Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Alex Lazaris. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Alex, thanks for joining us today. Let’s start with a story that highlights an important way in which your brand diverges from the industry standard.
I run a branding and design studio named Lazaris. The industry we operate in, is packed with studios and agencies all claiming to be more innovative and creative than the other. While I do think our studio offers a unique perspective and generates novel and compelling solutions for our clients, this is hardly a differentiator in our industry. What we have been working toward over the last several years is moving our studio into a co-op structure. Traditionally agencies are either owned by large holding groups, or privately held by a small group, or individuals. The agency model tends to be very hierarchical and draw in talented creatives who’s passion is tapped in order to extract all their energy and ideas. These creatives are underpaid, work long hours, long weeks and create billable hours that only serve to line the pockets of the executives and owners of these agencies. I believe that this creates an unsustainable industry that is rife with burnout, exclusive and inequitable.
We decided that the co-op structure was the best path forward for us to create a sustainable, positive, inclusive and equitable work environment for our team. Each team member has a path to being a worker-owner. Creating a work environment that is less hierarchical, allows everyone to have ownership not only over the client work they are doing but also where the agency will go. Growing the studio slowly, methodically and keeping the team small while giving everyone a stake in the business is the key to our success, and something not seen in our industry.
Alex, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I’ve been working in the design and creative space for 17 years now, and started off building websites for clients. Building websites for clients eventually brought me to my real passion of building brands. I love working on a wide range of project and medium types, and branding allows me the flexibility to help clients bring their stories to life across many different platforms and project types. I get energized by being able to create interesting and unique solutions for clients, and I am very thankful for the trust we have been given over the years. I am extremely fortunate that I have been able to work with so many big brands over the years like Adobe, Balenciaga, Dell, Fortnite, Twitch, Hilton, Hertz, and MillerCoors. The core services that our studio Lazaris offers are branding, brand strategy and design. We create unique solutions to challenges that business owners are experiencing on a daily basis across a wide range of industries and audience types.
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
I think at this point in my career, I am more concerned about creating a healthy business, lifestyle, and work-life balance for my team, rather than trying to win awards, social media clout, or press features. Our philosophy can be simply summarized as “Do great work with great people”. How this manifests, is by creating a safe haven away from the toxic working environments that so many creatives have found themselves in. Internally this means, we are turning Lazaris into an employee owned business where everyone has a vested interest in the business and profits are shared. We prioritize long term goals and health of the team rather than short term profit seeking. Intentionally staying small and methodical when expanding the team. Externally it means that over the years we have created a strong vetting process for the types of clients we work with, and I’d say that about 95% of our clients are some of the raddest, kindest people, and a pleasure to work with.
Any advice for managing a team?
Refine your hiring process, hire great people, trust them to do the work they were hired to do, give them autonomy, pay and treat them well. Nobody likes a micro-manager, and if you are going to micromanage them, why did you hire them in the first place? I think great leaders need to be self aware and empathetic, those two traits go a long way in making the work day better and keeping morale high. From there, let people make an impact, solve problems and pay them well.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.wearelazaris.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wearelazaris/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lazaris