This post originally appeared on Tech In Chicago. Visit Tech In Chicago to listen to more interviews with Chicago’s top startup founders and venture capitalists.
David Gardner is the founder and CEO of ColorJar, a Chicago-based creative tech agency. Before founding ColorJar, David was a professional basketball player and a founder of a social network in India. ColorJar specializes in branding and creating custom websites and mobile apps and has worked with everyone from Fortune500 corporations, to venture-funded startups.
In this episode we cover:
Why he decided to start an agency
What makes a great name and brand
How to approach building a new brand to cut through all the noise
Why user personas are better than talking about demographics
How the Chicago tech scene has changed in his 8 years since founding ColorJar
The surprising benefits of having a distributed team
Why employees and employers should date (contracting) before marrying (full time)
Why he prefers to hire freelancers
Why you should follow your instincts
David’s Favorite Book: Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcom Gladwell
Listen to the episode on iTunes
About Tech In Chicago:
Tech In Chicago is a podcast that takes you inside the Chicago tech world. Each week Colin Keeley is joined by Chicago’s top founders and investors to talk about the amazing companies being built right here. If you want to learn more about Tech In Chicago, head to TechInChicago.co
