What 5 years in San Francisco taught me.
Nick Francis
Strategic audience building for global business | Chief Executive at Casual | Author
Today marks the 5th anniversary of my family's move from London, UK to San Francisco, CA. A huge amount has changed in that time, yet it's gone so fast. Anyway, here are 10 things we've learned - in no particular order:
1.?????It’s not necessary to say ‘sorry’ at the start of every sentence/before asking a question.
2.?????Americans are more straightforward than Brits. When they say: “you have to come and stay in our vacation?(aka holiday)?home some time”, they don’t think you’re crazy if you turn up.
3.?????I used to think that London weather was pretty good.
4.?????There is an amazing entrepreneurial energy to SF and California generally. A great filtering happened as the Old World emigrated to the New. Those who kept heading West had the greatest appetite for risk and ended up rewarded with literal gold. Now, every one of their descendants seems to have a hustle. Casual would look very different if I hadn’t moved here.
5.?????That may also be why businesspeople think 10x bigger here. How is your idea worth $100M? A $Billion?! It’s infectious.
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6.?????That said, taking venture capital is Faustian bargain. Control is so important when running your own business - how much money/scale do you really need?
7.?????Apres-ski US style seems to be limited to $8 Diet Cokes and $15 hotdogs. Dancing on tables in ski boots is not recommended.
8.?????Speaking of which Americans bloody LOVE dogs.
9.?????Americans aren’t fake – to a Brit their sincerity just seems implausible. Frankly though, it’s quite nice when someone says “I appreciate you”. I've been literally moved to tears by the kindness and perceptiveness of my CEO mentoring group's feedback (but maybe that says more about me than them!).
10.??IF?you can make ends meet – $10 loaves of bread?! Eh?! – San Francisco is an amazing place to raise a family.
Marketing Director at Outcomes First Group | Leading Marketing, Communications & Engagement for 90+ Schools, 6,000 Colleagues, and 3,000 Pupils | Championing World-Class, Inclusive Education
2 年I can't believe it's been 5 years! Look at your beautiful girls, ?? I can't believe how grown up Willow is! Xx
We believe in the power of human connection to spark emotion and change perspectives. The value we bring to your business lies in our content creation approach, which is focused on your Buyer Journey.
2 年Did you ever think when you started Casual that you would be living in San Fran and own and run one of the most successful video content agencies in the UK?
CEO at TILT, driver of marketing strategy and creative brand transformation.
2 年The first 5 years are the hardest gets easier for the next 5 and then hard again. Stay strong
Product @ Aurora | ex-Zoox
2 年Terrific piece. Still look back fondly on our conversations when I was early to SF. Advice on how to adapt to SF norms we're super helpful!
Internationally Experienced Brand Communications & Employee Engagement Lead
2 年About to hit 5 years here in NYC and a LOT of this resonates. Especially the better weather and the genuine sincerity. Plus the expense of course! Congratulations on building a great life out West!