On our drive to Hana, we saw a sign that said Garden of Eden. This was not in the plan but I asked my partner to hit the brakes so we could check it out.
Two days later I was back home and I already knew what I wanted to call our New York studio:
WOO, short for a Window of Opportunity.
I had already been working with founders across Europe for years. It wasn't intentional, but the kinds of founders I crossed paths with seemed to have one thing in common. They all had a very specific origin story behind their venture: something like an image, a feeling, a moment or an obsession of some sort. When they relentlessly pursued it, the process was never easy. It was a messy blend of all work and no play. A complete blur but they got a kick out of it. So much so that it became like a window they had to jump through again and again just for the fun of it. When I asked them why, they'd tell me that it felt like noticing a massive opportunity that was not visible to anyone but them.
So they would just give their all to capture it.
I know that feeling.
I once felt like that and wanted to build my own thing too. At the time, I worked in corporate, it was a sexy brand marketing job. I worked closely with a renowned creative agency and I hated every fiber of my being. No risks were being taken, nothing creative was being done. One single person was calling the shots, and we were just playing along with it. We called ourselves creatives but in reality everybody was just going through the motions.
I decided to build what I believed would become the next generation of the “creative agency”. A place where creatives can be honest, and act as partners. Born on the Turkish Mediterranean into a loving family with no network and zero generational wealth, I had my work cut out for me. It was going to take me years to build something that would truly make a difference. But I felt in my gut that the demand for an intimate, human-centric creative studio was there. It was my window. So I jumped through that thing hundreds of times.
Fast forward 5 countries, a few languages and 10+ years, I’m here writing the story of my window of opportunity: WOO. The image of Petra the Peacock had stayed with me for a reason: it was an animal that wasn’t supposed to be there, standing in the middle of the road, demanding to be seen, then disappearing before anyone could explain it. In every founder story I have been a part of, there is a WOO moment: An obsession that can’t be explained through pure logic.
WOO is a place for that good kind of obsession. That good kind of magnetic yet outlandish voice. If you’ve read this far, you’re already hearing it. For those interested in hearing more, the links are below and you know what to do.
