Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Brian. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Brian, thank you so much for joining us today and appreciate you talking about a sensitive topic. It’s unfortunately relevant to so many in the community as layoffs have been on the rise recently, and so we’d appreciate hearing your story and how you overcame being let go?
A layoff was the best thing to ever happen to me and it occurred twice…
I dedicated my life to science since undergrad at Bucknell University. In 2010, I moved out to San Diego from NYC for a masters in Neuroscience, with the intention of enhancing my CV. I was on a tenure-track path, and aspired to pursue my doctorate at UCSD in a Neuroscience lab investigating neural plasticity.
After being denied twice to the PhD program, I opted to join the private sector. I worked at startup, Receptos, a biopharmaceutical company focused on drug discovery for the treatment of immune and inflammatory diseases.
Initially around ~30 people when I joined, Receptos grew rapidly with our potentially groundbreaking drug, ozanimod, in late-stage clinical trials as a treatment for 3 indications: multiple sclerosis, ulcerative colitis, and irritable bowel syndrome. A few years later, we were acquired by Celgene, a corporate biotechnology company.
They promoted alignment in our cultures and there wouldn’t be any significant changes to Receptos. Perhaps I was naïve, but Celgene eventually laid off the majority of the research staff. I treated myself to some much needed time away from the bench and took advantage of the golden handcuffs that were no longer bound. I believed it was prudent to set aside time for myself to review my values, my current path, and set goals for the future. The layoff provided the necessary time for me to process these thoughts and have a clearer vision for what I wanted to do with my life.
The itch to investigate and research came back strong and I returned to science. I applied directly to Celgene and assumed the “mother ship” would provide stability. I was comfortable with the idea of spending 15-20 years there, maxing out my 401k, and building up wealth to become a homeowner; the standard, safe path. I secured a scientist position focused on enhancing immune function to more effectively target cancer cell populations. However a few months laters, Celgene was acquired by Bristol Myers Squibb for 74 billion dollars!
The acquisition took time due to its magnitude, but I knew what was coming. I started interviewing at other biotech startups, but felt that I would be cast in the same situation, helpless to control my future in an incredibly volatile industry. I sought autonomy. I wanted to drive my own destiny and build something for myself, which would also benefit the greater good.
After the second lay-off, I once again reflected on my career path to figure out what I truly valued. What were my passions? Graduate school in Neuroscience and my biotech career laid the foundation for my foray into horticulture as a hobby, applying my curiosity and science skill sets into investigating plant questions. Turns out I was intensely passionate about plants and really wanted to find like-minded people who felt the same way.
Ultimately, I overcame these layoffs by taking matters into my own hands, pursuing a passion project, and forging a new path into entrepreneurship. I founded a plant marketplace platform called Blossm, which aimed to connect like-minded plant enthusiasts for community & commerce. Imagine if OfferUp combined with Instagram for plant people!
With no prior business or start-up knowledge, I successfully built a thriving online community, acquired both buyers & sellers for a marketplace, and successfully marketed a mobile-based product which was the 1st of it’s kind.
With no budget, my creativity side took over. I utilized guerilla marketing, piggybacked onto other marketplace and social network platforms and developed effective user acquisition strategies, harnessing the power of the community to grow the userbase.
I grew the team, raised both early seed and angel money and was admitted into the prestigious Techstars accelerator. All of this contributed to a small startup focused on scrappy, clever growth strategies to take on a more structured and bueracractic approach typically found in large corporate entities.
After 4+ years of the start-up grind, 80k+ active Blossm users in every state, and $250k+ in investor money raised, I found myself losing the ability to be creative, to drive growth & product roadmap strategies, and became stifled by a team who did not share the same vision. Finally, stepping down over a year ago, I fully focused on my art, as a therapeutic outlet and as a respite from my years grinding as a founder of a tech start-up.
My layoffs gave me the proper time to truly reflect on my path, understand my values, focus on passions and enjoy my life. I learned that even if you dedicate your life to one career, it’s never too late to pivot; to follow dreams; and to work on something novel. You don’t have to follow the safe path, or the traditional life that so many believe is the only way. It’s ok to be different, to take risks, and focus on something that fulfills your desires and purpose.
My experience with founding my own company, Blossm, gave me the confidence, tools & knowledge that I can & will figure it out.
Now, I am year and half in to being a full-time artist, trusting my intuition to guide me, and giving myself ample time to reflect, pause and be present when needed.
I go deeper into my art journey below…
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I’ve been creating extensively with resin for over 7 years now. I always told myself, I didn’t want to become a “starving artist” and my art would remain a playful endeavor to keep me grounded…
However, in the beginning of 2024, I started to share my art online with friends and created a separate Instagram account.
A quick side note… When I was creating my account, I realized I needed a proper art alias. After some careful thought, I settled on my Korean name, ByunBaeJ, which is short for Byun Bae Jeong. I chose this name to pay homage to and connect with my Korean Heritage, a part of me I’ve neglected for the majority of my life.
Back to the art…
I started to collect kelp when I was surfing, which is an activity I enjoy nearly every day. I found myself more preoccupied searching for unique looking algal specimens in the lineup, than the next set. Every session became a foraging mission and I was often seen stuffing kelp treasures into my wetsuit.
Nearly every morning before surfing, I would also walk my roommate’s dog, Kira, who has brought me so much joy! Once drawn to leaves and foliage, I found myself lured by all the beautiful colors and unique shapes of blooming flowers. I started picking them on these walks, and taught myself the process of drying them whole, preserving their natural shape & state.
I started to combine these together and then everything clicked! It started simply as adding leaf-shaped kelp to a sunflower, and evolved to complex designs of kelp, flowers and even fungi; inspired by my neuroscience background, climbing trips in the Sierras, surf missions down in Baja, and relationships with those I love. I then epoxy resin all of this directly into a picture frame to create sculptural, hangable art.
A few months after, an old friend, Emmanuel aka Manu, asked me if I sold my work. I told him I was reluctant to do so, but deep down I didn’t want to prevent someone from enjoying my art.
I eventually came around and he purchased my 1st piece for $500! I’ve never personally bought art for that much and I was blown away at the reception it received, especially how much joy it brought him! It was in that moment, I decided I would commit to being a full-time artist, just like I committed to being a full-time entrepreneur and startup founder many years ago with Blossm.
I attribute that experience to giving me the tools and the confidence to know that I could make this art path happen. I learned to trust my gut and intuition; to listen to my body and my internal compass.
A few weeks after, I held my 1st solo art show at a local restaurant and 40+ people showed up to support! Everyone was impressed with this artistic side of me I’ve kept under wraps.
Later that year, a climbing friend recommended me to his wedding planner sister and I ended up preserving wedding bouquets, but in the same style as my art. Their excitement and stoke when I dropped them off cemented this artistic path, and truly validated that I should once again, move forward with an endeavor that feels right and makes people happy too.
It will be about a year & a half since I’ve committed to be a full-time artist. Within that time, I’ve sold over 60 resin pieces, preserved 10 wedding bouquets, 4 memorial bouquets, hosted workshops, created gifts for friends & family, coordinated 4 large art shows & music events, and have financially supported myself for over a year! I’ve had my best month yet in September, selling two of my most expensive pieces ($1.5k & 1.3k), had my 1st out-of-state art show, and made over 3k!
The best part of it all… I haven’t lost my pasison for creating meaningful & personal art for myself, for others & with others.
My art has now reached a much deeper, fulfilling meaning to me and my general outlook on life. My girlfriend, Grace, is an accomplished artist herself, whose shared her studio space with me and we frequently create art together. We just finished our first collaboration piece, a wedding gift for friends which integrates both our styles of art merged into one harmonious creation. She is often my muse for my best pieces and has unconditionally supported me throughout this journey.
I feel more driven than ever, like I found the entrepreneurial spirit once again. In my heart, I know I’m on the right path, and this path will lead me to the next big project. That deeper meaning I require for a meaningful life, where I can deliver positive impact at scale 🙂
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Don’t give up and persevere through the difficult times. They are temporary, you’ll come out of them a better person and you’ll learn valuable lessons along the way. This pertains to any endeavor, whether that be a new hobby or the starting of a company. Just start & give it the necessary time. Most ventures fail because they never get off the ground or people give up too early.
Another critical quality would be to not fear asking for help. Blossm and my current art career would have never made it far if I feared rejection. I leaned on close friends, reached out to old acquaintances, cold-emailed my network for advice and warm introductions, and took advantage of opportunities when they arose. The worst that can happen is that they say no. I was always surprised how willing others were to dedicate time, knowledge and resources to help me out.
And perhaps most importantly for me, I worked a lot on myself. This involved looking inward, understanding and regulating my emotions, practicing curiousity, prioritizing myself, focusing on self-care activities and on the people who are fundamental to a fulfilling life.
What has been your biggest area of growth or improvement in the past 12 months?
Letting go through my art… And forgiveness
I realized I always held onto things for a long time. I believe it’s useful to remember lessons and learn from them but I had a tendency to have things linger to probably the point of mental self-harm.
Focusing full-time on my art has helped me with this process of letting go…
I never wanted to sell my art. Perhaps another example of holding on… I always told myself I would avoid being the prototypical starving artist like so many of my friends. Creating art would remain a fun & therapeutic endeavor to express myself, to fulfill me, & heal my soul.
However this all changed last year when a friend wanted to buy a particular piece of my art. He asked me if I sold my art. I replied that I don’t, but if I did, this piece would be $500 bucks.
Pricing it high so it wouldn’t sell ( so I thought) he mentioned that was a decent price and he would love to buy it, if possible.
I was quite surprised and realized I didn’t want to prevent someone from enjoying my art who truly would love it.
I ended up moving forward with the sale. Despite the feeling of losing a part of myself, I felt amazing once I saw his stoke.
He hung it up over his piano, sent me photos and gushed on how it transformed his space. It brought his so much happiness and joy. In that moment, I learned how fulfilling & rewarding it was to share my art with others.
I went on to sell numerous other pieces, make gifts for friends, family and loved ones, all with the same stoked reception. I am continuing to do that to this day.
I have pieces I thought I would never sell. They all have deep meaning to me, an emotional connection, and extension of myself… But when I see someone so excited; the deep meaning they have found themselves; the immediate connection with my art that is unique to them, I can’t hold on anymore. I let go and let others enjoy my art as much as me.
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