It Starts with a Seed: Founding People and Words
On January 13, 2016, a little seed of an idea was planted. Two hundred and seventy-one days later, it’s finally started to sprout.
It all began that chilly evening in the heart of Chicago’s winter, when our paths crossed at a UIUC event for alumni and students. Fittingly, considering that’s where we’d met in the first place.
After mingling with familiar faces, we found ourselves sharing stories and advice with a flock of undergraduates. It was like deja vu listening to a group of young professionals trying to figure out their path forward and carve out their space in the marketing world — in real-time, no less.
They struggled to articulate their stories — where they’ve been and where they wanted to go. It wasn’t hard to remember being in that exact position not too long ago. And to a degree, we still were.
For quite sometime, we’d spent a fair share of days working on projects devoid of our passion and interests. We felt a sense of stagnation in the growth we craved as professionals. We ached to choose problems we felt compelled to solve.
But after wrapping up a few rounds of the blame game, we came to the conclusion that it was solely our responsibility to shape the future we wanted for ourselves. We had discussed making our little visions into reality many times before. But nothing ever manifested.
Thomas Edison once said that “planning without execution is hallucination”.
Sometimes, a cup of frustration, a tablespoon of inspiration, and a splash of tequila is just the cocktail to cure hallucination.
After that night, we agreed to meet and lay out our vision. We settled into our seats in the neighborhood Starbucks and asked ourselves a series of questions:
- What if we could create a space for ourselves to do fulfilling and creative work?
- What if we could build something that leveraged our strengths and our interests?
- What if we could pursue mastery in areas we wanted to and explore others along the way?
- What if we could manage to share the journey with others?
As it turns out, we could do all of these things on our own. But those dang words got in the way again.
There’s an African proverb that says, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together”.
We chose the latter.
As partners, we have a few things in common. We share an aligned top-level worldview that values empathy, education, light-heartedness, and creativity. We both have a passion for words and believe strongly in their ability to connect, inspire, and educate. We share a stubbornness about making our own way. And we have a fundamental desire to help others and make a difference.
While we faced our fair share of fears and obstacles, we felt innately determined to start our business anyway. The words of author Dr. Kent Keith resonated with us and proved to be a guiding force as we laid out our vision.
“Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable. Be honest and frank anyway.”
We want to be transparent in our journey; not only discussing the triumphs, but the trials and challenges, too. After all, the lessons you remember are the ones you learn the hard way.
“Give the best you have and it will never be enough. Give your best anyway.”
We want to create a space where we are utterly compelled to give beyond our best effort. When you give your best in some parts of your life, it can spill into others.
“What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight. Build anyway.”
We want to build something we can be proud of; something that can last; something we can share with people.
And now we’re here, sharing our journey with you. Our little idea is starting to sprout. We hope you’ll come along and help grow it with us.
People and Words is a strategic communications company that specializes in digital marketing and creativity development. We use the power of story, empathy and human-centered design to solve problems, empower students and help grow businesses. Contact us today to get started!
