Moving on from UTA
I’m going to break one of my own rules for a second here…
The Truth
So yes. To answer all the phone calls, texts, and DMs that I’ve been (semi)ducking: as of today, I’m leaving United Talent Agency to open my own company dedicated to digital media projects. Put more plainly: during the greatest recession in decades, and in a time when unemployment is skyrocketing, I chose to actively quit my cushy job with its salary and benefits - and incredible location, and awesome people, and even more awesome clients - and go off on my own; trusting that I actually know what I’m talking about, that my ideas, thoughts and opinions are worth paying for, and that I somehow will succeed where countless other have tried and failed.
I can almost hear the sounds of exasperated heads hitting desks right now, so let me explain a little further.
First of all, why now?
Because now is the best time in history to do so, and I’d run out of logical and reasonable answers to the question of “why not now?” I came to LA to have my own media company. It’s always been my dream. It’s always been five or ten years away ever since I finished film school, as I figured out the hows, whats, and a whole host of other basic questions. Over the past five years, working at UTA has helped me sort those questions out. Frankly, I’d run out of excuses why I was standing on the sidelines, and as of today I start work on my dream project.
As I set out on this endeavor, I stand on the shoulders of some incredibly intelligent giants. My mind still reels at the vision required to look at a vacuum and while the rest of the world sees potential and waits for change, to see a future of entertainment and commerce and work to make it so. It’s inspiring, and intimidating all at once to step into those very large footsteps.
It’s also worth noting that none of this would have been possible without my experiences at UTA. I leave behind some truly incredible people who have been supportive, inspiring, and tremendously helpful in getting me to where I am today. There are too many people to whom I owe a huge debt of gratitude and thanks to list them all here, though I wish I could. The short version is that I’ve learned more in my four and a half years here than I could have ever imagined.
So what now? What’s next? What are the details?
Well, as anti-climactic as this is, I’ve got some really interesting things on the horizon that I can’t talk about yet. I wish I could give more details, but these are the kinds of things that are best worked out in silence and then celebrated publicly. Suffice to say, though, that they’ve got me excited and fired up and I really do feel like I’m setting out to conquer the world.
The best news is that beyond the excitement over something new, and the trepidation over setting off on my own, there’s one thing that’s very clear to me: this is the right project for me, and it’s the right time.
Ever since I first discovered it, the internet has seemed like the very (if virtual) embodiment of infinite possibilities; billions of people connected and connecting through the greatest, most border-agnostic, and most efficient communications and entertainment medium that the world has ever seen. It offers a potential for creativity, growth and evolution on a scale that’s quite literally unprecedented in human history. Starting Monday, I’ll get to explore my own potential a little more within that world.
Well, first I’m taking a vacation cause I think I’ve earned it. But after that…brother, it is on…
