For My LinkedIn Profile
Posting this here because LinkedIn just doesn’t give one enough room to tell one’s story: http://www.linkedin.com/in/soulular
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###### My Lifelong Dedication of Passion & Craft
### Act I - Teeny Bopping Into the Big Leagues
Jason Hargrove began freelancing as a graphic designer at age 13 out of sheer passion for design and client demand. During this early period he had little ambition to purse a professional career in communications. Instead his long term interests were focused squarely on computer systems, specifically in the area of human interfacing. It was this that lead him to pursue an education in Computer Systems Technology at the Northern Institute of Technology (NAIT) in Edmonton, Alberta.
Alongside his base passions in communications and IT, Jason illustrated an early interest in entrepreneurship and business. By the time he had enrolled at NAIT he had created three companies that would give him a basic foundation in brand identity, visioning, planning, business management, human resource management and account management. While most of his peers were flipping hamburgers or pumping gas, Jason was exercising day to day responsibilities very similar to those of the present day, nearly two decades after he began.
It was during the dot-com boom in the late 90s that Jason forged his professional career that would harmonize his passions in communications arts and IT. Working in the Edmonton, Seattle and Vancouver markets primarily, Jason built a portfolio and a personal brand name that centered primarily on web interactive. While he appreciated the experience of working within larger firms and agencies, it was long known that Jason was best suited for entrepreneurship. Unsurprisingly, the dot-com collapse of the early 2000s gave him impetus to evolve up.
### Act II - Learning on the Job / Redefining the Job
In his early twenties Jason set out as a sole-propietor based in Vancouver, BC. His business was digital media and his clients were primarily in the entertainment, online gaming and dating industries. Much of his work during this period was early social networking in nature. His most well known clients of this period were NHL teams such as Los Angeles Kings and Nashville Predators.
The work Jason did for these higher profile brands inspired a new body of interest in brand positioning & communications, and so Jason eventually created a new company to specialize in this. In 2003 Soulular Brand Experience was born – giving way to “The Soulular Level” mentality that would shape the rest of his decade.
Based primarily on his own theory and hands-on experience Jason would go on to establish processes for building and maintaining brand identity in application to personal, small, medium and large brands. Well known clients included the RCMP, BCIT, ELS Language Centers (Berlitz), Techvibes.com (the original incarnation), Massive Technology Show, and Nokia Group.
It was a valuable period of growth and experience for Jason that opened many doors for him in Vancouver. As rewarding as it was, he’d eventually long for change once more.
### Act III - World Stage, Here We Come
By the time he was 27 Jason had spent 14 years helping other people build and position their brands. At an age when many of his friends were just setting out in their careers Jason began to seek a reinvention.
With the proliferation of open source software and social media, and the significant evolution in consumer and enterprise usage of the Internet, Jason saw considerable opportunity for the application of his skill set to his self-owned brands. To the surprise of many he closed his company and at age 28 moved to Toronto, Ontario. There he began an intense period of development in stealth mode.
Nearly two years later he is poised to launch and in private beta he has been actively recruiting worldwide clients, strategic partners and freelance staff from what he affectionately refers to as, “the old days”.
To be continued…
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http://www.linkedin.com/in/soulular
4 months ago • 0 notes