I didn't start as Somebody.
- Chapter 01. December 2015
Nobody, with a login.
I joined an agency as a trainee. Smallest desk, longest to-do list. I said yes to everything, which is the fastest way to learn everything: briefs, revisions, deadlines, and why every client eventually says make the logo bigger.
Became: Sydney - Chapter 02. The words
I wrote for people who didn't want to read.
Social calendars, captions, scripts, long reads, community posts. I built an audience from zero for a skin and hair education platform and learned that people forgive bad design faster than boring words.
Became: Rio - Chapter 03. The screens
I shipped websites people actually used.
Automotive, hospitality, building products. Different buyers, same lesson: a website is a sales conversation that never sleeps, and it loses the sale when it makes people think.
Became: Venice - Chapter 04. The cameras
I took ads from idea to edit suite.
Concept, script, crew, shoot day, edit, delivery. Campaigns for a World Cup season and for a health brand. I have line produced shoots with hired crews and negotiated terms directly with talent agents. I know what a hook costs in rupees and in seconds.
Became: Cannes - Chapter 05. The money
I spent other people's budgets like they were mine.
Google Ads for a household appliances brand. Annual marketing budgets between 150,000 and 500,000 Australian dollars, across paid, content and brand. I learned to read a dashboard honestly, including the parts nobody wants to present.
Became: Zurich - Chapter 06. The long sales cycle
I sold software to people who ask for a demo first.
B2B SaaS in real estate technology and CRM. Longer cycles, more stakeholders, and a lead is not a customer until sales says so.
Became: Davos - Chapter 07. The team
Then I ran the floor, with sixty people.
As Director of Creative Solutions and Strategy, I led a 60 person team: designers, motion graphics, web, SEO, social and copy. I owned operations, sales, brand and profitability. I know where agency hours go, and where they leak.
Became: Rome - Chapter 08. 2025
Then they asked me to judge.
I sat on the jury of an influencer marketing panel. Hundreds of ideas, a short time to decide. It sharpened one habit: say what is wrong, and why, in one sentence.
Became: Sparta - Chapter 09. Now
So I built the floor.
Ten years in, the pattern was obvious. Most of the work was repeatable. The value was the judgement, and it fit in one head. So the repeatable work now runs on agents. I still read every page, argue with every draft, and put my name on the result. Nobody works here. Somebody is accountable.
Became: Somebody