This is a story of my why.
I'm a product of my experiences.
No B.S. Here's what happened.
- - -
It started in 2006.
My dad worked for Intel. My mom was a apparel designer. They wanted to start a business. The internet was picking up.
So they started an eCommerce ethnic apparel business.
2006 was very different from today. WordPress + WooCommerce wasn’t as stable or flexible as it is now. Shopify didn’t exist.
eCom businesses had to look for custom software solutions. So my parents bought an eCom solution for an exorbitant amount of money. There was a catch… they needed a backend + front-end developer to really use the website.
So they went through a couple designers & developers. Each did a terrible job, calling the previous an idiot.
One by one… They all Designed N’ Ditched.
And this - Well, this is how the story begins.
As the oldest, I was asked to take on the reins.
I was in high school at that time. My parents asked me to get involved.
I bought a DSLR - learned how to light a background, and shoot products. I learned how to edit. Over time - I learned how to turn it into a process, being able to process 10 - 20 products per day.
I learned how to code HTML / CSS. The process was arduous and highly time consuming. I could even modify ASP.Net code.
Meanwhile, social media was picking up steam in the eCommerce world.
Selfies! (I needed a break from all the writing.) 😛
College was Fun.
I went to college for Electrical Engineering. I hated my life.
Spent the next 18 months switching from accounting to a bunch of other majors, finally ending up in Business Administration.
Everything clicked.
Life was good. Until I woke up one day and had an epiphany. I wanted to run a business. I understood media, marketing, and communications.
I was going to start a marketing agency.
I moved to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
My uncle was starting an ad advertising agency. I told him about everything I was thinking. He told me to come work for him.
For the next 18 months, I worked on insurance / financial marketing. Large Malaysian banks would come to us with rough products ideas - asking us to turn them into fully fledged campaigns.
They needed strategy, print & digital media, sales training documents, the list was endless.
We made it all. Over the course of 18 months, we went from a 5 person team to a ton of bodies.
I was put in every department. My uncle told everyone to treat me like an intern until I worked my way up.
Every time, I learned from scratch.
I learned how to professionally coach & shoot in and out of studio.
I learned how to structure & build websites.
I learned mass communication strategy.
I learned how to position brands, brand compliance, and brand story.
It was time to Start My Own.
Tribe Media was born.
In 2014, I moved back to Portland, Oregon. I spent everything I made in KL on camera and computer equipment, software, and a wholllleeeee lotta Starbucks.
I found the most creative person I knew… and asked him to be my creative director.
We worked on small projects here and there. We built websites. We shot events. We helped Brands express their Stories through content.
We started small... But as our experience grew, project sizes stayed relatively the same.
Something needed to change.
We needed to hone our skillsets.
We needed to think bigger.
A place that thinks across cultures, languages, and ethnicities.
A place with no employee hierarchies - Ever.
A place for creatives to be creative.
Built by the next-generation of thinkers, doers, and everyone else in between.
Welcome to the Tribe.
It's been a never ending process of learning.
We had our ups... and our downs.
There were moments where I felt like quitting.
"It'd be soo much easier if i just got a J-O-B" i'd think.
Yeah, right... I'd be making someone else rich, and hating myself in the process.
At the end of the day, that moment... When you show a client something; their eyes light up + they're trying to stay composed but,
their inner child is running wild on the inside.
Yeah. That moment.
That. Is. Priceless.
Would i give it up?
Could i give it up?
HELL. NO.
No Giving Up...
In Anything.
Ever.
My Journey Has Evolved.
I used to always worry... Whose gonna be the next client thats going to cover our bills?
I realized i was asking the wrong question...
What is the next coolest thing i can build?
How can i use this to help an industry / sector grow?
Which is the best way to reach them + their customers?
Finally, how can I use computers to instill consistency & persistency in the most human-like of ways?
After all, it's thinking like this that'll create positive change for the better.
The money'll come.
It always does.
Stay 
.
My New Client Vetting Checklist
Projects that'll make a difference
Health. Food. Tech. A.I.
In that order / priority. If it can't make the world a better place, its a waste of [my] time.
Work with Visionaires... ONLY!
Visionaries feed off of cool shit. They see value in the doing things the indie way. They're also soo good at what they do, they end up needing all-around help every where else! 😛
Travel, Travel, Travel
Our perspectives are limited by the number of places we've been to. Projects that involve traveling, high-stress coordination / organization, on the go turn around times.
Epicness.
Would you like to...
Feel Like You Fit The Bill?! 
We should chat.