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In early 2004, I was driving out to Los Angeles with my girlfriend Annie–who would later become my wife–in possession of two skills. I could disassemble, repair and reassemble Naval aircraft avionics equipment; I could also discuss French and Italian red wines and their distinct characteristics at an advanced level. Which is to say that on the fourth day of our five day road trip to California, my career prospects were bleak.
And then Annie’s phone rang.“Darcy says that a guy named Joe John is looking to hire an EA (Executive Assistant), and wants to know if you want to meet him.”
“Sure,” I said, with absolutely zero confidence this would lead to anything of substance.
Before we even had an apartment picked out, and while we were squatting in my wife’s uncle’s house in West Hollywood, I went for my first interview. In a tiny Westwood office that could barely accommodate two people, I sat across from this guy Joe John and was presented with the manuscript for his first book: Start It, Sell It, and Make A Mint. My assignment was to return in a week and discuss the book with the author, explaining what I had learned.
I don’t recall saying anything particularly earth-shattering in those interviews, but somehow I got the job. The “Joe John” in question was Joe John Duran, the serial entrepreneur who had just sold his first business Centurion Capital to GE and was about to launch United Capital Financial Advisers. As luck and opportunity would have it, I was his first hire – and I have never looked back.
Why is this relevant, and what does it have to do with financial public relations?
First, not long after United Capital officially launched, Joe asked me to consider a “career” in lieu of a job. He wanted me to invest in myself, as he was prepared to do in me. I came back after a weekend of deep thought and blurted out “marketing” as if I had experienced a great epiphany. He had a look in his eye that I would come to recognize well over the years – two parts stern gaze and one part bemused incredulity at my chutzpah.
“Well my man, you better figure out what that means. I’ll give you all the rope you need, try not to hang yourself with it. You are now the marketing manager.” And off he went to go build his second national financial firm, which he would eventually sell in 2019 to Goldman Sachs for $750M. I went off to discover that within marketing was this little-understood vertical called “Financial Public Relations”, and I became hooked.
Second, of the five guys who started off working side by side in a (now larger) office in Westwood, two (Mike Capelle, Gary Roth) were there through the sale. One left early in 2006, and I stayed on until early 2009 before going to join my first agency, Cognito. Even after I left for personal reasons, Joe and I never lost touch. He supported me as a mentor and friend through the years, and is now a client of ours at StreetCred (Mike and Gary too).
The early stage lessons I learned from Joe, Gary, Mike and others were invaluable, because I got a front-row seat to observe entrepreneurs at work. In 2012 this led me to start my first agency, FiComm Partners, which I successfully built over six years before selling it to my former business partner Megan Carpenter in 2018. For the next two years of a non-compete, not a day went by that did not find me contemplating that first foray into business ownership, turning those lessons over in my head again and again. Integrated Partners was kind enough to take a chance on a PR guy in the throes of deep self-doubt.
When Paul Saganey (another entrepreneurial mentor) and Rob Sandrew (now a very close friend) came to my house to pitch me on the concept of revisiting the in-house life, I was hesitant, but these guys aren’t just great salesmen – they are awesome people. They literally had me at hello, but I was even more convinced when I returned to my office after seeing them out to find that Rob, a Red Sox fan, had hidden all my Yankees memorabilia…LA guys don’t mess with each other like northeasterners do. I’m in.
Which brings us back to StreetCred. While joining Integrated, I was very clear with Paul that I may feel compelled to give building a PR agency another go. Not only was he understanding, he was so supportive that Integrated became our very first client (and remains so to this day). My non-compete with FiComm ended Aug 21st, 2020. Less than a month later, we opened our doors.
The point of all this, aside from sharing some more about StreetCred’s origins, is that just over 20 years ago I had zero agency experience, zero PR experience, and couldn’t tell you the difference between an RIA, an IRA and an IAR if my life depended on it. I fell in love with this profession the first time I pitched a reporter and secured interest in United Capital, arranged and monitored the subsequent interview, and experienced that exercise turning into a feature article on us. This coincided with the first announcement we did: the acquisition of four RIAs, each managing about $100M. PR had everything — suspense, uncertainty, fear, excitement, joy, satisfaction, confusion, clarity and a touch of the unexpected. You didn’t always win, but you generally got out what you put in. This was a contact sport, and it was thrilling.
You cannot thrive in a PR career unless you love it. My parents forced me to take piano lessons as a kid and I hated it. Not because I hate the instrument, but because I found it tedious and quickly understood it wasn’t for me. I was never going to play that thing with skill. But repping a brand every day that I was passionate about, and eager to see rise in stature and name recognition? The best PR people do that. Joe, United Capital, Cognito, FiComm and Integrated Partners all offered me the opportunity to hone my skills, to learn, to make mistakes and learn from them. Every team member at StreetCred is afforded this same path forward: to make of it what they will.
A PR agency and the national wealth managers I learned from within, are two very different businesses, but there is a common thread: the best are successful because of how they treat their teams, and their ability to inspire and retain those teams. As the Native-American warrior poet Tecumseh is known to have said: “A single twig breaks, but the bundle of twigs is strong.” At StreetCred we focus on career development, but also on the individual prosperity of each of our teammates. No PR practitioner is left alone to manage his or her work – this is very much a team sport.
Not long after StreetCred launched, my good friend and exceptional PR pro Jimmy Moock reached out. We discussed life, our career paths and a vision for StreetCred’s growth and development. Without explicitly saying it, as we talked it became clear that we had a responsibility to build the PR agency that we, as young guns growing up in this space, would have liked to call home. I’m fairly certain we are doing just that. Two years ago, another good friend and partner, Emma Smith, was persuaded (by my relentless overtures) to join as well. I admired her unflappable demeanor, undisputed talent and crazy work ethic when we were at FiComm together. In fact I often find it challenging to keep up with these two – pretty sure Jimmy sleeps at his desk some nights. While the three partners may bring different competencies to StreetCred, we are united in our steadfast support for this team, provided we receive the same in return.
PR is hard. A client of mine once called it “the thankless profession.” While this is not entirely accurate (StreetCred clients often thank us), our job is to represent our clients’ brands as if they are our own, but in the background. Everyday, our team is proactively knocking on doors, seeking ways to capture mindshare and working extremely hard for our clients. I’m obviously biased, but I swear I have never worked side by side with a more committed group of PR practitioners than the team we’ve assembled here. A simple truth is that if your PR team is unmotivated, underappreciated, or unsupported, then neither their agency nor the clients they represent will succeed.
We recently gathered all 22 current team members in Chicago for a three-day retreat. Observing this group interact, appreciate, learn from and laugh with one another was inspiring and heart-warming. Our clients (friends) came and joined in celebration one evening. Every StreetCred attendee of this inaugural gathering of PR excellence received an “honor coin” – a concept borrowed from the Navy, whereby each member of a ship’s crew is presented with a token that represents their steadfast dedication to the mission. The front of the coin features the first line of the StreetCred PR Practitioner’s Creed, which all of us are committed to. We have big plans for growth, innovation and expansion. None of it is possible if our foundation is not rock solid – and that foundation is our people. Full speed ahead!
Jason Lahita, Founding Partner at StreetCred PR
