Cheers are in order!
This journey began when I successfully launched my website 15outof10.com where I was peacefully building a following by publishing thought pieces exploring regulatory entrepreneurship. Recently, I earned some unexpected returns on this venture that boosted my confidence and expanded my expertise in scaleable tech investment . Most notably, a domain flip.
15outof10 was a branding decision born out of sparkling rosé fueled good times at a phenomenal California wedding. A 15/10. Truly.
Since launching 15outof10, I’ve learned to commodify my ideas and improved my business acumen, With regards to the domain itself, negotiating a sale and the necessity of a performance date were all things I learned about in law school, but this was my first time encountering both “in the real world” as my own advocate. Driving a tough bargain is a bit more intimidating when real money is involved. There’s also pressure to skip over precautionary measures to make things move faster. Realizing exactly how important steps are–like adding a performance after a contract is finalized is not fun. In the real world, you have to finesse some consideration to remedy your mistake instead of accepting a B+ and moving on.
Writing Online
My real world writing has also been different than the formulaic legal briefs and motions of law school. On 15outof10, I developed my own voice to inspire the conversations I want to have. Building upon my clear reasoning and compelling writing skills from law school, I focussed on making my writing pithy and aspirational.
Writing online is truthfully the best career advice for whatever profession you’re working to enter. My original inspiration to write online came from an attorney at Steptoe in San Francisco. Post-recession, she published articles online to carve out her practice area and bring in clients. Writing online helped her first get a BigLaw gig and then move up in the firm.
She outlined the benefits of writing short articles online instead of focussing on prestigious law review articles as follows:
brief articles requires less time than dense law comments
there are less barriers to publishing your writing online than getting into a law journal
you can keep your name and work in the public’s mind by publish more frequently than once a year or quarter
brief current articles can quickly establish clout with clients and law firms
the format is read by industry professionals who may become clients rather than academics who might cite you years down the road
by demonstrating your passion for an area of interest, anyone working in that area can confidently bring you onto a project and know that you will give it your all
What she didn’t note was how formative thinking about writing online can be for your career. It’s hard to take time away from your other responsibilities to work on a project with no immediate returns. Choosing a topic that you’re passionate about is essential. Figuring out what I would write about online narrowed down my interests. I had to figure out which pieces of the law, financial markets, and entrepreneurship were activating to me and how they interact with one another. This involved a mixture of readings, meeting with new mentors, and attending conferences to refine. I developed my own thesis on how financial markets are used to create positive externalities and how entrepreneurship has been used in the past to quickly update policy. This work gave me a roadmap for how I can begin to bring about the policy changes I want to see in the world.
This exercise gave me a greater purpose and increased the complexity of the issues I care about. I figured out exactly what it is that fulfills me to learn and write about regardless of who else cares. This put me in the driver’s seat of my future. My eyes (and fingers) light up when I discuss regulatory entrepreneurship as an investment strategy. Continuing this exercise by developing more content is integral to implementing external feedback. The people I admire were successful because they continued to refine their goals and ideas.
Branding My Writing
My inspiration to own my distribution channel came from David Perrel. In addition to being a longtime fan of his podcast, his Ultimate Guide to Writing Online highlighted the massive benefits of writing on my own website instead of another platform. As someone with a common name, the SEO benefits of launching a personal website were enough for me to buy my own domain name.
15outof10.com was then born. A 15/10 is like a 10/10, only better. I wanted to set a high standard for the quality of work I would share on my site. Also, I was tipsy at a wedding with my best friend when I coined the term now burned in the brains of our friends and family.
The elated joy we got out of calling sparkling rosé, transcendent sunsets, and esoteric jokes “15/10s” led to my first post-law school win. It seems that other millennial/gen Zs and a few notable social media influencers also adopted the term over the past year. As the popularity of 15/10 grew, so did the value of my domain. Within a few months, I flipped 15outof10.com. While the ROI on my domain purchase was impressive for the first bet I took on myself after graduating, I found other silver linings to writing on my first website.
Other Wins
Since launching 15outof10, I have seen awesome returns to the intellectual labor that went into my first two articles.
Peers read it and loved it!!I didn’t anticipate the initial positive response when I first launched the website and shared my article on Positive Externalities in Financial Markets. Putting out a piece of my original thinking felt much more vulnerable than submitting a final paper or choosing an Instagram caption. Finding a community to support my work only empowered me to do more.
Industry Leaders read it, and were impressed. I have had some exciting conversations with leaders in the early stage investment, blockchain, cannabis, and marketing spaces. Referring to my work in cold emails was a great way to establish clout with the person I’m trying to reach and drive more attention to my work. One of the best things that came out of these conversations was having strangers be able to identify my strengths. Repeatedly, I’ve had people I admire complement my compelling communication skills and original thinking. Articulating your greatest strengths can be difficult sometimes, especially when you’re at the beginning of your career with big aspirations. This feedback has helped me hone in on what I do best.
Overall, the affirmation I’ve received over the past few months has emboldened me to continue making strides in my career. I’m impressed that within a few months of graduating from law school, I serendipitously turned an idea into money and got a few people I admire to recognize my intellect.
Cheers to my relaunch as notseandowney.com. I’m thankful for all of the support and conversations I’ve had about my writing. Looking forward to sharing more exciting news and ideas.
Cheers,
Not Sean Downey
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