A Brief History of My Career
I was fortunate enough to start my career at Apple. Back then the company was called Apple Computer. There were no iPhones and no iPads, just candy coloured iMacs and iBooks. I spent three years in progressive sales roles. The work was very regular, but the products and the company were magical. I learned just how powerful great marketing can be. I left Apple wanting something other than a sales career.
One night during my “what’s next” journey, I was at dinner with a friend from University talking about our futures when he took a phone call from a client who gave him the go ahead on his proposal. He asked “which projects are approved” and the client answered “all of them.” I watched with great amusement as his eyes almost popped out of his head. He had pitched a number of ideas, hoping to get one or two, and instead the client loved all of them. The first thing he said when the call ended was “Hey Vince, do you want a job.” That job was with OneMethod, a start up digital and design agency. It was anything but a job. It was my real world MBA.
Working at OneMethod allowed me to develop my writing abilities, both creative and technical. I learned how to build marketing programs, manage projects, build websites, create killer pitch presentations and most of all how to execute, over and over and over. After 6 years I ventured out with my own consultancy still working with OneMethod in a meaningful way. My goal was to offer my unique blend of content development, technical understanding and love for user-centred design to the open market. It worked for a while – I wrote some great sales and training presentations and launched a career advisor portal for the financial services industry among other things.
Speaking with a friend one day about the ups and downs of managing cash flow as a small consulting business, he gave me this piercing insight along with a full deep belly laugh “you gotta baby on the way and mad bills to pay.” He was absolutely right. So I started to look for full-time employment. As I searched for a meaningful opportunity, I met a very smart and sharp human being who had just started her own agency, Gravity Partners. She offered me a one-month contract. One month, turned into three and then one day she called me into her office with her business partner at her side and she said “We really like you Vince.” Those were simple yet very affirming words. At Gravity, I worked alongside many smart people and deepened my knowledge of content strategy, social media, and the power of networks.
About two years later I was having lunch with a Creative Director friend, musing about how I find it hard to achieve the level of usefulness that would satisfy me. I thought the obstacle was the fervent competition over ideas in the agency world. His response changed my life. “Why don’t you go somewhere where you’d be more valuable? The agency world is filled with people like you. Go somewhere where your talents are more unique.” It was one of those times where the answer to your perplexing question is so obvious, but only after you know the answer. So that is exactly what I did.
A few months later I was referred to a business owner looking for someone to head up the marketing department at a real estate development company. They needed someone who could guide the work being done with their agency and at the same time build up the capabilities to do more work in house. That’s when I became the Marketing Director at Fortress Real Developments. I spent 6 years at Fortress. In that time I renewed the brand, helped expand its reach, and was told over and over again how great the marketing was. My friend was right. Given the right opportunity I could add a lot of value to an organization. I learned many things, but the thing that stuck with me the most is that I can head up a marketing department and do it well.
About 5 years after I joined, Fortress ran into some legal issues that forced them to scale down to a core group. When marketing support was no longer needed I was let go and a few months later the pandemic hit. Lucky for me, In early 2020, OneMethod had won a new client with a very technical product offering. I was recruited to join the team and have spent the last 6 years writing collateral, pitch presentations, ads and more for that technology client and for a host of others.
For specific details on my work experience please visit my LinkedIn page.
