Once upon a time, I worked with a guy called Cass.
Cass was a ginger haired [despite trying to cover it up with dirty-blonde hair colouring] Scouser who was full of piss and vinegar.
He was also a Tranmere Rovers fan.
Despite all those deficiencies, he was fortunately blessed with a brilliant mind, good humour and a massive dollop of empathy which is why I not only put up with him, but ended up learning a hell of a lot from him.
To be honest, I have been trying to figure out a way for us to work together again for years, but every time I’ve got close to making it happen, he’s found a way to avoid it happening.
Told you he was smart.
Anyway, his latest attempt to build an obstacle to our partnership is to form his own company. The Station.
I’m not going to say how successful it will be because [1] that’s obvious and [2] it already is … but I will say how utterly proud I am of him.
I know this makes me sound like his Dad, but I don’t care.
When you’ve been doing what I do for as long as I’ve been doing it, you meet a whole host of people – some good, some bad, some ridiculous, some awesome – but literally from the moment I met Cass, you could tell he had something special.
Sure there was the odd issue or two [‘Mental Oriental Noodles’ and the ‘Paddle Pop Mit’ were particular highlights/lowlights] but that aside, his energy, passion, creativity and intelligence meant everyone he worked with – and for – ended up in a much better place creatively, commercially and professionally.
Yes, he’s that good.
The bastard.
I’ve always been a big believer in people starting their own company – if only so they can understand the bigger issues clients need to think about when making their decisions – however few people actually do anything about it.
There’s a load of reasons for that – some good, some bad … which is why anyone having a go should be be applauded.
However Cass has done something more.
He’s started a business with real purpose, passion and belief.
A business that stands a chance of actually changing something rather than simply claiming something.
To be honest, I think I can take credit for that.
Not because I taught Cass well, but because he was there at the start of cynic and probably learnt everything you shouldn’t do when starting a company.
I always told him he was too good [& too opinionated] to work for someone else, now everyone is going to learn why … and that excites me more than you would ever know.