We recently connected with Franziska Pugh and have shared our conversation below.

Franziska, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Do you think your parents have had a meaningful impact on you and your journey?

My high school senior night was composed of re-used casino decorations and gambling tables. My choice? Blackjack. I did poorly – mostly because of my decision to trust the dealer, and perhaps the universe, to give me the cards I needed rather than using a winning strategy.

If you know anything about senior night, it’s the last celebration where old classmates say their goodbyes and cheer each other on to begin their “real life.” It’s a mix between nostalgia and chaotic empowerment to finally do and say the things you always said you would.

My “real life” began when my mother moved our family from Germany to the U.S., and before then, when she escaped from England to Germany to start over without even knowing the German language. I used to think she was foolish, and now I realize her commitment to betting on herself.

The relocation labeled me as a ‘third culture kid,’ which is defined as a person who grows up in a culture other than their parents’ culture. Side effects include celebrating different holidays than your friends, confusing traditions and sometimes the feeling of alienation. What I used to look at as an excuse to be a resentful loner, I now realize was the launching pad of my confidence, integrity and commitment to creating business based on creativity, hope and community.

It all comes down to my parents and what didn’t work in their lives, whether it was their relationships, ties to their hometowns or their daily routines. Through their bravery, I find it easier to give my projects “my all” because I know I’ll always land on my feet even if it doesn’t look like success in the moment.

Franziska, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My goal is to support and encourage others so that they can revel in who they are.

As an immigrant, I understood early on the necessity of understanding communication and behavioral psychology to build a strong personal and brand identity. I specialize in entertainment because I believe music and film have the power to change the world by amplifying messages of empowerment and hopefulness.

Crafting my life’s work around the transcendence of media and culture, I advocate for mindfulness and innovation in everything I do: launching JAQS Publicity to celebrate creativity and building my personal blog, Everybody Hates LA, to showcase the human side of the entertainment capital.

Over the course of my 10-year professional career, I have worked on global multi-million dollar marketing campaigns which garnered the attention and accolades from AdAge, AdWeek, Fast Company and Forbes.

– Founder of JAQS Publicity. Highlighting LA’s brightest young stars in music, entertainment and entrepreneurship.
– Founder of Everybody Hates LA. Highlighting LA’s community through purposeful conversations around what the city brings out in people and the world.
– Featured influencer of VoyageLA, ShoutoutLA, Authority Magazine.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

One lesson I continue to unlearn is that you don’t have to sacrifice yourself to be successful.

As you begin your entrepreneurial endeavor, it’s easy to fall in love with satisfying your clients, your friends and early followers who applaud your journey. In this, loving the act of giving can cause lack of sleep, lack of boundaries and lack of focus on your personal health and growth. If you don’t stay conscious and intentional in your efforts, this may cause burnout and ill health.

Once my clientele at JAQS took off a few years ago, I realized I had taken on certain clients whose values didn’t align with mine. After weeks of delivering services, I was continuously met with dissatisfaction about what I delivered, increased requests that didn’t align with the contract and changing expectations. I realized that I could never reach their expectations without sacrificing core values I created for the business and therefore decided to dissolve the partnership.

This caused me to understand that I have to continuously assess whether I’m aligned with my mission. If I’m not, I must make the effort to realign and ensure I’m acting out of a full cup and not a need to please.

Alright – so here’s a fun one. What do you think about NFTs?

I believe that we have multiple versions of ourselves: 1. Our 1D, or human self,
2. our 2D, or digital self (ie, the version you post on Instagram and TikTok), and
3. our 3D, the way our digital self behaves in a digitalized world which we find in both our 1D and 3D worlds.

What I mean is that our world will continue to expand in a digitalized manner, pushing society to interact with technology in an immersive way. We will continue to expand our personal and brand selves through NFTs or virtual worlds and will continuously need to re-shift how that looks for us – whether we own that or society decides for us.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.jaqspublicity.com, www.everybodyhatesla.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/franziskapugh
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/franziskapugh

Image Credits
Jess Castro, POP Media, Anna Azarov