CTRL + ALT + DEL = Time To SHIFT

Things Just SHIFTED But We Are Here For The PIVOT

At tonight’s Authenticated "virtual dinner” we started a couple of weeks ago, music industry legend Vivian Scott-Chew said something so profound it made me stop. We host dinner in a private video chat room twice a week, where we bring together The Authenticated community. As an ice breaker, I was doing what I normally do, have guests answer a provocative question (“What have you done in your career that is helping you today?, etc)

Vivian Chew, a frequent dinner attended and Authenticated member replied with the following. “James, I’m taking a page out of your ‘book of reinvention and going to rephrase the question” She then said something so profound it set the tone for an hour long dinner discussion and one I hope you are asking yourselves today. 

She replied. 

"It’s Not Who I Was James, It’s Who I’m About To Become”

Truthfully I am someone very comfortable “in the pivot.”

• Grew up in a single mother home after my father left my family
• Moved from Oakland to Palo Alto in Junior High to live with my Aunt Micki
• Planned on attending law school while an undergrad at UCLA and landed an internship at Columbia Records and dropped out of college to pursue music industry career. 
• Left a successful executive stints in music industry and fashion business to build a website / email newsletter
• Sold aforementioned website and joined a “dot-com” where we raised $40m dollars in 15 months and I was faced with massive media attention and scrutiny 
• Travelled Europe with no understanding of global business and managed music business opportunities for DJ Jazzy Jeff
• Reset my career and life and moved to Atlanta where I became an advertising executive at Omnicom agency Ketchum PR
• Built my second company, a social media agency, landed major clients and then sold company to a slightly larger agency
• Moved my entire family to LA to pursue a career at the intersection of venture capital, advertising and culture. Encountered several bad business partners and actors. 
• Built The Authenticated, a platform for content, conversation and connection for 350 members and companies looking to build culturally fueled, tech enabled businesses 

And then CoronaVirus happened.. 

It’s not about any of those bullet points. It’s all about the next bullet points

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For an expansion pack on how I look at culture and change, check out an interview I did before the madness with Josh Levine from Rebel Radio. 

Business and life as we know it has forever changed. 

You can add education, health care and even government. 

If the world is an operating system, we just had a reboot. It’s now time to SHIFT

I'm an expert in the art of reinvention, I've shifted in and out of industries, cities, companies my entire 25 year career. If I had only one word of advice that would be use this moment to STAY CURIOUS, be THANKFUL for what you have and recognize your NETWORK is your NET WORTH. It could mean your next job, investor, employee or maybe if things get tough roll of toilet paper!

My business has always been driven by an incredible network and 3 years ago I started to organize them in Slack and WhatsApp under The Authenticated. 350 members strong, this previously closed network is  made up of talented executives, entrepreneurs, authors, world leaders, former and current professional athletes, advertising executives, venture capitalists and even pastors. The Authenticated has been “meeting” in a mobile / web experience, on live streams and in social media for the last few weeks. We've been hosting weekly "dinners" with guests covering topics like Power of The Immune System, Venture Capital During CoronaVirus, etc.

 Here’s a few truths that have come out of all the interactive content experiences we have been creating last couple of weeks. 

• The new living room couch is now happening at Zoom, Twitch, Whereby, Mighty Networks. etc. 

Did you see the piece we wrote on D-Nice + His Instagram Live Moment?

• Niche Audiences were important before, now they REALLY matter
• We we living in a world where everyone is a broadcast network and a store. This was true before as well, we feel it now in the most transformative ways
• Trusted Voices matter more in a noisy environment 
• The Future Of Work is now about flexibility 
• If you didn’t have a digital strategy before you are in a tough place
• It’s important to think like a gamer. The way the have structured their broadcast, community and commerce strategies are how many of us will operate in the new world
• We should be focused on “job titles that don’t exist yet” and are being created as I’m typing this. 
• Give yourself grace, many of us are having a “boomer moment” and awkwardly making our way through Zoom settings, learning how to work at home, just finding about House Party. 
• Whatever happens you need to come out of this with a plan
• No idea or behavior shift has ever spread more quickly. In seven weeks the life of every person on the planet has changed
• We used to describe some events as the “internet in real life” now we are experiencing “real life on the internet"
• The entire world just became a mash up of SXSW, Summit Series, Winter Music Conference, TED and a GRAMMY afterparty with a sea of content discovery that ranges from Daybreaker dance parties, D-Nice, Rich Medina, Spinna spinning soul classics, Older rock legends playing hits from their couches, Hip Hop & R&B music producers and writers battling each other and Dolly Parton reading bed time stories. 

Helping You Navigate The New Normal

The Authenticated Open Enrollment 

With the recent Coronavirus we decided to open up enrollment and will be looking for leaders who are building the businesses, disrupting the industries, and creating the social platforms that will change the new world we just entered. We have discounted our annual fee to make this more affordable for those of you who are looking for true community, inspiring content and a place to think about building and shifting to a new normal. 

Culture Signals Slack Community 

As the father of a high school senior and college graduate I see first hand how the Coronavirus is affecting 18-24 young adults; it’s right in my house. I have always wanted to formalize my mentoring and teaching and have now opened up a platform in slack to focus on students and young professionals.  If you have anyone you would like us to consider please let us know. Email Andy Platnum ([email protected]) 

Authenticity: Providing Quarantine Focused Services 

Lastly, we created Authenticity, a distributed services agency focused on providing services geared towards the current moment. The Future Of Work, Entertainment and Education will not look like anything you have seen in the past. How do you begin to understand networks, digital platforms, new consumer behaviors and culture to stay relevant, connected and prosperous in the new economy. We are leveraging talent from e-commerce, gaming, data and culture to provide clients with 

Here are 3 Tools We Are Currently Using That Might Be Helpful For You

• Whereby (Like it better than Zoom, we have custom rooms setup to do video chats)
• Houseparty (Random Video Chat Fun)
• Community (Best Way To Use Text Messaging. I'm now an advisor ping me if interested)

We believe your network is your net worth and community is more important now than it ever has been. 

This moment in time favors those that know how to hustle, innovate and pivot. We are no strangers nor scared of any of that and here to be a thought partner and support. We are headed into the unknown which can be scary but we tend to think that’s where the magic happens. 

James Andrews

Authenticated

{build + invest + play + culture)

[email protected]