When choosing a career path there are endless factors to consider; What will you be best at, how hard are you willing to work, and how do you set yourself up for success in this particular role? In this series, DesignBlendz’s team members share insight into their field and personal experiences that lead them to their current position. The goal of this is to provide valuable information and advice to individuals aspiring to take on a similar career path.
Company Beginnings
DesignBlendz’s CEO and founder, Brian Corcodilos, has a unique story sure to inspire young professionals. As an architecture student at Philadelphia University (now Jefferson University), Brian created a blog focused on all of the different facets of design and how they blend together, thus, DesignBlendz was born. In the videos below, Brian Corcodilos and Scott Woodruff, Director of Architecture, talk about the beginning stages of DesignBlendz and how it went from a college student’s blog to a thriving business.
Becoming a CEO: Episode 1
For the first installment of Becoming a CEO, Brian explains the daily responsibilities of running a successful business.
“It’s always moving the needle forward, that’s my job here; it’s the ultimate firefighter, it’s the time traveler, it’s keeping the shoelaces tied and creating the vision for what we’re actually doing here at DesignBlendz.”
When Brian Corcodilos describes himself as a firefighter or a time traveler, he is referring to all of the different responsibilities that fall into the hands of a CEO. While running a company there will be many “fires” that need to be put out daily, and as a CEO it’s important that you are able to extinguish those fires efficiently and effectively. While in the office, Brian spends most of his time extinguishing the fires of his employees. This includes meeting with people individually, providing advice, and generally directing people where they need to go. After the fire duties are taken care of, a CEO has to “time travel”. Brian explains how important it is for a CEO to look well into the future. Be prepared for how your company will change over time, how your industry will evolve, and how your services may be of use decades from now. While most employees worry about current projects and how the business is doing in the present, the CEO should be plotting what’s next. Because DesignBlendz has gone from a blog to a business with over 20 employees, Brian’s role as CEO has evolved and changed alongside the company. As it continues to grow, the CEO is the one to keep all of the metaphorical shoelaces tied and create the vision for what’s next.
Episode 2
In the second episode, Brian Corcodilos explains what it takes to be a successful leader and how he learned his leadership skills.
“It was all little things that were building leadership qualities in me and I didn’t realize it, I was just having fun.”
It was when he got into the game of World of Warcraft that Brian began to realize his strength as a leader. He shares that his first experience in being in charge of a group of people was in this game, leading dungeons and raids. By doing something for fun, Brian ended up leading groups of up to 40 people at a time of players that were twice his age. This is what kickstarted his path to building Designblendz and working as a CEO; an after-school hobby that turned into a career. Realizing your strengths at a young age is a great way to figure out your future profession, whether it is through video games, sports, art, etc., finding strengths in doing what you enjoy most will put you on the path to success.
If you are interested in hearing more of Brian’s story or becoming a CEO, make sure to follow DesignBlendz’s social media, where all future updates will be shared. In the meantime, check out Becoming a Project Coordinator and Becoming a Visualization Artist.