Orfi Media team talks: Dream big, execute
We’d like for you to get to know the Orfi Media team. So, we’ve asked the guys to write a short blog post on a subject close to their hearts. First up, founder Jonas talks about dreaming big.
A little fat kid sits in a small dark room, listening to Wu-Tang clan, drawing graffiti sketches, hoping nobody will ever see them.
He fires up an online RPG game to escape into a world where no one can judge him for his looks or ability.
His room walls are full of basketball posters. He dreams of being the next Kobe Bryant.
That’s why he wakes up at 5am to go and train before anyone else comes to the outdoor court. He uses a book called How To Teach Yourself To Play Basketball.
He wants to prove to everyone that it doesn’t matter where you come from or how you look, you can achieve anything if you work hard enough towards it.
That kid was me.
I was a lost kid, was beaten up and made fun of a lot for being overweight and never truly knew who I was going to become in the future. I was a terrible student, most of my family thought I would be a failure and threatened that I’d be homeless one day if I didn’t get better grades.
It became clear to me that in order to cope with all that I had naturally developed escape mechanisms. I call them escapisms.
This ranged from online gaming, doing graffiti and playing basketball to writing rap songs, creating video trailers and breakdancing.
I had no idea where that would lead to, all I knew was that in order for me to be happy, I needed three things in my life:
- To be involved in basketball
- To be involved in tech
- To do creative work
Fast forward to a couple of years ago and I had changed two countries, graduated as a graphic designer and was looking for a way to combine tech, basketball and creativity. I didn’t care what it was.
In my last year at university I had an idea for a basketball app that solved a problem. I didn’t think much of it, it just seemed like a good idea that I’d had in my mind for a while – and I needed a good grade.
Six months after graduating I was working as a graphic designer for a financial company. I hated my job. My creativity was limited, my co-workers were insincere and I couldn’t stand helping build someone else’s dream, especially when my work wasn’t appreciated.
I wanted to build my own dream. That’s when I remembered my university project.
The thing with me is, I quickly get obsessed with things that I care about and I don’t quit until there is no other option. So when I decided to make my app designs a reality, I knew I was in it for the long haul.
During the journey of making that a reality a lot of things happened. I lost friends, sleep, health, leisure time, a long-term relationship, was constantly broke and slept on the street at one point. I was very close to depression.
And then I would go to a basketball court, with hip-hop banging through my headphones and that would remind me why I do this.
See, the WHY is the key to building a business. If your why is strong enough, you’re going to be bulletproof. Of course you’ll bleed and have scars. But hey, battle scars are sexy.
Today I’m the founder of Hoops Connect, a sports app helping people create, manage and discover not only basketball, but a great variety of sports activities.
Then there’s Orfi Media, my digital marketing agency focused on the sports, health and fitness industry. I look forward to every new day, new challenge and new opportunities. I’m just getting started.
Owning a business is definitely not for everyone. It’s a tough, scary, exciting, challenging, thrilling journey. And there’s plenty more adjectives where those came from too.
Sometimes I think that I would love to just sit all day, play video games, eat pizza and not care about anything. But that’s just not how I’m wired.
Everyone’s different, so you have to find your own path.
But one thing is clear to me. Whether you’re going to be a business owner or not, you need to follow your dreams. It’s funny how things tend to work out when you do that.
Dream big. Execute. See what happens.
Do your digital marketing operations need an overhaul? Get in touch to see how we can help you at hello@orfimedia.com.
