mad props to the Node Six and Elemental Edge family!

For more reasons than I can possibly list, about 50% of all businesses fail before their first anniversary and about 30% fail before their third anniversary.

On 1st August 2009, Node Six and Elemental Edge made 3 years and 4 years respectively. Both these companies were started with next to zero, in my two spare bedrooms and lots of Abba’s grace, and guess what? We’ve survived becoming one set of statistics, and entering our fourth year as Node Six and fifth year as Elemental Edge, we’re looking to becoming another set of statistics, the ones that begin with “The Best….”

It’s a mean playing field out here, and survival can be for the strongest, or the fastest, or the most cautious or the bravest or whatever, really. There’s no formula, no “magic trick”, no set of carefully balanced equations. There is only a wicked combination of common-sense, poor sleep habits, tonnes of hard work, gut feeling, luck, faith, idiocy,  management lots of money (if you’re lucky) and lots and lots and lots and lots of mistake.

And if you’re like me and dropped out of University in your first semester, with no credentials to your name other than being Abba’s son and wearing geeky glasses, then you need all the prayers you can get.

But…

Through all these years, I have been blessed and honoured to work with some of the most brilliant, hardworking, self-sacrificing people I know.

This post is dedicated to all of you. Yes, the whole lot.

I will make this personal because, a) it’s my blog and b) this is about the blessings I have had working with y’all. [ The rest of you can go home now, read the stuff below, or skip to where it says "Moving On" ]

To John John Jacob, my Indian brother from another mother who gave me the wise words to go Solo back in 2003. He asked me one simple question. “You’re so scared of quitting your job, but who has been taking care of you since you were born? You or God?” I quit the next day. If there’s anyone who knows the meaning of trusting in the Lord with all your strength and all your might, it’s John.

To Dr. Etiang and the Some Graphics crew, who gave me a place to chill during my transition and put some food in my hungry stomach. From the depths of my heart, thank you.

To Kizzy, aka The Apprentice. The elder brother I never had, Ranger, friend, Sensei. Together we forged an alliance that shook the VFX/Web industry in Uganda in our NVGOR8 hey-days. An alliance that still stands to this day. I am proud and honoured to stand by your side, Ranger. Forth Eorlingas, and to a red dawn!

To Evelyn, for all the crazy times, the brokeness, the laughs and the late nights working on frustrating projects. You brought more smiles to my weary face than you will ever know. Keep that beautiful smile shining.

To Edwin, aka Pumba. Who helped us get some crazy deals, and helped us laugh through the deadlines we failed to beat. To this day, you still humble me with your meticulousness, steadfastness and very analytical and creative mind. Thank you for that trip to Hoima that taught me how to take a chill pill! We need to do a pork thing bro!

To Arthur, code name Artorius Rex. VFX genius and the most humble, talented and open-hearted friend I will ever know. This guy taught me that talent is a gift from God and should never ever be misused or abused. Keep on rocking.

To Peter, one of the most vibrant and talented people I know. The late nights, the frustrations, the dreams and hopes… he kept me going through the tough times and taught me the true meaning of sacrifice and pure zeal. You’re going places man, keep that fire burning.

To Jason, super cool friend, and the steadiest business associate I’ve ever had. This guy has stuck with me through times when I almost threw in the towel. One night in 2006, I remember being at the verge of losing my faith and hope in Abba, and he was there, encouraging me when everyone had left. I am proud to have you on our team dude, and proud to be standing by your side in this fight.

To Goretti, Sarah and Family. I know you’ll possibly never read this, but you came into my life at the time when I needed you most. Thanks for the sleepless nights praying, for forcing me up from my spiritual laziness, and for the awesome awesome food.

To Martha, dedicated, hardworking and very committed, despite the grief I give her. Courage under fire is the only way I can describe your resilience. Thank you for being the only girl who can take our nonsense, but more importantly, thank you for reminding me that blessings can be found in the most unlikely of places. I look forward to many more years fighting by your side.

To Sophie, thank you for sticking with us through that riotous marketing experiment. You showed me the meaning of commitment and I will always cherish the time you spent with us.

To the entire marketing team that took part in our ridiculous experiment. I know I gave you guys grief, but you persisted, and that is the true test of character. And yes, we shared some hilarious moments together, like not having where to sit.

To Andrew, aka Skinny. Thank you for the wicked combination of music, code and design. You opened up my eyes to a whole dimension of design, and you stuck with us through the tough times. And that cassava salad thing will always be a winner!

To Sydney, gangsta extraordinaire, Ssalongo and hustler. Thanks for the graffiti, the grunge, the music and that one crunk dance stroke of yours. You and your work were awesome!

To Cecilia and Kate, the dynamic PHP duo that very quickly learnt that coding in the real world is different from coding on Campus. You guys were awesome, and I look forward to working with you again sometime. Who knows.

To Denis, who taught me the meaning of efficiency in design. Thank you for experimenting, for showing me that there are areas I haven’t yet explored. And for those insane project turnaround times, I will always be grateful.

To Andrew, the newest member of the Elemental Edge family. You’ve shown me the meaning of faith and resilience, and you have rekindled the fire of 3D animation and design. And for the guitar lessons, you rock! Thank you for standing with us through the tough times, and I look forward to many more years standing by your side.

And to all our clients, the good, the bad, the ugly. I am honoured to have worked with every single one of you, and to have provided solutions to your needs. Where we succeeded, we are blessed. Where we failed, we have learnt our lessons well. But most importantly, without you, we wouldn’t even be in existence. You have taught me everything.

Moving on

Right now, we’re down to a team of 5 (I’ll like to chalk it up to credit crunch, but it’s more of a common-sense thing). But as you can see, at Node Six and Elemental Edge, we’ve had a very varied (and colourful) team of people, and I have always maintained that I do not like to treat people as employees, more like partners and associates. I believe even the seemingly lowliest person on any workforce deserves respect and recognition for the work they are doing. For example, watch how fast things spin out of control when the cook doesn’t show up for a few days… We all have a purpose in this world, and whatever your position, whatever you’re doing right now, do it to the best of your ability. You’ll be surprised at what you can achieve.

We’ve had our good times, and some incredibly rough times, and not all the people left on a good note, but I like to learn from my mistakes (and that of others) and I believe that as I get older (and hopefully wiser), the mistakes will be fewer.

We have an amazing time ahead of us, and as the Apprentice and I used to say back in the day, “Soooo exciting!”

—

Rogue FM, Memoirs and Offtopics can all be surmarised below (especially the last line):

Newsboys – Wherever We Go

Wherever we go, bluebirds sing
And the flowers bloom
And the grass gets green
It’s a curious thing
But it’s just our thing

Wherever we go, the bees behave
In the treetops, squirrels smile and wave
It’s a curious thing
And it’s humbling

Where we go, little glow-worms glow
Little roadrunners run ahead
Gonna tell their friends
Little mice, little men
Get ‘em all excited
All invited

Chorus:
Hands up
Holler back here
Let’s throw this party in gear
We brought the welcome mat
Wherever we go, that’s where the party’s at
Hands up
Holler back now
We don’t claim any know-how
We’re giving God all that
Wherever we go, that’s where the party’s at

Wherever we go, the dumb get wise
And the crime rates drop
And the markets rise
It’s a curious thing
But it’s just our thing

Bullies make nice, crooks repent
And the ozone layer shows improvement
It’s a curious thing
And it’s humbling

Wherever we’re led
All the Living Dead
Wanna leave their Zombie Mob
It’s a touching scene when they all come clean
God help us, we just love our job

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