The end of February delivered some bittersweet news for all of us at At Brave New.
Our fearless co-founder, Polly Yakovich, has left our company to dedicate her full attention to her family’s amazing butcher shop and restaurant Beast & Cleaver.
It was almost a decade ago when Polly and I sat down at a restaurant in Seattle’s International District to kick around what seemed like a crazy idea: to start our own marketing agency. It was a decision that was both exhilarating and terrifying at the time.
Fast forward to today, and we’re both extremely proud of what we’ve built at A Brave New. But as the business Polly and her husband started quickly grew in popularity, her focus was being pulled in different directions. There’s only so many hours in the day, after all, and when you combine the fact that Polly has a young son along with the late nights and rapid-fire reality that is the marketing industry, she recognized that situation was too much to juggle.
When A Brave New first opened its doors, there were three of us behind the wheel, including our friend and other original founder Jacob Smith. Our early clients were mainly focused on website work, and in those early days, we were popping champagne when a $1,000 project came in.
As our company grew, Polly was always right there in the office next to me. Together we navigated through the challenges of building a business. Challenges like finding new business, obviously, and how to bring on more staff.
We didn’t always get it right, and along the way we learned a few painful lessons, but the fact that our friendship was rock solid meant that we could always weather the occasional storm.
A Brave New continues to grow, and I’m excited about the team we’ve assembled here — young and passionate individuals who are always eager to learn. But if there’s one thing I’m going to miss going forward, it’s having Polly at the desk next to me. Her enthusiasm, her humor, her brilliance in marketing and building strong relationships with our clients — in many ways, she’s going to be irreplaceable.
The good news is that Polly isn’t truly going away. She will always be a part of my life, and she will always be a part of this company she helped build. All of us at A Brave New are going to make her proud because, if we don’t, she’s going to let us know.
If you want to hear more about Polly and my journey, the first 8 years of A Brave New, and what we have planned for the future at the agency, check out our latest podcast. I’m so excited for what’s to come in 2022.
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