Meet Evan O’Brien

We recently connected with Evan O’Brien and have shared our conversation below.

Evan, we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?

Thanks for having me. Resilience, well, it rarely shows up on schedule, and it doesn’t come with much fanfare. For me, resilience begins with a quiet agreement: Alright, this is happening—what now? Most of the time, it’s less about powering through and more about pausing long enough to accept the moment I’m in. Then I ask myself the same question my clients have asked a hundred times: What’s the next right move? Sometimes the answer shows up fast, like a neon exit sign flying by at ninety miles an hour. Other times, I feel like a detective in some surreal, unsolvable puzzle—half the pieces are missing, and the rest don’t fit as expected. No one really knows what to do when the economy shifts, or when health, age, or safety start to rewrite your plans. Still, there’s almost always something I haven’t tried yet.

I love that quote: “The magic you seek is in the work you’re avoiding.” I think a lot of my resilience comes from that mix—the desire to stay connected, to keep learning. Those things feel like magic when they click. That’s also what I try to bring to my clients. Whether I’m helping someone refine their brand voice or build a strategy from scratch, the work is grounded in that same belief: connection and curiosity are what move things forward, especially when the path isn’t obvious.

I’ve been called a solopreneur, which is a bit of a misnomer—it makes it seem like there’s some kind of Stoic, lone-wolf resilience welded to my accomplishments. But the truth is, a lot of my resilience is borrowed. Through osmosis, I’ve built up a kind of trophy case full of marvelously kind, generous, and hilariously intelligent people who help keep my feet on the ground—friends, family, founders, artists. People who remind me that setbacks aren’t proof of failure. They’re just there to point me in a better direction. My wife, Kristyna, is a director, and she models that better than anyone. I’ve watched her rebuild an entire scene at midnight simply because she knew it could be better. That kind of dedication makes it harder for me to hide behind excuses when something in business or acting doesn’t go my way.

Sobriety’s been a big part of the equation too. It’s been over 15 years since I began walking that path, and it’s completely rewired how I think about control. I can shape my effort and my attitude—everything else is out of my hands. That shift has helped me stay steady when things wobble, and it’s sharpened my focus on helping others solve their puzzles, whether it’s a startup finding its footing or a screenwriter chasing the right emotional beat. Different problems. Same click when the piece fits. Regardless of the project, I borrow from both theater and business to architect a solution: pause, reframe, clarify the objective. If a client brief changes at 5 p.m., or there’s a sudden casting shake-up in pre-production, it’s the same playbook—take a breath, find the adjustment, and keep the story moving forward.

Resilience, for me, isn’t about being tough or numb, it’s a practice. What other choice is there but to accept what is, stay close to the people who help you tell the truth, and stay curious about whatever puzzle shows up next?

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

My work sits at the intersection of creativity and strategy. Whether I’m leading a marketing initiative or stepping back onstage, I’m drawn to work that feels honest, useful, and human. I help build things that matter—and I like building them with people who care. Here’s how that looks lately: I wear a few hats—actor, producer, strategist—but the throughline has always been the same: I help shape things that are meaningful, and I build systems that make momentum possible.

Professionally, I split my time between creative projects and leading Slake Marketing, a hands-on agency that helps founders go from scattered effort to scalable growth. Most of the clients who come to us have made it past the early chaos. They’ve built something good. But now they’re wearing too many hats and need help seeing the whole picture. That’s where we come in. Most founders I meet start with a clear image in their head. Something they can almost touch. So they begin. Logo. Website. Maybe a few posts and an ad or two. But sooner or later they hit that stressful part of the puzzle—the sky—where every piece looks the same, and momentum stalls. Slake exists to get them unstuck.

Before Slake evolved into an agency model, I spent years in one-on-one consulting and fractional CMO roles—rewarding work, but heavy on my calendar. Shifting to an agency gave me the time and team to steer the full picture. I now also sit on the boards of GroundFloor Club and Fathom.ai—two organizations doing thoughtful work around community and AI-powered productivity. That mix keeps the work fresh.

Our sweet spot? Founders and creators who have traction but need structure—people who are ready to stop guessing and start building toward something lasting. We’re not about flash-in-the-pan growth hacks. We’re about solving the right problems, in the right order, so the whole thing holds. I come at it from both sides—stage and boardroom. I stepped away from acting just before the pandemic to co-found Capturely, and I’m now circling back through The Gold Top, an immersive theater piece in development at The Pico Playhouse. Whether I’m tightening a marketing funnel or rewriting a scene, it’s the same instinct: make something honest. Make something that earns its place. Make people feel lucky to be in the room.

We’ve got new launches and collaborations on the horizon this year—on both the business and creative sides—but at the core, not much has changed. It’s still about doing meaningful work with people who care, building clear systems that support real growth, and finding ways to blend business and storytelling in ways that feel grounded and alive. Whether I’m helping a founder sharpen their offer or shaping a character onstage, I’m trying to do the same thing: connect the dots, clear the noise, and make something that lasts.

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?

That’s a tough one—it’s hard to narrow it down. Besides the big things like movement, self-care, and staying connected to something bigger than myself, I keep coming back to three core ideas: perspective, progress, and action. And those show up just about everywhere in my work and life.

1. Seeing the Whole Picture
Whether I’m working with a small business owner or a producer, I’m always asking: what are we actually trying to build here? What’s the shape of the whole picture? That clarity helps us decide which piece belongs next—and which ones don’t. It keeps us honest, focused, and moving in a direction that makes sense.

2. Making Progress Feel Possible
There’s nothing more paralyzing than a pile of puzzle pieces and no idea where to start. I help people find one move they can make today—not ten. We don’t try to solve the whole business in a day. Just consistent, visible progress that builds momentum and leaves room for real life.

3. Documenting the Wins (Especially the Tiny Ones)
When momentum slows down, I write everything down: sent the email, made the bed, followed up on that invoice, returned a call. It all goes on the list. That might sound small, but those lists have rescued me more times than I can count. Progress is sneaky—you have to catch it in the act. If I can look back at what I’ve done that day—from mundane to meaningful—it quiets the critic in my head and keeps me from slipping into negative thinking. Doesn’t matter if you’re an artist or an owner; it’s not about being perfect. It’s about staying in motion, even when the day feels messy.

If you can do those three things—see the shape, move the piece, name the win—you’re not just making progress. You’re building something sustainable. And you’ll get where you’re going without torching your energy or your joy along the way.

How can folks who want to work with you connect?

I’ll grab coffee/lunch or hop a call or zoom with a lot of folks who reach out with a captivating pitch. You never know where the next opportunity is coming from. There’s a quote I think about often: “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” That pretty much sums up how I approach collaboration. At Slake, I collaborate with service-based business owners and early-stage SaaS teams who have a strong offer but need help pulling the full picture together. Maybe the puzzle’s halfway built, but the next steps feel scattered. That’s where we come in—refining the message, clearing the bottlenecks, and building systems that actually sustain momentum.

Slake is proud to be a Wix Agency Partner—Wix powers over 260 million users worldwide, and we’ve found its platform to be one of the most flexible and scalable options out there for growing businesses. Whether we’re launching a marketing plan from scratch or rebuilding something with more structure, Wix gives our clients the tools to keep going long after we’ve wrapped. And when projects call for deeper strategy or infrastructure, we often partner with larger agencies and consultancies to deliver end-to-end execution without losing the personal touch. I’m also looking to team up with specialists—CRO pros, deliverability folks, niche PR and branding teams—who want their part to snap into a bigger whole. I love when someone has a focused superpower and wants to plug it into a strategy that lifts everyone.

Creatively, I’m pulled toward work that blurs the line between audience and story. The Gold Top is my main focus right now—an immersive theater piece in development at The Pico Playhouse. We recently brought in Ian Ward to play the lead role of Harry. Ian is set to share the stage with Cynthia Erivo and Adam Lambert in the upcoming Hollywood Bowl production of Jesus Christ Superstar, and his involvement brings new energy and a new level of creative momentum to what we’re building.

Beyond that, I’m looking for collaborators—on stage, screen, or in business—who care deeply about what they’re building. People who’ve already done the heavy lifting and are ready to stop wearing every hat. If you’re passionate about the thing you’ve made but want help bringing it to the next level, that’s where I do my best work. Most of what I’ve built—whether it was a campaign, a character, or a company—started with a spark and came to life because the right people showed up at the right time. I’m not chasing volume. I’m looking for alignment, curiosity, and that moment when the picture starts to make sense. That’s usually the signal it’s time to lean in.

If that sounds like you—or someone you know—you can reach me through my websites or find me on LinkedIn. Just mention this interview so I have some context.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.slakemarketing.com
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/evanobrien/
• Other: Acting/Producing: https://www.evanobrien.com/
  Current Production: https://www.thegoldtop.com/

Image Credits

Kristyna Archer