The #32Under32 awards ceremony is almost here. We are highlighting the top sponsors who make all this possible. VON91 is our Platinum in-kind sponsor this year. Davee, a producer at VON91, style blogger and all around awesome gal shares candidly (and hilariously) with us.
Tell us a little about yourself and your career path with VON91.
I’m Davee and I’m a producer at VON91. Outside of VON, I run my own style blog www.daveesecrets.com and also am a freelance wardrobe stylist and writer for www.styleblazer.com.
Before VON, I was working at ad agencies as an admin (and hating it), living in a pool house in the city (and loving it) and genuinely giving two f&*^s about life. You know, sort of like having a quarter life crisis and dealing with it the only way a millennial knows how: starting a blog to illustrate my love for rap music and outlandish outfits. But I think I attribute a lot of my success/happiness to that daunting/wanderlust period of my life – and am so thankful to have landed where I am today – making cool sh*t at VON91. (Sorry for all the profanity.)
What do you love about being a part of VON91?
I think my favorite part about VON91, aside from the ability to work remote most of the time, is the allowance of creativity and ability to grow your role into whatever you envision for yourself. As a person that came from bigger ad agencies around town – I got lost in the crowd, never felt valued or that I was reaching my full potential. But at VON91 – where they foster an environment built around growth, creativity and respect, I’m always learning so much from my peers and able to contribute more as an employee.
Why are people under 32 important to VON91?
Everyone at VON is under 32 – founder Irv, might be the youngest one in the group (overachiever) and secondly, that demographic is the majority of people we partner with. For example, we partner with 32under32 Show host/alum – Sarah Edwards on many of her I AM ventures – the next one being, I AM back-to-school in August (yes, that was a plug).
I think it’s also important to honor people in this age group for not only kicking ass in their 9-5’s but making a difference outside of that. VON91 exemplifies that in the regard that we’re always staying involved in our community through our work, ie sponsoring local events such as TEDx Minneapolis and this year, we’ve built an app for Art-A-Whirl (now available for download at www.artawhirl.com).
I am so sorry for all the plugs, but seriously, go download the app!
Can you give an example of how people under 32 are making waves in your company and the industry?
In addition to what I’ve stated above, I think a lot of my peers are making a real effort to reach life goals outside of their careers. These days, I rarely meet anyone that doesn’t have a passion they’re actively pursuing outside of their regular jobs. For example, Craig – our developer is also an avid photographer and comedian (JK, but he sort of is really hilarious) and Irv, even though he doesn’t think so, is such a fashionisto.
In all seriousness though, I think that those passions/side gigs are changing the game for our demographic in terms of quality of life and really living “the dream” — getting paid to do what you love/loving what you do.
What do you think, or what have you seen be the biggest hurdle for young people in the industry to overcome?
I’ve seen so much young talent go to waste because they had the wrong attitude (I’m guilty of this) – which is feeling a sense of entitlement. I think we need to remain humble no matter how much success we’ve achieved in our time — being gracious and kind will get you far.
What advice would you give to your 32 year old (or younger) self?
32 is just around the corner for me (yikes) so to my younger self, I would say: don’t be so dramatic, Davee and please re-think the purchase of those neon green pants! But most importantly – that it’s okay to be a misfit, somehow this misfit got a Best Style Blogger Award (lowkey was hoping for best hip-hop artist but the world isn’t ready).
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