Risks
Risk is hard for me. I don't think of things as risky unless I am gambling my life or my money. I was born into the creative space, I've lived there for as long as I can remember, and being part of a startup feels no different than when I've done something creative with no guarantee of reward.
I guess in that case, the one that comes to mind is when I tried to make a web-series. I was living in New York at the time, and almost all my college friends had moved up there as well. Literally, like 70% of my graduating class moved to NY within two to three months after graduating. So, I had actors to use, none of which had booked pro gigs. It was easy to ask friends to be in your web-series for free.
I bought a microphone, some other basic stuff, and we decided to shoot the entire thing on my iphone. It was actually really cool to feel in control of the creative process, do all the work, and then see something come to fruition. I'm not ashamed of the work I did, but I'm not really proud of it either. It was like Clerks, but in 2013, and in someone's apartment.
Eventually it just kind of died because scheduling was too hard. We made three episodes, about a minute apiece. Then poof, nothing.
You could call it a failure, or a risk. But in reality it was just me trying desperately to make something. Anything. That's how I saw it.
But to a lot of people, that would be considered a risk. And I'm glad I took it.
I guess in that case, the one that comes to mind is when I tried to make a web-series. I was living in New York at the time, and almost all my college friends had moved up there as well. Literally, like 70% of my graduating class moved to NY within two to three months after graduating. So, I had actors to use, none of which had booked pro gigs. It was easy to ask friends to be in your web-series for free.
I bought a microphone, some other basic stuff, and we decided to shoot the entire thing on my iphone. It was actually really cool to feel in control of the creative process, do all the work, and then see something come to fruition. I'm not ashamed of the work I did, but I'm not really proud of it either. It was like Clerks, but in 2013, and in someone's apartment.
Eventually it just kind of died because scheduling was too hard. We made three episodes, about a minute apiece. Then poof, nothing.
You could call it a failure, or a risk. But in reality it was just me trying desperately to make something. Anything. That's how I saw it.
But to a lot of people, that would be considered a risk. And I'm glad I took it.
It's so interesting to relate this to creativity, a lot of it really is a risk. Publishing writings, photos, or even improv all come with this inherent risk of people just flat out hating it. But you are right start up life and culture is very similar since you are taking your work and putting it out for the world to consume.
ReplyDeleteThe creative space, in my opinion, has the most risk, but I also think has the most reward. It's interesting that you related creative spaces and startup life, because in my mind while there was a creative element to start up life, to me it seems more calculated in a sense. But reading the way you described it makes the analogy much more apparent.
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