We were lucky to catch up with Nate Moore recently and have shared our conversation below.

Nate, appreciate you joining us today. Have you been able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen? Was it like that from day one? If not, what were some of the major steps and milestones and do you think you could have sped up the process somehow knowing what you know now?

I’m one of those few people who knew what I wanted to do at an early age, and then actually did that thing. As a kind growing up in southern California, I quickly fell into surf, skate and snowboard culture. And in the pre-internet days, that culture existed in magazines. I would get to the beach and the snow when I could, but most days my connection to this world was through the stories, images and brands in those pages. I understood the concept of brand at a very early age.

So, as a 12-year-old, I asked my mom what the job is called where you get to make the logos and graphics I was obsessing over. She said “I think that’s called a graphic designer”. And I said “That’s what I’m going to do”.

I’ve always been creative and had a visual eye, but it took me a while to find my niche. In college, I was far from a standout student in my fine art classes. Self doubt creeped in and I felt a bit lost.

And then when I finally got through my foundations classes, it clicked. While reviewing my first project in my first type class, my teacher asked me “have you taken this class before?” I had not. She nodded approvingly. I had finally found my place, and that teacher eventually gave me my first job.

This was far from the last time I would feel like I was struggling to make progress (both creatively and professionally) but stuck at it and found myself breaking through. Those breakthroughs would lead to runs of work I was proud of, massive learnings, and affirmation that I can do this thing I set out to do so many years ago.

One thing that I know I’ve done right is I’ve always stayed hungry. Despite being a very easygoing person, I’m pretty competitive (even if just with myself). I want to get better. I want new challenges, and it keeps me sharp. I’ve always been very driven to do this, and you have to be to even have a chance at it these days.

I’ve also found mentors throughout my journey. Not in any formal capacity, but I’ve locked in on people I can learn from and each one of those people has helped propel me to my next breakthrough. (Thank you Mark Taylor, Kevin Breedlove, Neil Heymann and Dino Sanchez).

One thing I should have done differently is been more open. A flip side of my drive is that I tend to want to find success on my own, and on my terms. I know I could have progressed my career faster if I hadn’t been passive, or even intimidated, at times. I know I took the more comfortable path at certain points in my life. There are so many people out there willing to help (me included). Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there. This is a lesson I’m still learning, but I can confidently say that every time I’ve moved forward in my career, it’s been from doing a ton of outreach and opening up to what the world has in store for me.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am a brand designer and generally a maker of things. I’m a systems thinker who hates subscribing to conventions, so my brain is in a constant tug-of-war between creating order and breaking shit for fun. I’ve done this for some of the largest brands and agencies in the world, and many you’ve never heard of. I’ve worked in brand studios, ad agencies, and venture capital.

Today, I spend most of my time working on brands that you definitely haven’t heard of, because they don’t exist yet. I’ve teamed up with two of the most amazing partners I could ask for to build a CPG product. And to fund it, we help other businesses with creative services.

Stepping into the shoes of a founder has taught me a lot and given me tremendous empathy for the clients I work with.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

For me, being able to see something physical — that exists in the real world and not just on a screen— is the most rewarding feeling. The fact that we get to take an idea and manifest it into the real world is just the coolest thing ever. Not everyone gets to see the output of what they to in that kind of a tangible way.

Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?

One of my co-founders showed up to my house one day with my roomate 15 years ago. They were coworkers at 180LA and had been to a Dodger game together. A few months later we moved to an apartment across an alley from him. We became friends and would spend late nights sitting around his table drinking wine and talking about how maybe one day we’d start something together. Then I moved to New York. Then he did too. We did end up working together but life sent us different places. And then one day he called me with a kinda crazy idea. And here we are.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://thisisnate.com/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/moorenate/