Confessions of a Port Jeff Startup

There was a handshake in the lounge of a restaurant overlooking the Port Jeff Harbor and it was settled: we were going into business. It was a triumphant moment, one that was deserving of all the smiles and the pats on the back. It was the culmination of months of discussion and debate and late-night phone calls with ideas that couldn't wait until morning.

The germ of the idea began to grow months earlier, when we were working on a project together for a mutual client. "This is working out," we told one another. "You should do this for other companies," the client encouraged.

"What if?" we asked.

What if it worked? What if we could do this? What if we were as good as we thought...?

What if we weren't?

There were only a few obvious doubts that made themselves apparent — then, of course, there might have been a few that we didn't see because we just didn't want to see them — so we moved on to the next question: How?

And we kept answering the questions and asking new ones until that night in the restaurant overlooking the Port Jeff Harbor. We didn't have all the answers, but we had enough that it was too hard to ignore the nagging feeling that this just might actually work.

So there were the handshakes and the smiles and the pats on the back.  But after the plates of picked-over appetizers were cleared, the check was paid, and another proud round of handshakes was traded, the moment was over.  Months after asking "what if?" the question became "what next?"

Hello! We're new to Patch, but not Port Jefferson, and we're new to starting a marketing firm. I'm Pete, my partner's Don, and the plan for this blog is to share our process and stories as we make our way. Hopefully it'll be funny, hopefully you'll stick with us to see where we take it, and hopefully we'll all learn something along the way. Questions? We can be reached at PollinateBranding.com or @PollinateBr!