On Creative Assemblies, The Spark Podcast, our mission is to amplify Nashville’s diverse creative voices, foster growth through shared journeys, and inspire a city that thrives on collaboration.And now, here’s The Spark.Welcome back to The Spark.I’m your host, Mark Scrivner, and today’s episode is gonna be a little bit different.We’re gonna be, uh, talking to someone who I’ve worked alongside with for the last decade.Um, we’re exploring what it really takes to build a company from the inside, to learn and earn every ounce of trust all along the way, the, and then ultimately grow into the person that leads the whole thing.Our guest is Josh Moquin, newly named president of Snapshot.Let’s spark this conversation, Josh.Man, welcome to the show.I’ve been looking forward to this episode-for a really long time.Excited to be here.Yeah, man.Well, thank you for, uh, being a part of it.Thanks for the last decade of, uh, work for Snapshot and working with me.I know it’s sometimes- Mm-hmmnot been an always the easiest thing, but, uh, you’ve-weathered through it, man.Has it felt like 10 years?It, uh, it feels like just yesterday-when you came in for your interview, and I think so many people that were involved in that remember that, uh, you know.But before we, um, before we talk about the new title- Yeahmaybe take, uh, you know, take the audience back a little bit through your journey.What, um, you know, how did a guy with international business from Southern Miss make his way to Nashville, Tennessee?Yeah.Well, uh, the, I end up in Mississippi because, uh, my grades weren’t good enough to get into any good schools in Texas, where I’m from.I was focused on football and girls, and that was a good time in high school, but, uh, came time to go to college, and, uh, Mississippi accepted me with open arms.And so, uh, got my degree in international business there.I thought I wanted to be a, a globe-trotting business person, and, uh, was, uh, an awesome experience and a great, a great school.And, uh, I was in a fraternity, and somewhere along the way, I became social chair for our fraternity.And, um, I was in charge of booking artists for shows that we were putting on, and I loved that process.I, I loved the organization of it.I loved putting it all together.And, uh, we reached out to, uh, a famous rapper named Mike Jones, who, uh, ended up doing a show with us, and I was talking to his, his tour manager, and I said, “Man, how do you get in this business?Like, how are you making money doing this?”And he goes, “Well, you know, uh, you book this show through me, and I make a percentage, and, uh, uh, that’s it.”And I said, “Wow, that’s really cool.I wanna do that.”And I said, “Hey, I got a pretty good platform.I’m in a fraternity.I’m in, uh, you know, I bet you I could get you some more business.”And so, uh, he’s like, “All right.Cool.Uh, I’ll give you 1% of whatever the show cost is,” and he’s making a lot more than that.But, uh, that’s beer money for me.Mm-hmm.And, uh, so I, I took that.I ran with it.I created my own assets.I started p- posting all over the, uh, the national fraternity pages saying, “Hey, I can help you get artists, but I also know the rules, the regulations.I know what you’d have to do in order to make this in compliance.”And, uh, I think, uh, a couple years later, I ended up booking somewhere between half a million, 3quarter million dollars worth of shows for him.And, uh, I just, I loved that process, and so naturally, I wanted to go into music after I graduated.And, uh, I got a job with a music booking company here in Nashville, and, uh, it was a pretty short stint though.I don’t think the musicIt was a fun experience in college.I had a good time, but, uh, after, after 6, 8 months and, uh, being an agent assistant, you realize there’s not a lot of growth in that.The music, uh, booking business wasn’t gonna be for you, huh?Yeah, it’s a lot of laundry picking up and coffee getting and, uh, not a great pay, but you know, you got to go to the CMA Fest, and you got to do all the fun stuff.But, um, uh, I, I was h- I had enough.And how I found Snapshot was, uh, after, uh, after, uh, a long day, uh, I went down to Cinco de Mayo, which was in Cummins Station back in our original office.Mm-hmm.And I had a, a beer after work, and I decided, you know what, I’m gonna, I’m gonna go up and down each hall, and I brought a notepad, and I took a notes of, uh, every company that I thought looked interesting, and I’m gonna go just go apply to those companies.And, uh, I think maybe I applied to 6 or seven, and Snapshot was the only one that hit me back.Really?And that’s, that’s how I found Snapshot.Well, lucky, lucky us, man.That’s, uh, you know, just walking up and down the halls though, that’s the, uh, like, a great value of a great salesperson.And, you know, you’re, uh, 10, looking back 10 years ago, I mean, we interviewed you for a sales development rep.Mm-hmm.So, uh, your job was gonna be just to come in and qualify leads and opportunities that were coming in, help us write proposals- Yephelp us get the clients into, you know, the queue, and once that happened, then the professionals took over from that.So, uh, you know, looking back though, you’ve grown from that.Into sales, into account management.You know, was, was that your plan?Like, “Hey, I wanna come in and just get my foot in the door,” and then ultimately like did you ever see yourself being the president of Snapshot someday?Uh, I don’t know that I had a plan.Yeah.I think I, I just wanted to find a, find, find a place that, uh, was creative, you were doing cool, unique work.obviously I’m not a creative, so I, I, I needed to find a business aspect to it, and I think as, if I could just find a foot in there, I could make something happen.And, uh, I think, I think a lot of people would tell you I m- made it pretty clear that from my very first role, I wanted to be CEO of the company.Like, that was my goal.And, uh, I think over the years we joked about it.I was, “Like, Mark, I’m coming for your job.”Yeah.I know you’ve always thought you were smarter than me.And I really appreciate that, ’cause I, I wanna bring in people that are smarter than me.And so, you know, but I guess, like, looking back along the way, I mean, you kept raising your hand all along the way.Mm-hmm.For every role that you took on.You know, what, you know, what kept you engaged in that way?Like, that kinda ownership you don’t necessarily always see in everybody.Yeah.Um, it’s probably a combination of how I was raised and, uh, you know, you just, we never, we never let somebody down growing up, you know?And that’s probably through things like sports and, uh, I’ve always, uh, appreciated camaraderie.Yeah.Uh, I’ve appreciated, uh, taking pride in your work.I’ve always appreciated loyalty.And, um, I think there’s probably been situations in my life where the person that I needed wasn’t there whenever I needed them, and I think I never wanted that to be me.And so w- uh, when I see a situation like that, I naturally lean into it because it’s less about the situation and more about helping that person get out of that situation than anything else.Yeah.Um, so yeah.I, I, and I’m a bit of a masochist.I like, I like-dealing with tough situations.Like, I get a thrill, I get a satisfaction out of, uh, taking something that isn’t, um, where it needs to be and, and getting it on the right track.That’s, it’s exciting work for me, and it’s, I do it a lot every day, and, uh, I, I think that’s what keeps the work varied and, and, you know, mark- agency world is, is complex.Everything we do is complex, and if you’re not willing to dig out of a hole, um, you’re probably not made for the industry.Yeah.Yeah.Which, um, I guess which one of those seats kinda changed the way you look at the whole business the most?That’s a good question.Uh, I would say that I started to gain appreciation of how an agency runs when I started as an, as the account director.And, uh, I mean, this was 6 or 7 years ago.We didn’t have account directors.We were very much production-focused.Our project managers managed the relationships, and it was a very transactional, functional relationship, which works in a production setting.Mm-hmm.And, uh, I think we had landed a couple big clients, um, and I did not want a project manager managing that work.Not because they weren’t capable, but just because it require, it was gonna require a level of customer service, white glove service, um, to ensure that they kept coming back for business, ’cause that’s how I got paid.Mm-hmm.And, uh, so you, you’re, you’re really leaning into that.You start to unders- tr- transition from that sales mindset of, uh, you know, how can we put the best solution in front of our client, but then also how can we, uh, how do we start to make the most money we can on it?Um, which is a, in the agency world is a complex game, and, uh, things change and things pivot, and, uh, but you start to gain that appreciation from the ground level on why scope- scoping is so important and why that process is so important and why following it through all the way, um, to the very end, uh, with an eye on finances is important.That’s really where it started to open up in terms of understanding how the business operates.Yeah.You know, um, you’ve, you’ve, again, worked in every position, man.You’ve worked with so many people along the way that really leaned into you and, you know, really cared because they saw that spark in, in you and that passion, that pride, and that care.And, you know, I guess was there a moment in your career that you realized you weren’t just working here but you were really helping build something?I think I have felt that from day one.Like, personally.Mm-hmm.Like, I, I, I don’t think I start anything just to get through it, uh, in anything in life, but I think there were several moments where I could tell people who were in positions above mine were gravitating towards decisions I was making or coming to me to, uh, run through their ideas, validatio- validating kind of what they were thinking.And those were moments as, like, a 23-year-old who thinks they know everything, but, you know, was working hard.Whenever you have people, uh, that are in roles, director roles, coming to you and validating information, I think that’s whenever I started to pick up, like, “Oh, wait, I actually, uh, I know what I’m doing here.”Like, people are respecting my opinion, and I think that’s what really kinda kickstarted that for me is like, “Oh, wait, I can really make a difference.”Yeah.Well, the agency world is definitely, uh, you know, not always the easiest business.Um, and 10 years is a long time for a young person to give to one company.You know, w- um, there were, I know there were a lot of points along the way-that, uh, you could’ve left the company, and I wouldn’t have blamed you.I mean, there were some-pretty challenging times within the company.You know, what, what kept you here?Yeah.Um, you know, in interviews, when I get asked this question, it’s my favorite question to answer because, uh, I believe it, uh, to the core.But I think, one is how I was brought up.Uh, w- uh, I always respectedLoved f- football growing up.I always respected a guy who stuck with a team for a longLike, there was just something, like, I’m a huge Eagles fan.There’s been many a great Eagles that came along, and they-stuck with the program the whole time, and I think I, I even respect it more as I get older because you start to understand the business of, like, sports, and you’re like, “Wow, that, they took pay cuts.Wow, they did this thing to really stick it out with their team.”Uh, so I look at that, and I look at, like, my own father.Like, he worked at the same company for 25 years.Mm.And, um, and so I think partly it’s just how I was brought up.Um, and then secondly, I would say that there’s no other place that I could imagine where you have the influence to make a difference.And it doesn’t matter what your title is.It doesn’t matter what your background is.Uh, the best idea wins, and I love that competition.I love that camaraderie.Um, no day is the same, ever.You can walk in and know that you, your decisions that day will have a lasting impact, whether it be with somebody that you’re working with internally, could be with a client.Um, but there’s just so much opportunity to make a difference.And through all the opportunities that may have presented themselves along the way, I, I would always ask myself, like, “Am I gonna be able to make the same impact there as I would here?”And every single time, the answer was no.And so for me, putting title, putting job descriptions and all that aside, it’s, it is the ability to make a big impact, but I would also say that it’s the people that you get to make the impact with.I think we’ve had amazing people over the last 10 years that you enjoy working with, both professionally, personally, enjoy spending time with them.We do such a great job of bringing people into the fold that really, uh, appreciateUh, there’s, there’s one core value that always sticks out, and it’s there’s no task beneath us attitude.And typically, what I find is when we find somebody with the no task beneath us attitude, they’re gonna be just fine here.Mm.And I love that blue collar attitude, and I love that, uh, you know, we’ve brought people in that were always willing to pitch in, and then have a good time at the end of the day- Mm-hmmwhen it was over.Yeah, you’re right.You know, one thing that I’ve always really valued about you is that, uh, you know, you’ve been able to talk to a client, take a very complex, you know, challenge that they had or even idea that they had, and break it down so well for the team to, like, understand, you know?And I guess for a lot of young people listening to this that, uh, you know, wanna grow up in an agency and, and ultimately get to where you’re at, you know, where’d you learn that?What advice would you give to, like, lean into that?I think that, uh, it, it really came from sitting in a room with multiple people and watching different ideas, like, go f- flying all over the place.Mm-hmm.And, uh, a need for organization.Uh, and I think that when you’re working in the creative space, you have designers, and you have developers, you have, uh, accounts folks who are focused on the strategy, and SEO folks, and, um, everyone has a very strong opinion about what they are doing, and I love that.But, uh, leading a, leading a re- client relationship, you’ve gotta organize that into digestible pieces, not just for your own team to manage, but for the client to understand.And so I think that developed out of a need as we were growing as an agency into a more full service, uh, traditional agency.I recognized that there was a need for organization, and there was a need to clearly communicate to clients our value.Whenever you’re producing a video, you produce the video, you deliver the video, you high5, and you go on about your way.Mm-hmm.When you’re looking strategically with clients and working with them over the course of years, that requires a different, a different mindset.And so I guess to answer your question, uh, it started out as a need for the business- Mmum, because it felt chaotic.But, uh, it’s just reps, you know?Mm-hmm.And learning to deal with people, and, uh, understanding what, what you’re doing for your clients.IIf I was giving advice, I’d say spend time with your developers.Spend time with your designers.Spend time, go out for beers with people who do the work that you are pushing, because you’ll never truly able to break anything down if you don’t understand how it works.Mm-hmm.And you’ll never be able to build relationships with your team if you don’t understand their craft.Um, and so that’s, I think, when you can marry this idea that we need to organize the work we’re doing with our client, and you appreciate the work that your team does, somewhere in the middle there is where you find that organization, uh, that clients learn to love.Yeah.I mean, that’s great advice, Josh, and I think also, you know, taking them out and learning what they do probably, um, you know, created a higher level of respect for you.Mm-hmm.Um, and so it gets people to wanna back you a lot more in the agency world too, right?Well, and it’s not hard, right?Yeah.And especially now with AI, it’s like you can f- you can quickly learn things that you were never able to learn.You know, things that took me sitting with a developer for 2 years to understand, you can now understand in the blink of an eye.And, uh, you know, I tell our accounts team all the time is, “If you don’t understand something, look it up.”Mm-hmm.That’s not, A, just for your knowledge, but B, you’re gonna gain so much respect with the team that’s working for you, and you’re gonna be able to have a next level conversation about the work.Mm-hmm.And, um, so yeah, i- investing ti- investing your time with your team will pay, pay dividends for sure.Yeah.Well, you know what, just another thing is that, uh, you’ve always, challenged my assumptions along the way.Mm-hmm.You know, even all along the way if I’ve, you know, worked with somebody, and maybe they didn’t, they didn’t hold me accountable, they didn’t answer my question, you know, I always found myself going to you- Mm-hmmbecause I knew I’d get the straight answer.Sometimes I didn’t enjoy it.Uh, but you know, I did appreciate that I could always come to you, and you were gonna, you know, speak your mind.Mm-hmm.And, uh, you know, that’s not always the easiest to do with, you know, someone that’s, you know, older than you, you know, but I guess, you know, again, like, where did you, where, where’d you get that, or why’d you, like, leaning into that, like, what, umYeah.Yeah.I, I mean, I probably pissed off my fair share of managers along the way, uh, going directly to you for advice.But at the end of the day, I just, I didn’t want to waste time, and, uh, I never try to jump to conclusions quickly.I try to see things play out, give people grace.But there comes this point where, especially coming up in the agency is, is like this is impacting our ability to grow.This is impacting our ability to service our clients.And it was never personal.It was just, “Hey, like this is an issue.I do not have the ability to solve it right now, but I need your help.”And so it was less of like a, “This is what’s going on, Mark.”It was a, “Mark, I, I need help getting this in a good spot.”Now, I will tell you that I’ve developed a better skill in doing that along- Mmthe years.I think, uh, as you mature and as you grow as a professional, you start to learn which battles to fight.You start to understand different perspectives.You start to stop bringing, uh, challenges to Mark, but bringing solutions as well.I think probably when I was younger, it was more of a, “Hey, this is going on and we need to solve it.”And you know, today it’s more of, “This is going on.This is what I’m doing to solve it.”Uh, but you know, it was, it was always in an effort to make the agency better, um, and I had no problem communicating that.Yeah.You know, you and I, we went to a, uh, listen to a speaker, at the EO one, uh, one time and, you know, they said the best way to solve a problem is one, take the, uh, problem to your supervisor- Mm-hmmand, uh, give them 3 solutions that, uh, instead of just bringing that monkey and putting it on my back, you know, you brought the problem, you’ve had 3 solutions- Mm-hmmand, you know, give me the solution that you think is gonna be the best one to solve this.Mm-hmm.And, uh, I know you, I’ve heard you challenge the team from time to time using that same methodology.And I’m glad we got to hear that, so.Yeah.Uh, it’s, um, uh, I think nobody teaches you to think critically, I think in the professional world and- Hmm.Yeahlike nobody sits you down and says like, you know, “Here’s h- how I need you to think.”And so I think having frameworks like that get peopleIt’s not that people aren’t capable of doing things like that, it’s that nobody’s just said to them, “Hey, go sit down with your problem, think of 3 ideas and I’m gonna solve it, you know, together with you once you’ve done that exercise.”And, um, the truth is, especially in an agency where we’re moving a million miles an hour, it’s, uh, it isAnd, and also like I talked about, you have the power to make change yourself.I, I want, I want them to believe in their own solution, and I want them to go to the team and I want them to solve it themselves.And I think that just continues to build great leaders in the organization and it builds trust, it builds, uh, it builds authority not just with our clients but with our own team whenever you’re able to reallyI think people really appreciate whenever there’s a hard challenge and they see somebody spending a lot of time trying to figure out what the right solution is and then owning that solution to the end.Uh, that’s what builds leaders.Uh, uh people often when we get promotions around here, uh, you know, there’s this instinct to want, uh, more authority or like to feel like a, a bigger sense of importance.And this, whoever it is has worked hard and they deserve that promotion and that’s great, but, uh, I, um, I always tell them, “All you’ve gotten is a different title.Now you have to go to the team and prove why you deserve that title.”Mm-hmm.And, uh, I think what you just mentioned is one of the single biggest pieces of making that jump to a director or, or higher up in the organization is that you are not allowed to bring problems anymore.You are, you are tasked to solve them.Um, so yeah, it was a great, it was a great speech and, and something that’s carried with me all the way through.Yeah.Well, when you stepped into the role, Josh, you said that you’re committed to earning the trust- Mm-hmmevery day.Mm-hmm.You know, why, why say it that way when you’ve already got the title?A- again, titles don’t, don’t really matter.You know, they’re great, uh, they’re great for- Even for you Even the president.Yeah.I, I think, um, you work really hard to get there but, uh, the team is expecting you to take shape of that role and they’re expecting you to, uh, to step up in ways that, uh, they’ve not seen before and you risk, you risk whenever you give a, like a promotion like mine, right?Like you risk this idea of it seeming like, um, it was just a title change.And for me, like I’ve never wanted that in any of the promotions that I’ve gotten.I’ve, now my goal is to prove why I’m the next best CEO, you know?And so I look at that in every step along the way.It was when I was helping sales it was like how do I, I need to prove I can be the best salesperson.When I was the best salesperson I need to learn how I can be the best accounts person.And so I think keeping your goal in mind and looking at the next thing in front of you humbles you and makes sure that you keep that grit and determination that you need that the team will respect the work that you’re doing.Yeah.That, uh, it, uh, you know, it’s interesting because for the last 3 years you’ve, uh, been the VP of operations for the company and, you know, a lot of times I’ll hear from younger people that, “Oh well, you know, I’m not ready for that,” or- Mm-hmmyou know, “Hey, I’m not old enough to be in that kind of role.”And you know what I’ve seen is that even through my career but through, you know, the lens of you working here is that people, you know, twice your age- Mm-hmmum, had such a respect level for you.In fact, when I’d ask them to do something a lot of times they’d go, “Let me go ask Josh-and make sure he’s good with it.”And it’s like- I’m sure you love thatdang, uh, you know-that, that you know you’ve kind of, uh- You know, you know you’ve kind of arrived when that happens.And I guess, you know, I say that because, you know, it’s, it would be encouraging for other young people out there, but you, like you just said, you’ve gotta own it.It’s not just, “Hey, I stepped into this title of- YeahVP of operations.”It’s, “I gotta earn your respect every single day when I walk in here.”I think that, that jump from, uh, leading the accounts and sales team to VP of operations was the biggest, uh, jump for me for mul- a multitude of reasons.But the one I’d talk about is the wor- the work is easy.I think the work is the easiest part of this.Uh, I, I find it eas- easy to solve work challenges, h- how to help the team get in a better position, help our clients feel like they’re getting everything they want.Like, all of that work is easy.The hard part is the people.The hard part is taking responsibility for your actions.The hard part is owning things all the way through.Um, the hard part is having the tough conversations you don’t wanna have.These are all things that I’m still developing, but, um, you know, especially when you’re younger and you take on roles like that, if you are timid about those types of situations, you will get eaten up, and it will show that you were not in a place to take that role.And, uh, I always took a responsibility, too.It’s like as you’ve given me promotions, like, I wanted to prove that, like, Mark made the right decision, too.And so, like, those things have pushed me, um, to, to continue to grow in those ways.But I would say that, like any young leader that gets in a position like that, yes, do the work, get the respect, always be there, show up, be present, um, but leaning into the hard parts of people management is where you really start to differentiate, differentiate yourself.Yeah.Well, this is the first time that, uh, we’ve, I’ve asked you this question.Mm-hmm.So, uh, this will be an interesting one.All right.But, uh, you know, since you stepped into this role- Yeahwhat is the one thing that you wanna protect about Snapshot?And then what is the first thing you’re ready to change?Uh, great question.I think the, the first thing that comes to mind about protecting Snapshot is, uh, is maintaining the great culture that we have here.I think that we have a great group of people who love being around each other, who fight for each other, who support each other.Um, there’s, I mean, account executives walk into your office all the time and have normal everyday conversations.I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard, uh, other people say, “Oh, you’d never walk into the CEO’s office as an accounts person,” right?And, uh, I think that’s what’s kept us, kept us honest.I think it’s what’s kept this idea that any idea wins.Um, and when you start to get too big for your own britches, you lose some of that spark.And so I think for me, protecting the way that we work, protecting the people that we bring in, um, and that culture that we’ve built is the most important.Mm-hmm.I think the, the thing I look forward to changing is, um, it’s something that we’re continuously working on, but it is challenging, chall- the, the challenge in front of us with AI, with clients expecting more, with how we work as an agency, uh, I want, I want us to find our lane in that, and I think every agency’s trying to find their lane.Mm-hmm.But it needs to be the Snapshot way.It doesn’t need to be anybody else’s way.It needs to be our way, and I think that looks different for every agency, and I don’t know that we’ve nailed it perfectly yet.I think we’re doing a lot.I think we’re doing much more than others.I think we’re building amazing tools that people would love to have.But at the end of the day, you can’t lose the Snapshot character in that.people would love to have, but at the end of the day, you can’t lose the Snapshot character in that, and the no task means this attitude, the grit, the grind, the blue-collar attitude.Like, those are all things that could easily go away whenever you over-leverage technology, and so it’s how do we find this, this balance between being a more efficient workplace, helping people get more work done without it feeling stressful, doing more for our clients, being able to bill, uh, for, for things that may not take as long?Like, those are all things that are outcomes of that, but how do we not lose the Snapshot soul in the process?Mm-hmm.Yeah.Well, you’re exactly right, man, and IYou know, you mention people walk into my office, and- Mm-hmmit’s just amazing to see.You get 10 times the people-that walk into your office, you know, either celebrating wins or, you know, bringing you challenges that they need your help helping them solve.But, um, you know, that, that isI never really thought about that being a huge part of the culture- Mm-hmmbut I appreciate you pointing that out.Yeah.Everyone, uh, again, it’s my favorite question whenever I’m in interviews about, you know, how the team operates because it truly is a any idea can win.Mm-hmm.It is truly, uh, coming to solve complex challenges, and I think that you, myself, we have unique perspectives.We’ve been through it.Why would we not spend the time to help that person understand what- Mm-hmmwhat the outcomes may be?Um, I think that we would be doing our team a disservice if we didn’t, and it’s a shame that you hear about all those, uh, you know, other agencies where that line of communication isn’t open.It’s ’cause how many, like, you, uh, you end up leaving your team out to dry, you know?And, and, uh, like, I think part of being a leader is sharing the experiences that you’ve been through and helping somebody get to the other side.Uh, and, um, I’ve just always appreciated that about us.Yeah.Well, you’ve, you know, over the last 10 years being in Nashville, you’ve watched Nashville marketing scene kinda grow, um, you know, grow pretty significantly over the last few years, and, um, what do you think’s changed the most since you’ve arrived and started with us?I think that, um, when you say grow, the way I, I perceive growth has been more of a, a lateral growth, and what I mean by that is you’ve seen a lot smaller shops pop up, um, I feel like there’s a new one I haven’t heard of every week, uh, who do really high quality, amazing work.Mm-hmm.And I think that that’s brought a healthy level of competition to the, the traditional 3 in town.I think it’s pushed us to continue to, to keep the ship right, and, uh, it’s amazing that a 3man shop can, which there are plenty of in Nashville, can do the level of work that they do.And, um, I think that, you know, we’ve gotta find a better way to, as a city, to put ourselves on the map as a place to get your marketing done.Yeah.I think Nashville’s got such a cool flavor, a cool style.Oftentimes between agencies it feels adversarial or competitive, and I think the truth is if we were able to better put ourselves out there in the nation to say, “Hey, like, this is what’s happening in Nashville,” uh, you know, all ships will rise.Yeah.You know, I wanna give, uh, a little shout-out to you ’cause I tell this story a lot.Yeah.But, uh, you know, I remember a day back, um, you know, 5, 6, 7 years ago, and, uh, you know, Courtney Ross with the Chamber of Commerce, she was with the Chamber then.She was head of the economic development.She came, she called and said, “Hey, Mark, I need to see if we can meet.We’ve got a project we really need your help on.”And, um, you know, she came over and, uh, a few others from her team- Mm-hmmand they talked about, like, Amazon to Nashville, and it was us, you know, um, trying to put together the package that, uh, got Amazon to move their world headquarters to- Yepone of the 300 cities, but hopefully Nashville, that they were looking at.And so Nashville was in that mix.There was a quick turnaround time, you know, of, like, 6 weeks to get all this done.We partnered with another very small agency as well that- Mm-hmmuh, very nimble and, um, you know, they did a lot of the content.We did a lot of the design and packaging- Mm-hmmand all of that.Um, and y- I know you were a part of that meeting.Yeah.And, uh, you know, I remember, you know, when Courtney said, “Hey, can you guys do it?’Cause we went to a lot of other agencies and they’ve said there’s no way you can get this done in- Yeah6 weeks.”You know, like, when she said, “Can you guys do it?”I said, “Yeah.Yeah.”Mm-hmm.”We can do that,” and almost, like, threw up in my mouth-at that time.But, uh, you know, when she left, I know you- Mm-hmmthe rest of the team kinda rallied around.Man, we were, there was a level of excitement.Yeah.You know?And I know you’re a part of that, and then, you know, we ultimately ended up helping the city- Yepget their, uh, operations hub here, which was the biggest jobs grant in the state of Tennessee- Yeahhistory at that time.Little self-promotion there.But the story is, is that during that time or not too far after that time, I remember you popping into my office overly excited-about Major League Soccer- Yeah Uh, launched 2 new cities- Mm-hmmand you wanted to see if we could be a part of helping the management team.Yeah.And, um, I thought you were really crazy-uh, at that time of why would they pick us?Yeah.And especially when we’re working on this other big project.Yeah.But your passion really, like, shined through, and I was like, “Man, I’m gonna give you a shot.”Mm-hmm.And you ended up landing that deal.Yeah.It, uhA special shout-out to Caitlin Mello, one of our former, uh- Okayemployees.Uh, I s- whenever I heard the news, I think every, every guy in marketing dreams of working with a, a sports team.I think that’s just kind of, uh, something that you wanna check off the list.And so, uh, you know, I, I saw this opportunity, and you just start doing a bunch of research, who’s involved, how to, uh, you know, who do I need to reach out to.And, uh, the, the CFO of the, of the search group just happened to go to high school with one of our former coworkers, Caitlin.And I was like, “Caitlin, I don’t know if you guys still talk, but, like, can you just tee an email up for me?”And she was like, “Yep, no problem.”And, uh, y- You know, it was almost too easy.He said, “Here’s, here’s a contact.See if sh- see if she’s interested, and, uh, and then you can go from there.”And next thing we knew, uh, we were brought on to, to help support that initiative, and I think it’s, uh, one of the coolest things I’ve done in my career so far.Absolutely.Really.Yeah.And it didn’t get a press release, but we still talk about it-a lot.And, uh, man, now it’s, uhThat goes back to your, like, sales background.Your, like, you owned it from start to finish.Yeah.You know, there were times where I think the team felt like I gotta pry it away from Josh a little bit.But, you know, if you wouldn’t have stayed involved, it probably wouldn’t have had the level of success it did, so thank you.Yeah.Yeah, absolutely.It was exciting.I think Snapshot’s been a big part of, uh, a lot of things that have happened in the national community that nobody would ever know about.Um, and I’m okay with that.Yeah.You know?I don’t know that we need the accolades for it, but I love that anytime an opportunity like that comes up, it’s something that, that we wanna be a part of.Um, I think Nashville’s a large, but really a small community, and, uh, the more we can do to support each other, the, the better we all end up.Yeah.Well, when you say you wanna build the next chapter- Mm-hmmlet’s just say, you know, everything goes exactly right, what is that next chapter gonna look like of Snapshot?Yeah, I, I have 2 answers to that.I, I would say one is, um, aggressive, meaningful growth.Uh, we, you know, we’ve navigated a ton as an agency.Uh, COVID and, I mean, you name it, we’ve been through it.And, um, I think that we’ve found ourselves in a place where growth is not just attainable, it’s like we would have to mess it up.And so, uh, I don’t wanna mess it up.You know, I wanna, I want it, or I want our growth to be a win for everyone.I think everyone here, everyone we bring in has ambition to do more.I don’t think anyone on our team is, is okay with just settling.And I wanna be able to keep them all here, and one of the only ways that I’ll be able to keep them all here is to make sure that growth happens.And so it’s just as much about our team and what we can do to impact the people we bring in as it isYou know, I don’t know that adding 30 clients is something I’m gonna high5 and be like, “Mark, this is, this is awesome.”I think watching our team grow, uh, employing more people, uh, making a bigger impact in the community, like, those are things that as we look at the next chapter our growth will help fuel, and that’s what excites me.Mm-hmm.Yeah.Man, well, you’ve, um, I think you just recently joined the, uh, board of AAF as well.So, you know, you talked about the community and, you know, uh, how we can give back, and I know this is one of your ways of giving back, the awards chair for this year, so thanks for taking part in that.Yeah.I think, uh, Nashville can do a lot better job of bringing people together.Uh, I think we both remember the days pre-COVID of NAMA, where you’d sell out 200 seats at City Winery and, uh, you know, you’d bring in some of the best guests, and I’m not sure what happened post, uh, post-COVID, but I think there’s an opportunity to, to grow something substantial again.Yeah.Well, man, you’re exactly right.Is there, maybe as we start to wrap up- Yeahis there anything that, um, I didn’t ask you that, uh, maybe you think would be valuable?Uh, you know, I think we covered a lot, but I would say that, um, my trajectory here has been, uh, a, uhI love sharing the story because it, when people ask, you know, “Why have you stayed at Snapshot for so long?”Like, it, there’s truth behind it.You know?It’s like I know people sit in interviews and they hear, you know, the whatever story that, that corporate wants to tell.But it’s like when people ask me that, I can say it with conviction and with truth because I’ve seen it happen for myself.And so I think that what I’m excited about is allowing people the same opportunities that I had, and giving people the same opportunities that you gave me, to, uh, continue to push the agency forward, and I don’t think that that would happen without the hard work that you did building the agency and getting us where we’re at and building that mentality that we have.Uh, so thank you for all that you’ve done to- Yeahto help get me in this position.Well, man, I appreciate it.You know, uh, before we did the episode, I, uh, called, uh, my co-founder.We went and had breakfast.Mm-hmm.And, uh, Ben Rigsby’s been a huge part of, you know, helping us grow the agency- Mm-hmmsitting side by side with you and- Yeahme all along the way.Um, and so, you know, I asked him just, you know, some stories to, to talk about, and he said, “You know, the one thing that like, you know, the agency world is challenging from time to time.”Mm-hmm.”And Josh has seen his share of challenges, and he’s been forged by fire.”Yeah.You know, and that’s made him a lot harder of a person, like a lot stronger, you know, uh, mentally resilient, you know, as we’ve been through all the challenges of COVID and- Mm-hmmyou know, changing from a product company to a, you know, a retainer-based company.Um, you know, there’s been a lot of pivots we’ve had to make along the way.Yeah.A lot of big projects, a lot of client issues that didn’t always go the right way.Yep.A lot of huge wins too.So, you know, they, um, they say that, you know, “Oh, we’re just one big family,” and I think there’s some truth to that, but I think that a lot of times it’s not necessarily the way you ought to look at it because, you know, think about it, if your family screws up 10 times- Yeahyou can’t fire your family.Right?Yeah.But I, I guess I use that example because over the 10 years- Yeahman, and the fire that you’ve been through with me- Mm-hmmwith Ben, with the team, you know, you have definitely endeared yourself as family.Yeah.And so that’s, uh, you know, as a young person coming up, I think you’ve shared a lot of great lessons for people listening to the show, you know, and I appreciate you being a part of it, appreciate all you’re doing for us and for Nashville, you know, the, the creative and agency community.You’re starting to lean in a bunch more, and- Mm-hmmreally appreciate that.Well, this was fun.I love going down memory lane with you.And, uh, excited for what’s next.Well, we got one, uh, special thing.So on the 52nd episode, that’s one year of us doing this- Mm-hmmI’ve been asked to have you interview me for the podcast.All right.So we’ll, uh, we’ll, that’ll be coming out, so I’m excited about that one too, and, uh, you know, thanks again.Thanks for joining us.Uh, this has been a very special episode for me, and appreciate Josh, uh, for being on and sharing everything about, uh, his experience with the agency, his growth path.Uh, it’s been really fun to watch and, uh, see, and like every leader, they want to grow people within their company to ultimately, like, leave that legacy and, and Josh’s allowed me to do that.So thanks for being a part of the show.Uh, if you would, please rate, review, and subscribe to the, uh, episodes just so we can get the word out to more people.Um, thank you for tuning in week in and week out.I’m loving what I’m doing, and I couldn’t do it without you, so appreciate you being here, and until next week, we’ll see you on The Spark.That’s a wrap on this episode of The Spark from Creative Assembly.Thanks for spending time with us and exploring the minds shaping Nashville’s creative future.If you’re walking away more inspired, connected, or energized, that’s exactly the point.A big thank you to our sponsor, Snapshot, and the incredible team behind the scenes who make this show possible.Your support fuels every conversation and keeps collaboration alive.So if you haven’t already, subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and leave us a review.Thanks again for tuning in.Until next time, stay creative, stay curious, and keep that spark.