Life & Work with Robyn Young

Today we’d like to introduce you to Robyn Young.

Hi Robyn, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
In October of 2016, with no clients or cash (and no idea how to get either), while I was two months pregnant with our daughter, I launched my first company – Young & Co. a creative branding agency. I simply set out to create the kind of environment that I wanted to work for but couldn’t find; flexible work hours, freedom to change my location anytime, creative carte blanche, and the ability to select clients I wanted to work with.

At the beginning, it was just me and one graphic designer. Now, 6 years later, we have a pipeline of talented creatives all over the world who share the same mindset and desire for creative freedom that I do. Working with bespoke teams for each project, we’ve built over 65 brands in that time, and I’m happy to report we have the ability to be selective with the projects and brands we work with. It’s not a matter of how well-known or large the brands are for us, but there are a few principles I live and die by when it comes to selecting our ideal projects – we love concepts that challenge conventions, we prefer NOT to work in the same verticals so we can use inexperience to our advantage, we never take on design-specific work (meaning our clients have to be looking for a holistic approach to branding), and we always strive to push beyond generic ideas whether we’re creating a campaign or even just a business card.

This year (2022), I’ve also launched a second business, DENTR, with another seasoned executive, offering high-touch brand strategy, innovation and brand culture design. The brand is inspired by a Steve Jobs quote about making a ‘dent’ in the world (otherwise why even be here). We work specifically with brands who want to make a dent in their universe (whether it be in their category, culture, or even the world).

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Because we didn’t want to play by the same rules as traditional agencies, there wasn’t a playbook for our business model really. For example, we work with freelancers remotely who want freedom and flexibility in their work lives (an important distinction in our company), but since we are never in the same space, it means that we have to over-commit to our communication to ensure that the client doesn’t see the difference in our workflow. Also, because of our unique structure, we have to keep a constant pipeline of creative talent – which isn’t a bad thing, but it does mean extra work to ensure we bring in people who understand our values at Young & Co.

Beyond that, I mainly had to get past some of my own insecurities and imposter syndrome. Taking calculated risks, learning from my mistakes, and never letting a bad day blow up my confidence in the bigger vision. It’s a right of passage I think every entrepreneur goes through.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I’m a true creative professional in the sense that my superpower is bringing people together to create ‘meaningful new forms’. Whether those forms are brand identities, concepts, ideas, activations, visual systems, events, art forms, or the like. We specialize in helping brands, teams, and individuals get out of the mediocre, complacent, generic, and status quo fog they often find themselves in and reach deep within and far outside their category to find new areas of opportunity for their brands.

What sets us apart is, unlike most boutique branding shops that tend to sell on their expertise in a certain industry or ‘solution-providers’ who will do the work for you, we know that great brands are build from the inside out. Thus, we take a collaborative approach to both strategy and creative to pull an authentic narrative from our client and use our inexperience with your industry as an opportunity to ask questions and dream up ideas you might not have considered.

I’m most proud of the incredibly talented team of freelancers I’ve worked with throughout the years – whether they stayed for 5 years or 1 project, we’ve had the privilege of working side by side with some amazing creatives. Also, I’m proud of the brands we’ve built. Each time we launch a brand, it feels like I’ve had a baby all over again.

Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
Growing up, it seemed like everyone I knew shared the same point of view on work; ‘Passions weren’t viable career paths, they were hobbies. Work was supposed to be unenjoyable – just put your time in and collect a paycheck.’ That lifestyle was never going to suit me, so I began to forge my own way, jumping from various creative gigs, which was never easy and rarely pretty. My plural past included everything from costuming for an indie film to managing social content for B-level celebrities, barely making it by financially while I tried to find my own definition of career success.

One of the unexpected benefits of my struggling creative life was that it required me to be nimble, scrappy, strategic and resourceful. Turns out these were the optimal traits of an entrepreneur. I also had a fascination with new places, cultures, ways of doing things, and people. That love of exploration remains part of how I seek out inspiration even now. I’m always looking for new experiences so that I can better understand what makes people tick.

Pricing:

• We have a MLE (minimum level of engagement of $50k for brand strategy + execution projects)

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.thisisyoung.co/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisisyoung.co/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thisisyoung.co
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/robyncyoung
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChHdYnc3wL4qLbxxmMnI_rA?view_as=subscriber

Image Credits
Headshot: Stephanie Tusler Photographer 1: Jonathan Miskevich (Milady) Photographer 3: Adrianna Favero (Reluxury)