that led to a big result for your agency?

We stopped bidding against ourselves. We pitched a project at 10x the original scope—because we believed it needed it. We got the job. We delivered. It changed everything.

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What advice would you give to someone starting an agency today?

Have a voice. Build taste. Be AI-native, not AI-dependent. The industry doesn’t need more beige. Pick a lane and drive.

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What’s something you’d do differently if you were starting from scratch?

Hire a killer BD person on day one. And build products, not just services. Services scale like people. Products scale like fire.

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How do you approach pricing — any rules you live by?

Make sure your fee aligns with the impact. If the creative moves mountains, don’t charge like you’re moving dirt.

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How do you prioritize growth vs. sustainability?

You don’t. You juggle. When we’re growing, we feel unstable. When we get stable, we push growth. The key is having a plan before the wave hits.

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Who’s one founder or operator you really admire — and why?

Shai Wininger. The guy co-founded two of our favorite clients—Fiverr and Lemonade—and disrupted two bloated industries in the process. First, he democratized creative work. Then, he made insurance... likable? He doesn’t just build companies—he builds movements. Vision, taste, and a killer sense of timing. He understood that trust and user experience are non-negotiable. That’s the energy we channel at Colormatics.

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What software or tool do you swear by?

Frame. io keeps our edits tight. Pipedrive keeps our pipeline honest. Monday keeps the chaos from eating our brains. Between the three, we track pixels, people, and progress—without losing our minds.

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What’s one resource (book, podcast, etc.) that changed how you work?

Brandwashed by Martin Lindstrom. It’s like reading the cheat codes for consumer behavior. It cracked open how brands manipulate emotion—and more importantly, how to do it ethically and effectively. After that, I never saw a grocery store (or a creative brief) the same way again.

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Remote, hybrid, or in-office — what’s your ideal setup and why?

Hybrid. In-person is magic for creative. Remote is magic for flexibility. We optimize for output, not optics.

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What is your most controversial or unpopular belief?

That agencies should be fast. Creative doesn’t get better because it takes longer. It gets better because it’s true.

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What’s one thing you wish clients understood better about agency work?

That we live for this. That their success is our fuel. That being 20 people doesn’t mean we’re not capable of seven-figure results. We scale to the problem—and then solve it.

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What’s your favorite thing about being in this industry?

Getting to create stuff that works. Telling stories that move culture. Collaborating with smart, driven people who care just as much as we do.

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What is one (1) fact or statistic about your industry that most people don't know?

Only 10% of ads are remembered. Even fewer drive action. That’s why we aim to live in the 1%.