By Christalena Vraila.
It was 17th of July 2017 when I received the email confirming that Mr.Highline has been incorporated and we were ready to roll. đź’Ą
I was 24 years old and I dare to say that this was one of my proudest and most scary moments to date. Little did I know of what would follow. 4 years later, I felt it was time to take a moment and document our journey so far, after all it’s our birthday!
“If you are reading this piece, and think that this is another story of how to become a successful entrepreneur, well I will disappoint you. Instead what I will try to do is reveal a few aspects that have formed Mr.Highline.”
Why Mr.Highline?
One of the questions that we are being asked by 90% of the people that get to know our company for the first time. Must be frustrating right? Quite the opposite, it’s exactly what we wanted!
First meetings can be uncomfortable and awkward. Most people will spend the first 10 minutes chit chatting about the weather or (recently) the pandemic. Well, in our case, our ice-breaker is this simple question: “What does Mr.Highline mean?” which I find so much more interesting and genuine than talking about the rain in London (duh).
Here’s what we promptly respond 👉🏼 The idea of creating an agency focused on hospitality was conceived on the Highline bridge in New York, which is an inspirational place for us so we wanted to capture it in our name. The “Mr.” came next as we wanted to make our company not just a brand but something that sounds and feels personal, as our services and business approach does.
Software or Digital Marketing Services?
The reality is that in 2017 we wanted to focus on providing software services as we felt that hospitality had some catchup to do on that front. Back then the industry wasn’t ready to embrace our forward-thinking approach and therefore we had to rethink our offering.
With social media becoming a powerful tool we eventually invested more on the digital marketing side of our business. 4 years later we are returning to our roots and we are proud that during the pandemic we managed to establish strong collaborations on the software front. Today, we can truly call ourselves a one-stop-shop for all things digital.
“What’s the lesson here? Sometimes going with the flow is the best thing you can do. Adaptability and agility should be amongst the core values of any business. In our case, our services were simply formed by our clients’ needs.”
We Call Ourselves “Digital Natives”
Our team consists of young people who were born and raised in the digital era. Hiring young people was my personal priority, although for the record, I am not diminishing the value of a more senior and experienced team member.
I remember my 20-year-old self, full of energy, wanting to be given an opportunity. Companies simply wouldn’t trust in me as clearly my CV was not “what they were looking for”. I always wished that someone would look beyond my resume, appreciate my potential and give me the chance to prove myself.
Well this is what defined the way that we hire people at Mr.Highline. We always look first at the personality, work ethic and potential of the people we interview as we believe that skills can be taught but not attitude and character.
That’s just a glimpse of who we are – after all I promised 612 words! And what better way to conclude than stating the obvious.. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO US 🎂