Gamification Marketing Company Gives Thanks

For those who know me well, my annual Thanksgiving weepy tribute is nothing new. There is just something about this time of year that makes me entirely grateful and nostalgic and almost unbearably sappy. So, I invite you to have a seat and spend a minute or ten reading about the people who made this year remotely possible.
Today marks almost eight months to the day that Shannon casually mentioned that we should start our own gamification marketing company. The idea was simple; we would do something constructive out of the home, maybe buy some shoes with our extra dough. It was a solid plan. Then we decided to take on four clients the first week we were an LLC. And life hasn’t stopped since. Indulge me, if you will, while I speak some thanks.
Thank you to Geoff and Missy Owen. Someone should clone the Owens so that we can all buy a set and have them live next door to us forever. You were our very first, easiest, funniest and best clients. I’m sorry to all, but it’s true. Working for you, we felt like we owned part of the deli. You are some of the best people we have ever known. We will love you forever.
Thank you in every possible way to Michael Hoernlein and Matthew Rice. As many of you have doubtlessly heard us say, they are like our two older brothers. People should be so lucky as to have two men like Mike and Matt watching out for their best interests. Mike, we can never repay your kindness and thoughtfulness this year, guiding us through the legalities of owning our own business. And to Matt, who told us that the person making the most amount of money in our company is Starbucks, we owe you so much thanks. CPAs are everywhere, but you are one in a million.
We are thankful for Kim Gajan. When we came to our friend with this impossible name, she came back to us with an identity that blew us away. Your talent astounds us every day and we will never deserve you. It wouldn’t be gratitude without friends. We worked for and with some of our friends when we began. Krista Adams was our big first paying client. We were so excited to have our first check!
And then, there was Lisa Evans-Clark. We had to drag her kicking and screaming to her new salon, but what a labor of love it was. There still exists no project that we poured ourselves into more. How could we ever forget sitting at Charlotte’s Fashion Night out with all the heavy hitters flashing up on the screen like Carmen and Carmen and Modern and there was your logo and the models you styled and I was sitting with the girls who created it. It was the best moment in our careers so far. We were just so proud of you and Priti.
We are thankful for Ben Llewellyn and Spencer Clair. The complete yin and yang, these two interns made our summer interesting and hilarious. Thanks for not quitting and flipping burgers after you endured that two hour meeting in the hottest house in human existence. And there have been amazing advances in my abilities to use instant messaging, so there’s that. You were both so funny and fun. We miss you all the time.
Thanks to Maria Stone for introducing us to one of our favorite clients and to all of our current clients who made us laugh and brought us joy or taught us valuable lessons about trust, loyalty and believing in building up a small business.
Celeste Horton runs our day-to-day operations and puts up with far too many receipts. I don’t even know where to begin, but thanks for always laughing with us. Even when it’s crazy and there is no end in sight and on days where we are all ready to throw in the towel, we always laugh.
To our staff, especially to Kyle Lee, because we would be nowhere without your talent, we love you. And Carrie, thank you for so many beautiful websites and so many more to come. Thanks to Chris, Dan, Kimberly and everyone who works to make us a success. Thanks to Meaghan for rocking out the NOLA office.
And thanks to Shannon who never allows me to quit, no matter how many times I try. Who always allows me to fire her and everyone around me on a weekly basis on grounds that have no basis besides cracking us up. For being the brains when I am needlessly the heart and being the heart when I am venting like a crazy person. And thanks for not paying me. Even at minimum wage, you still owe me a lot of money. No really, a lot of money.
And to our friends and families who have suffered through missing us but cannot bring yourselves to do anything but be our cheerleaders. Thanks for always supporting us, loving us and slapping magnets on your cars for us. Someday, God willing, we’ll be too rich to love you anymore.
See? And you thought it was all sappy. There is the funny, people. There’s Kelly, always with the jokes.
Happy Thanksgiving from the paper blossom marketing family to yours. It is only with your love and support that we continue to make this little dream come true.