As an art student, Jake Nickell started Threadless.com with $1000 and a treasure trove of cool designs on a web forum (six years before the term “crowdsourcing”). Twelve years later, Threadless is a multi-million dollar company with almost 2 million community members. In a recent talk at Vivid Sydney, in Australia, he told the next generation of innovators to “Never Stop Making.” The following are some highlights from his presentation.
(Thanks to http://helario.us/ for the instagram)
Universal human need to make
Journalist and Threadless friend, Jeff Howe, wrote that “making stuff is the most joyful occupation in which we ever engage. It’s the closest we come to God.” Creativity and physical labor are expressions that are somehow innate. Even with no apparent tangible reward, people write, build, and create new things. Creation is a reward in itself.
Learning how to make by making
Nickell claims to be self-taught with most of the things he’s done, and says that it is often the best way to learn. “If you go into something learning how it’s already been done, you’ll just continue to do it how it’s already been done, and you’re not going to bring anything new.” Whether it’s building a tree fort, learning photoshop, or coding websites – sometimes the best education is accidental.
Make yourself uncomfortable
Nickell admits that public speaking is something he finds personally challenging, which is exactly why he does it. “You’re the most creative and innovative when you have the confidence to try something that you don’t yet know how to do,” he says. Getting outside your comfort zone and looking at something with fresh (albeit untrained) eyes, may give you an advantage. Nickell started his company without knowing how to charge credit cards, ship en masse, or even how to print t-shirts. Fight off the demons of placidity and mediocrity by putting yourself out on the edge.
Make unintended consequences
You don’t need to go into the next project with it all figured out. As you go about your project, let people interact, change your mind, and let it take its’ own course. Some of the best projects of all time start as something else. As Nickell says, “The best things to work in are the results of your hobbies.”
“You can’t make me”
Sometimes the best thing for your work-life is doing something for yourself. It’s important to always have a creative release from work or family. “Use your brain! Find your own legacy. Don’t just consume, create something that you add to the world.”
Make with your bare hands
Like many of us, Nickell works behind a computer most of the day. Especially when you find your work life a little sedentary, it’s essential to get out and do something physical. Built a fire-pit, a treehouse, or a home brewery.
“Doodle, try, sketch, tinker… just get it out of your head”
Take your pen out, and draw something, or start building a prototype. When you get something out of your head, not only do you de-fog your conscious, you also filter out the bad ideas. Nickell isn’t afraid to step out and say, “this might be controversial, but I think some of the best times to start working on something is while you’re at work or when you’re supposed to be doing something else. Get your brain off of that thing, and put some time into a personal project.” I don’t know if I can condone that, but productivity lives where ideas can breathe.
“Fight procrastination and demotivation with action – make and make and make until you’re dizzy.”
Nickell challenges his audience to make something cool every day. Not only that, but document and share your attempts. Making things is powerful, but exposing the world to it is even more valuable. Make things with friends and family and have fun with it. When work gets you down, nothing is quite like a healthy dose of creative expression.
“I encourage you all to get lost in making.”
Of course, when you’re ready to share the content you’ve made with your workforce, talk to us about Pigeonholes!
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