Happy New Year and welcome to the first episode of Own It for 2025! This week we’re talking to Alona Lisa of Far From Timid. There are few people we talk to as diverse and fascinating as her background suggests. She paints, runs, plays basketball and writes. She’s a blockchain and metaverse thought leader. She’s worked on both the brand side with IBM and Marriott, and on the agency side with Razorfish, Gray and more before founding Far From Timid in 2019.
As you might imagine, her journey, her influences and her perspective on our industry was quite colorful and interesting. I can’t wait for you to dig into this one.
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Alona Lisa emphasizes the importance of having many interests outside of work, like painting, playing basketball, and running. These activities keep her inspired, calm, and provide a rich source of experience and perspective that enriches her professional life.
Inspired by figures like Dolly Parton, Alona Lisa always envisioned her career as a "life's work" rather than merely a job. This perspective fuels a deep commitment and continuous drive to make an impact and pursue meaningful endeavors.
Starting from her childhood curiosity about people and later her fascination with design and its intersection with advertising, Alona Lisa highlights how curiosity drives understanding and innovation. Her journey into digital branding early on and her continuous exploration of new methodologies like "watchable brands" exemplify this lesson.
Alona Lisa champions the concept of "watchable brands," where the focus extends beyond traditional advertising to creating engaging, continuous experiences that people want to connect with. This involves understanding audience deeply, creating diverse content (like magazines, merch, Spotify playlists), and showing up authentically across various platforms.
For those considering starting their own agency, Alona Lisa stresses the need for obsession—obsession with leadership, industry trends, and one's craft. She advises self-reflection to determine if this deep drive exists, and importantly, to lean into one's full potency and authentic voice rather than being shaped by external expectations.
