Lessons from the Next Generation: The Founders of egg. magazine

I’m wildly inspired by the Richard Bransons and Seth Godins of the world who are obsessed with their craft of building brands and businesses, with heart. I’m also heart-wrecked when I hear anyone say they are “making a business decision” as though a business can exist without people. Never! In business, we make human decisions – relationship choices – that then impact our business or brand. While tough decisions need to be made, they can alwaysalwaysalways be done in a human way. The tough lessons sting more as adults because we have more at stake, or so we believe we do. (I think they sting more because our egos grow and get involved!)

To combat this, I’ve had the chance to jam with the younger generation on their approach and their entrepreneurial spunk is equally Branson/ Godin remarkable! This week was inspired by the hearts behind the #Girlboss movement at Nasty Gal and the CEO who is #doingthings at Outdoor Voices…and also, the sweet editors at egg. magazine in Vancouver, BC. These are indeed the next generation of leaders and I asked the youngest of the bunch a few questions…for a few good lessons:

1. why did you start this magazine?We started the magazine purely out of boredom. Jack and Ella had just returned from a camp at the Design Exchange in Toronto where they learned to make a magazine. With 3 weeks left in the summer of 2012, they asked if I would be interested in joining their project. Since then, we’ve produced 6 issues. 

Lesson #1: Never get bored. And when boredom strikes, DO SOMETHING!

2. where did the name “egg.” come from?The name “egg.” came from multiple brainstorming sessions. Originally, there was no real meaning behind it. We just thought it was a cool name. When people started asking us why we called it that, Jack came up with a meaning. He is the “e” as the editor-in-chief, The two “g”s are for the girls (Ella and I) and the “.” is everything else that goes into it. 

Lesson #2: What’s in a name, anyway? Make it up!

3. where the heck does your inspiration come from? (i’m so inspired!)Our inspiration comes from our own experiences and travels. We also look for trends on the runways of global fashion weeks and adapt them to more wearable looks. 

Lesson #3: Nuff said. Coolest teens I’ve ever met. So travel the world or the web, but don’t ever get bored.

4. if you could meet anyone to feature from Vancouver in your magazine, who would it be?If we could meet anyone from Vancouver to feature in our magazine, it would have to be tie between the founders of Earnest Ice Cream (for obvious reasons) and the founders of Herschel Supply Co, Lyndon and Jamie Cormack. 

Lesson #4: Icecream matters. More importantly, create a cool brand and a great product seems like a solid common denominator among this tie! 

5. 10 years from now, what do you your life will look like? will egg. still be around?In 10 years egg. will still be in our hearts, but I don’t believe we will continue on this path forever.  Jack is most likely going to continue on in the field of photography or graphic design, Ella will probably go on to a culinary career, and I haven’t quite narrowed down my path for the future but it will probably be somewhere in the arts. 

Lesson #5: Cheers to the generation that will change careers 18times before they “retire”. So maybe we don’t always need to know where we are going after all…

the heartbeats behind egg. :

egg. Magazine was established in the summer of 2012 by three kids. They wanted to see if they could write, edit, photograph, and print a legit magazine in only three weeks. They succeeded and almost four years later Jack (16/Gr.10), Talia (14/Gr.9), and Ella (13/Gr.8) continue to publish new issues of the magazine at least twice a year. The trio focusses on bringing together personal experiences, Vancouver’s unique businesses and fashion trends. In early September they celebrated the release of their sixth issue which featured an interview with Omer Arbel, a tour of Herschel Supply Co’s Vancouver headquarters, and 4 fashion shoots. They sell each issue at 3 retailers including Vancouver Special, Walrus and The Circle in Whistler. They have a sizeable Instagram  following and solid fanbase of readers. They have plans to release Issue no7 in mid-2016 so keep these kids on your radar!