Art and Entrepreneurship

Art and entrepreneurship share common threads: they both thrive on creativity, risk, and the pursuit of something creating something unique.

Whether it's the bold stroke of a final paintbrush or the calculated risk of a business decision, both are about daring to stand out.

That’s part of the reason why I love art, artists, and collecting art.

It really started in 2014 when a piece of art in a passing window caught my eye. Ria and I were in a Jeep which I quickly swung around and went into the store which happened to be LABART LA.

They showed us around, and I still loved the Monopoly Man Piece I had seen on the drive by . I asked the guy, out of all the artists, who he thought was the most talented and also which had commercial potential as an investment.

He pointed out a painted Rolls Royce in the middle of the gallery by a street artist named Alec Monopoly, who - you guessed it - was the same artist behind the painting from the window.

We walked over to the piece, a Monopoly Man painted with a blue and orange background. We discussed prices, struck a deal, and we still have that painting today which did indeed 10x in value since we bought it supposedly.

This is the piece that began our art-collecting journey.

Art, to me, has been about recognizing and respecting the craft of creating something original. In a world that’s been around for billions of years, with eight billion people, it’s incredible when someone makes something that hasn’t been done before.

I’m lucky enough to have collected through an Artnet Auction https://www.artnet.com/auctions/ an Andy Warhol print from 1976“Cow 12A” which for me is a beautiful reminder to stand out, and the main concept as one of my favorite business books —> Purple Cow by Seth Godin.

I hope you're being your creative self and making a purple cow startup in some garage somewhere.

Art as a Business Lesson

Artists are entrepreneurs. They create:

• A product

• A marketplace

• Hustle to make a name

• It’s no different from starting a company.

There’s risk, creativity, and a need to stand out. Not to mention pricing, marketing, networking, exclusivity, supply and demand, etc.

Whether it’s launching an underwear line or investing in art, it’s about being that purple cow, offering something so distinct that people recognize when they see it and it is so different they tell other people about it. Make the story so good - people will tell it for you.

Masterpiece from Mastering their craft, their style, their vision. Doing something over and over again, making improvements, learning from others, learning from themselves. Something entrepreneurs and business owners sometimes take for granted, but we all become better, the more we practice it.

Art, Business, and the Future

We have to talk about technologies impact on art. Good or bad that’s a larger conversation. It’s the landscape we’re in. It’s lowered barriers for people to make art. It’s amplified excellent artists, and allowed people to create quicker. People can make beautiful movies or companies advertisements for fraction of the cost.

It’s easy to romanticize the traditional ways of creating and sharing art, but progress doesn’t wait for anyone. Whether it’s the art world or the business world, the ones who thrive are the ones who are adapting to their surroundings. Embracing change while staying true to your unique vision is the key to making an impact.

One of the biggest lessons I’ve taken from both art and entrepreneurship is that you can’t control the landscape and can’t make decisions on the “wish it was like this way”, you have to see things they way they are. Thank you to all the Artists out there making our world a more interesting and beautiful place.

Isn’t it interesting - that one person will pay a million dollars for a piece, when another thinks its worth zero dollars. There’s endless pieces for one to immerse themself into and to express yourself through.

Share with me the Art you love and some artists you think we should add to the collection. Set the Artist Free.