Wanna comment? We’d love to have you over on the Junto blog!

2+ years ago I was bored out of my mind. I’d dropped out of advertising grad school and was coding during my unfulfilled afternoons at an ad agency. I fell back in love with writing PHP and got into WordPress theming and… suddenly I was a person trained in photography and film, but capable of making all kinds of things. It was a fresh start made out of existing experiences.

Fast forward a few months and a solid team had its beginnings as I’d spent time chasing down other kindred spirits. We struggled, but within the lower-risk (mostly opportunity cost) boundaries of a traditional production studio environment. A year and a handful of months later we hit stability but we weren’t…

…Well, a lot of things, but what I’m getting at is that we weren’t happy. We were making/building things, arguably our favorite thing to do in the world!!!, but it wasn’t enough because our involvement wasn’t a crucial factor. Great clients, but the same work over and over. Luckily, our real mission was the light at the end of a tunnel: slowly-but-surely our clientbase was becoming mostly nontechnical founders and we discovered the wonders of the startup scene in Chicago. We took on the more high-risk “burden” of building our own startup (Junto, launched in October 2011) but it’s been the best pressure any of us have ever engaged in. A true test. We now argue that if dog years are 1 to 7, startup years are 1 to 3. We’re tired but we’re happy.

Fast forward again and oh my gosh it’s been 2 years! What ?! Polymathic is now our parent/umbrella company with two additional partner shareholders that I’m proud to split equity with today (Joe Poeschl and Matt Manske), and an investor-turned-consultant (Dan Widing).

Do we still do straightforward production work through the studio? Sure, for projects that sound like fun. Do we get to build startup ideas that inspire us? Yes, through Junto! Junto is evolving into something that can help a LOT of people (more on that soon!) and round out the purpose we’ve all been craving and defining since Polymathic’s first anniversary.

We love being knee-deep in startup culture and we’re extremely grateful to the communities and people that support us every day. We crowd-funded Junto’s humble beginnings from friends, family and even total strangers and for that, we’ll never stop saying “thank you”. Add to it the general support so kindly extended to us every day, and we’re left speechless. You should know that you’re the reason we continue to strive to create something that will help others.

The sky’s the limit and we’re only as good as our best efforts, so that’s the foot we’re putting forward as we begin our 3rd year. Here’s to happiness, purpose and knowing when to give up something good to ultimately get something better.

Wanna comment? We’d love to have you over on the Junto blog!

Well, we are hard at work on something new and exciting that takes Polymathic to the next level. So, stay tuned.

Soon to be bigger and better! We figured we wouldn’t burden you with fluff in the meantime. A triumphant return always makes up for an extended absence!

- Marcy

A year ago yesterday, Polymathic became an official studio in the eyes of the state of Illinois and the federal government.

A year later… we’ve got a rock solid team of designers, web developers, photographers and video specialists – if you dare to pigeon-hole them using nomenclature, that is.  It’s been an honor to work with such polymathic talents because they bring so much to the table.

But that said, what IS a polymath, you ask? Right, I get asked that every time I hand out a business card.

Basically, “polymathic” is the adjective for being a Renaissance man.  So… a polymath is a jack-of-all-trades but of the highly-skilled variety, not the “master of none” sort. In our case, we believe our skills and achievements in wood-carving, oil painting, sculpture, poetry, costumery, puppetry, memorizing many numbers of Pi, proficiency in 9 instruments, academics, architectural rendering… really, this list goes on for a long time if you let me… are all just as important as our skills in the commercial media arts.

Leonardo da Vinci is of course one of the most famous polymaths, but Benjamin Franklin is one of my favorite other examples. Both men pushed themselves to accomplish creative, scientific and philosophical goals (to name a few.) A singular approach to life is just so very boring.

While we may not have “invented” electricity or theoretical flying machines, we pride ourselves in being able to apply our accomplishments and experience to the vast possibilities within visual communications. The results are multimedia experiments that are thoughtful and informed.

Thomas Moore put it well in “The Devil Among Scholars” -

Off I fly, careering far
In chase of Pollys, prettier far
Than any of their namesakes are—
The Polymaths and Polyhistors,
Polyglots and all their sisters.

We feed off of each other and our collective mindmeld. Maybe we don’t meld like the Vulcans, but whiteboarding and gChat sessions can accomplish quite a bit. We’re always itching to find that next concept that can only be conceived when a mesh of assorted, electric brains are all sitting in one room… with slightly flushed faces from interrupting each other and getting high off of ideas.

We are careering far, and we are chasing as fast as we can.  You won’t believe the projects we have coming out in the next couple of months, though one we will highlight is DreamChamps - the awesome brainchild of POP! Social Media. I personally hold the POP! girls dear because they are a Northwestern University entrepreneurial group, like Polymathic, and also Equal Sons, our video production team.

So here’s to a great year. High fives from Logan Square — we did it!

- Marcy
Founder/CEO/Professional Nagger/Mama Bear

Of course you do! So head on over to the Polymathic Photography site to check it all out.

I know we’ve been a touch absent from the blogosphere but that’s because we’ve got some really big things cookin’! So stay tuned…