Introduction
In this special episode of The Power of Design Podcast, host Jack Ossa is the one being interviewed. Ossa Studio had just won the 2020 architecture business plan competition run by Charrette Venture Group (CVG), and Jack shares why he entered, what he learned and how he explained his plan to Emily Hall, CVG's VP of Marketing.
He opens with a short introduction on why the win mattered to him, then the interview covers the studio's services, its differentiators, its vision, and the role the podcast plays in finding clients.
About the Episode
Jack explains that at the end of 2019 he decided to take part in the competition. He had always been working on his business model but had never set a deadline or a simple framework for it. CVG is a consulting firm for small and mid-sized architecture firms, with services that include finances, marketing, operations and leadership. Winning first place was, in his words, mainly a boost to his confidence, because running a small business alone can be lonely.
In the interview he describes the studio: commercial architecture, brand design and brand consulting. He is a first-generation immigrant from Colombia who became a licensed architect in the United States, worked for different firms and left a job at a global firm in January 2017 to start his own practice. Early projects were commercial office buildings, interior fit-outs and adaptive reuse, and conversations with contractors and developers led to requests for branding help. That became the Brand DNA workshop.
Jack also explains the operating system he updates each year, covering relationships, operations, finances and design thinking, and why he started the podcast. The episode ends with his advice to future applicants and his main takeaway: clarity.
Key Takeaways
- Give yourself a deadline: a competition forced Jack to turn a long-running business model into a simple plan of two or three pages.
- Seek outside validation: feedback from experts helped him check whether his ideas made sense in the real world.
- Design is a vehicle for client goals: his business mindset starts with budgets, schedules and the value the design brings to a project.
- Branding adds value for the construction industry: the Brand DNA workshop helps companies understand their differentiator and how their marketing expresses it.
- Plan the business as well as the building: Jack thinks of Ossa Studio as the business of design and the design of business.
- Stay visible: the podcast keeps him present in the market while he is busy delivering projects.
- Commit publicly: telling others about a plan makes it harder to forget about it.
Highlights from the Conversation
The greatest asset of an entrepreneur is his confidence.
Jack Ossa
If you work at a studio your number one job is to become a better version of yourself.
Jack Ossa
Making a public commitment it really forces you to do that.
Jack Ossa
Topics Discussed
- The CVG architecture business plan competition
- Leaving a global firm to start Ossa Studio in 2017
- Commercial architecture, brand design and brand consulting
- The three-week Brand DNA workshop
- Business mindset, multicultural perspective and technology as differentiators
- The studio's operating system: relationships, operations, finances and design thinking
- Government, private and design consulting practice areas
- Using a podcast to attract the right clients
Why This Conversation Matters
The interview gives a clear picture of how Ossa Studio combines design and business thinking. It shows why architecture and branding sit side by side in our practice, and how a Brand DNA process helps construction and design companies explain what makes them different. Examples of that work include the identities for V3 Lighting and MSW Engineers.
About the Guest
This episode features Jack Ossa, founder of Ossa Studio and host of The Power of Design Podcast, interviewed by Emily Hall, VP of Marketing at Charrette Venture Group (CVG). Ossa Studio, based in Charlotte, North Carolina, provides commercial architecture, brand design and brand consulting, and was named winner of CVG's 2020 architecture business plan competition.
Read CVG's announcement of the 2020 business plan competition winner
