Chaz Stead

TL;DR: If you care enough about the success of others, they will care about yours. #findyourtribe

I dropped out of college in my senior year at a private liberal arts college. I was working three jobs and sleeping in my car in the parking lot behind the baseball fields to try to keep up with the $38k tuition.

When I finally dropped out, my parents were heart broken.

But education isn't restricted to a classroom. With limited career experience previously, I took as many opportunities as I could get. I was a radio DJ, a junior foreman at a construction company, a private music instructor, and anything that I could string together to make ends meet.

Stumbling from job to job taught me two things about myself:

1. I really enjoyed finding creative ways to engage audiences.
2. I could pitch anything.

I took freelance work seriously. I designed logos for free. I took video and photography work that I was unqualified for. I got scrappy and hustled.

Then in early 2017, I pitched an early stage startup on a marketing campaign featuring what made their product different from their competition.

I sent the CEO a finished video advertisement and added the methodology behind how I crafted the messaging and copy.

The CEO didn't hire me...

...yet.

We stayed connected for three years. Following another valuable career step in marketing and the companies series B funding in March of 2020, I was brought on to be the Director of Marketing at Snip Internet. (We are building the fastest internet possible in the Midwest.)

In my case, college didn't offer me greater freedom, choice, or opportunity. It restricted my future by piling me under a mountain of debt.

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