When you’re young, a decade feels like forever. At one job? Forget it… Gen Z has already left for something new halfway through this sentence. But when you find work you actually love, with people you love doing it with, time doesn’t crawl. It flies.
This year, I hit 10 years at Fifteen4. And yeah, I’ve been reflecting a bit—on the lessons, the people, the wild turns along the way. But before we get into all that, every story needs an origin (I’ll spare you the mutil-verse version).
Where I Began
I graduated with a Mass Comm degree in December 2013 and thought I’d be off and running. Instead, I got smacked right into that “no experience, no job—no job, no experience” wall that so many new grads know too well. For about a year, I was in full hustle mode: three jobs, seven days a week. Selling guitars at a local music shop. Running as a technical director for Pennsylvania public TV. Picking up whatever freelance gigs I could—editing jobs, PA work, tiny shoots at ungodly hours.
It wasn’t glamorous. Honestly, it felt like purgatory, stuck in the endless loop of trying to “break in” and getting nowhere. At one point, I even started scanning Craigslist for video gigs (desperate times…). But that’s where I stumbled on the post that changed everything: a Baltimore agency looking for editors with style chops. Fifteen4.
I sent my reel. Got a response. Drove from Harrisburg to Baltimore for an interview. And because my dad drilled “dress to impress” into my brain, I showed up in a full suit and tie. The second I walked into that buzzing, creative office on Falls Road, I realized: I may be overdressed, but this is exactly where I want to be.
I started freelancing, then signed on full-time as a production coordinator/editor. From there, I climbed: Producer, Production Manager, Creative Director—and now, Partner. It wasn’t all smooth sailing. There were plenty of dark nights of the soul and moments where I wondered if I’d lost the plot. But looking back at where I started and where I am now, all I feel is grateful.
What I’ve Learned
- Make yourself indispensable. Say yes. Take on the jobs no one wants. Keep learning. You’ll earn trust faster than you think.
- Become dangerous at everything. I’m not a DP or a gaffer, but I know how to light a scene and run a camera. Learn enough about other disciplines to speak their language. It’ll make you adaptable.
- Stay fresh. Don’t just keep reaching for the same tricks in your back pocket. Push your ideas further. Reinvent yourself.
- Opportunity comes from the unlikeliest of places. My entire career at Fifteen4 started because of a Craigslist ad. That said, let’s be clear, Craigslist is definitely not where you should be looking now. Nothing good happens there anymore.
- Communication is the secret sauce. It’s what separates the doers from the leaders. Learn to connect with people, especially clients, and everything changes.
- Leadership is a leap. My mentor, Steve Smallman, once told me every creative eventually faces a choice: stay a doer or become a leader. Becoming a leader meant redefining my value—not by the work I personally produced, but by helping others thrive. That was a tough transition, but it made all the difference.
- Trust is earned slowly, lost quickly. You gain it drop by drop and lose it by the bucket. Guard it carefully.
- The experience matters. Great work is the baseline. But what people really remember is how it felt to work with you. If it’s collaborative, easy, and even fun, clients will come back and colleagues will want to stay.
- Change is constant. When I started, “4K” was the shiny new thing, we were using Arri light kits with gels, and brand storytelling was just catching on. Now? AI is rewriting the playbook. Don’t fight it. Adapt.
- Culture evolves. In ten years, I’ve seen 15 different versions of Fifteen4. People shape culture, and people change. Build a throughline, but embrace the evolution.
Looking Ahead
So here I am, ten years in, trying to picture the next ten. Honestly? I can’t. This industry moves too fast, and life has its own way of surprising you. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that the “grand finale” isn’t one big mic-drop moment. It’s the collection of years, people, and projects that make the journey worth it.
Thank you to Fifteen4, my partners Will and Steve, my mentors, colleagues, contractors, and clients. It’s been a wild, meaningful ride.
Here’s to Act III.