The last few months of the year always feel like a weird mix of “I’ve got this!” paired with the quiet panic of everything that still feels unfinished. This isn’t another reflection on New Year’s resolutions or a guide to perfectly color-coded goals. It’s meant to be a reminder to pause and refocus on building not only the business, but the founder behind it.

Conferences. Everyone thinks stuffy ballrooms, rushed sessions, and useless logo pens. Ours? Not even close.

Your new creative hire walks into a meeting. They're the only ones in the room without a CFA designation. They can't rattle off the Sharpe ratio from memory. If you asked them to explain a basis point, they might pause. But as the analysts debate decimal points and performance spreads, the creative’s focus shifts. They're not staring at the spreadsheets. They're watching the faces around the table.