Creative Business
For founders, entrepreneurs, and creative professionals building something from scratch.
I've started things that worked, things that flopped, and things that taught me more than any MBA could. These pieces are about the messy reality of building creative ventures - the decisions, the mindsets, and the bits nobody warns you about.
Featured reads
Making it in America: What international founders & creatives actually need to know
The cultural paradoxes, identity costs, and hidden rules nobody explains
Howard Gray
Paul Newman’s four career stages (and what they mean for you)
Every career follows the same arc: unknown, essential, replaceable, forgotten. The real work happens in the spaces between.
Howard Gray
The $2.5M Decision That Changed Everything
A screenwriter turned down Harrison Ford and Tom Cruise for unknown actors. He had no way of knowing if he was right. But he trusted his vision anyway.
Howard Gray
The punk path to landing Nike as a client
How two broke agency founders landed Nike by skirting the line between genius marketing and lawsuit-worthy audacity
Howard Gray
Confessions of a middle-class startup founder
In a world that idolises the billionaires and the big winners, it’s easy to forget there are multiple paths forward. Here’s one of them: the confessions of a middle-class founder. As an added bonus, it’s also wonderfully written. Confessions of a Middle-Class Founder
Howard Gray
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Groove Theory is a newsletter for creative professionals figuring out how to do work that matters.