We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Scott Leisler a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Scott thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

As a kid, I started skateboarding in the mid 1980’s and was exposed to a subculture of art, music and all types of people. Skateboarding connected us and it didn’t matter what neighborhood you were from, what race or religion. This really opened my eyes to what life and personal expression could be. In a lot of ways it taught me to think differently about the world.

Becoming a creative was an accidental career path (25 plus years ago).

I was a pretty good student and was able to graduate high school almost a year early and thought I would chill before going to college and skate, but my parents pushed me into getting a start on college. I thought the easiest thing to do would be art classes to pass the time until real college began, so in a lot of ways, I just fell into this field.

I had always been interested in science and probably could have went that way if things didn’t play out like they did.

So, what I ended up doing was embracing the ability to think with both right and left brain, and began my path as a creative professional, using the inspiration from all my interest growing up as a way to differentiate myself.

Today, I love creative problem solving and the art of integrating it with business challenges. I’m trying to think of myself more holistically as a person rather than being defined by one particular creative ability.

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

I got into the industry of design back in 1996. I worked for a company that specialized in graphics and motion design for big tech companies, broadband, that sort of thing. While I was there, I was given a lot of trust to lead creative projects for publicly traded companies, but as I was working there, I always envisioned what it would be like to open up my own design agency.

I think at the time it felt more like a day dream that something I was going to really do. I was confident I could do the work, but I had a lot to learn about all aspects of the business. Selling, proposals, managing teams and all the risks.

In 2002, I opened Inferno Media Group, which was a design, digital and web development agency. I told myself at 25 years old, if I’m going to do this, do it now when I could afford to take the risks. It was the wild west of web. Everything was taking off and we were in the right place at the right time learning these new technologies and combing them with design we could be proud of.

In 2006, I had an exit, and started another brand and digital agency, Big Wheel. In 2010, Big Wheel merged with a traditional agency and became Dovetail. It’s been a long journey of entrepreneurship and I’ve met a lot of great people along the way.

What excites me the most is that I’ve never lost a passion for learning and figuring out challenges. Over the years I’ve contributed to a lot of businesses that have grown because of the work we’ve done, and today I focus a lot of my time on how to help companies grow their revenue by telling their story in a way that connects in a more visceral, authentic way.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being creative?

I love it when you can unleash creativity and get into a good flow state. The thing about creativity is that it can really mess with your mind. You can have a process, but sometimes you question yourself. You almost always want to progress to some next level.

So many times, I’ve been working on a project, a personal painting or even the design of an interior space, and find myself on the emotional rollercoaster… where your mind cycles through feelings of, “This is pretty good, wait, this sucks, no it’s actually pretty good, it sucks, it’s great, I love it, I really love it!” Your mind can really mess with you as creative. That’s the one challenge when it comes to selling creativity and pricing it. Sometimes it just takes what it takes.

But when an idea comes together and you see it out in the world, it feels great, as if you’ve made some sort of small imprint and put your stamp on something.

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

The important thing to know is how to get to the information quickly. New knowledge and learning means everything to maintaining your relevance in almost all of creative life.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.dovetail-stl.com
• Instagram: @evildesignking
• Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/scottleisler