We didn't win the Global Breakthrough Partner Award. I won't pretend that we did
By Wes Maynard · September 30, 2026 · Curated by George's Blog
We didn't win the Global Breakthrough Partner Award.
I won't pretend that we didn't want to win. We did. Obvs. Ethan and I had to step outside, give ourselves a pep talk, and head back in to enjoy the rest of the evening. Which we very much did.
I get a lot of questions from friends and ex-colleagues about what it's like leaving employment to start your own thing. The main thing for me has been that I care about everything. The highs are higher and the lows are lower. Which is both invigorating and exhausting.
I care about the team culture, the emails, the client experience, the strategy, the reporting, the work life balance of everyone, the P&L etc etc etc. Every little thing at this stage of the business is ringing on my radar. Sometimes I know how to fix it, often I don't, but I'll always give it my best shot. And fortunately, we are building a team now who are much better at fixing different things than I will ever be.
Coming to San Francisco, being named finalist in a global award, speaking at unBoxed, is most definitely, a very high point. In 2 years, we've accomplished more than I thought possible and are working with some amazing brands doing award winning work. I care about this. Very much.
A huge congratulations to the The April who made it to finalist in 2 categories, and took home the Breakthrough Partner win. A very cool business doing exciting things in APAC. Well deserved and keen to see what great things they do in the coming years.
We will be back next year. And we will bring more of the team.
Please enjoy this video of Ethan and I cruising about in a Waymo listening to some relaxing tunes. Driverless cars are incredible.