Enterprenuer
Noah Veneklasen is the Founder and CEO of Muse & Co. Noah was an experienced professional in all facets of the film industry before he founded Muse & Co.
His wide-ranging skillset is the foundation for Muse & Co.’s mission to blend elements of art with construction.
Noah graduated high school and worked as a stagehand and scenery fabricator for Warner Brothers, Disney, and the SF Opera.
After graduating high school, Noah attended Cornish College of the Arts, Seattle, WA.
He earned a BFA degree in Theatrical Design. Noah returned to California after completing school and worked as a set designer at trade shows, corporate events, and commercials.
Noah started Muse Media Center in 2006 with a passion for television and strong leadership skills.
Muse Media Center was led by Noah and produced seven independent films and many commercials for clients such as Visa, Discovery Channel, and AMEX.
Noah is the Creative Director at Muse & Co. and touches every aspect of what happens.
Noah started Muse & Co. in 2012, intending to create and build immersive spaces.
Noah’s deep dive into set design and filmmaking (literally, Noah has underwater set-building experience) has given him a keen creative eye as well as a vital leadership instinct.
Noah can be found outside when he isn’t leading the charge at Muse & Co. He enjoys long-distance biking and hiking.
Noah enjoys backcountry skiing and paragliding. Karyn, his wife, and Chief Operations Officer at Muse & Co., have two children and Ziggy’s dog.
What is the story of the idea for Muse & Co.?
My background is in film and set design. I started to receive requests from large tech companies to work on increasingly tricky, impossible projects.
It wasn’t long before I realized that the majority of the requests came down to one question: “How can we better serve our workforce by designing spaces that meet people’s individual needs?” This was the key to the birth of the company.
How do you stay productive?
An average day at work includes client calls, internal meetings, design brainstorms, meetings with clients, and visits to our fabrication shop to fix any physical issues occurring.
We also check progress on our builds. It isn’t easy to maintain a healthy work/life balance and high productivity in the long term.
I can get through my day quickly, knowing there will be an end to my workday.
This allows me to feel less exhausted. Balance means breakfast and, when possible, dinner at home with my loved ones.
Muse & Co. has incorporated the same expectation of balance in our culture.
How do you bring ideas to life?
We like to build, repair, tweak and rebuild ideas when we bring them to life.
I enjoy being hands-on with the prototyping and iterating process when I can.
Our goal is to think about a new design or idea without considering the limitations of budget or physics and then implement it within those parameters.
What’s your favorite trend?
The idea of flexible working and decentralization in offices.
What habits make you productive?
It is essential to allow ideas to flow from wherever they come, rather than focusing on a set of titles.
What’s your advice for the Noob?
Your strength is only as muscular and diverse as your team.
So, get out there and hire! Your team should be more intelligent than you and in all aspects better than yours.
Don’t try to do everything yourself. This wasn’t easy to grasp, but it is possible to find magic in letting go.
What is one thing we can all agree on?
It is less exciting to bring an idea to life if it sits in development for too long.
What do you recommend as an entrepreneur?
Therapy. You are listening to your employees and considering their suggestions.
All the answers are there if you have the right people.
What’s your rich strategy?
We have grown by not accepting every project that comes our way.
Strategic decisions have been made around which tasks are the most culturally, intellectually, and creatively appropriate for us.
This will allow us to get to the next stage of our ongoing evolution.
How do you overcome Failure?
I waited too long to find a great management team.
Can you share a business idea?
Pot Pie Trucks are needed all over the world! Imagine hot, steaming pies (savory or sweet) being sold in every neighborhood by a fleet recommissioned ice-cream trucks.
You can almost hear the music and smell the pie if you close your eyes.
What’s your recent best buy?
My most recent $100 spent was on plants for my backyard.
The ground cover was looking very sparse after our Covid chickens destroyed it.
Our yard is our happy place. It is essential to keep it open for everyone, not just the chickens.
What are your favorite Softwares or Apps?
It’s Slack. Because everyone needs a little of my time each day, I can multitask and use it when there is a chance to answer questions.
This keeps me from having to attend endless meetings and decreases the frustration for everyone.
Which book would you recommend?
Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard wrote, “Let My People Go Surfing.”
This article highlights the necessity of living a balanced lifestyle.
This message is about the importance of enjoying your life and not working as hard.
What’s your favorite quote?
“It is not how long you live, but how long you live well that matters most.”
Seneca
TL;DR by Noah Veneklasen :
- Happiness and productivity are key ingredients of a healthy work-life balance
- Your team should be more than you in every aspect
- Accept every opportunity that comes your way
- Do not overthink. Instead, think fast and iterate.
