Dynamic Duos: How a trip to India led to a successful partnership

In Dynamic Duos, Mumbrella each week asks two colleagues with a professional and personal affiliation to share with readers the importance of workplace relationships in an increasingly hybridised world of work.

Tristan Velasco:

Lindsay and I first met (properly) on a trip to India. She was part of the group organising the trip, and I was the last-minute, random tag-along. I only knew one person on that trip, who had invited me to join, and I was excited to meet new people – though I’m not sure if Lindsay shared that same excitement at the time.

Naturally, we all became really good friends, but because Lindsay and I were in similar industries, we connected more regularly. I was leading a creative team at a university marketing department, and she was managing a production agency. We tried to line up some work together, but nothing ever came of it. Then one fateful afternoon, I received a phone call from her. She was quite upset. She had been in a planned buyout of the agency, where the owner had always promised her ownership one day – until it came time for the final signature, and he decided to pull the pin.

Certain she could no longer work there, she wondered what it would be like to start her own agency. I thought I was just there as a sounding board, but it turned out the other person she had in mind to start it with also pulled out. So she was on the hunt for a creative partner. We clarified things over dinner that evening, and it was a proposition I couldn’t refuse. I was ready to start a new adventure, and having gotten to know Lindsay, I knew she would be a great partner.

From the experience, I think our enduring relationship has been built on three core things:

Firstly, we’ve always said we have a yin and yang relationship, whether it’s head vs. heart, front of stage vs. back of house, new business vs. delivery – the list goes on. But those roles aren’t rigidly defined. We have enough respect and understanding of each other’s roles that sometimes we swap, and this is where the magic happens: our ability to know when we need to take on responsibilities to support the other.

Secondly, we’ve always kept things fair. This principle has been driven very much by Lindsay, as it’s a value she lives by. It’s not just how we treat the business, but also how we treat our team, our clients, and the people around us. We want to work with good people, and establishing this fairness at the beginning of a relationship sets the tone for an ongoing, positive relationship.

Finally, what’s been very important, particularly in recent years, is that we’re going through life’s journey at the same time. Starting families at the same time has allowed us to have greater respect, patience, and support for each other, especially knowing what it’s like to manage both our families and the business simultaneously.

Lindsay Rogers:

We met on a trip to India with a bunch of friends in 2012. Steph, one of our mutual friends mentioned she’d invited a friend of hers along, his name was Tris, to which I famously replied, “Steph, we all know each other, why bring a random?”

Tris was managing a creative team at a university and I’d always been impressed by his creative skills both in quality and in breadth. I had seen some of his work in passing, and admired his demeanour. He (still is) one of the kindest, generous, creative guys around.

Tris asked me to think about going into business with him and his friend, but I was busy buying into a small production company. When the latter went pear shaped, I crawled back and suggested we chat about it again. I could see the rise of “content” but nobody was calling themselves a content agency.

Despite never having worked together, I could also see a future where our skill sets could be complementary; with me focussing on finding the work, producing the work and managing the finances, and Tris focussed on the core idea and delivering the high quality creative, which still rings true to this day.

Our relationship is built on understanding and respect, not in a big shouty way, but in an undervalued and intrinsic way. We joke that I’m a bad cop and he’s a good cop, and unfortunately for me, it’s true. But we’ve grown up together in this business, when we started I was 25 and Tris was 29 – we were young. We’ve learnt a lot along the way, and in many ways over the years, I’ve learnt (and am learning) how to be softer, and Tris how to be stronger.

When it comes to the creative team, or creative decisions, I speak my mind and have a pretty good general sense of what “great” looks like, but leave the decisions and conversations to Tris. I’m not great at expressing how to get to great when it’s not quite there. And when it comes to running and growing a business, Tris is super smart and speaks his mind, but often defaults to me. It’s trust and respect that we’d do the right thing behind closed doors.

It’s what I decided early on in business, that even if it cost more, or hurt a bit in the short term, doing the right thing meant we could sleep easy at night. I’m a big believer in the small things being the big things. Tris leads by example with all of this – he’s such a decent person deep in his soul, always wanting the best for the team, his family, he’ll often deflect any accolades.

Tristan on Lindsay:

Most memorable moment with Lindsay: I think it would definitely be the phone call I received from her when she found out that buying out the business was off the cards. It was a moment where stars had aligned and it was the beginning of what we’ve been able to achieve today.

Best word to describe her: Will always go the extra mile [hustle].

Most annoying habit or endearing behaviour she has: Annoying: Pretending to look interested when she’s already moved on [hair twirling is her tell].

Endearing: Always in tune with being there when people need it.

Lindsay on Tristan:

Most memorable moment with Tristan: Moving into our first “proper” office with our own lease. We’d moved out of co-sharing and into 617 Elizabeth St, Redfern. We worked all weekend fitting it out with 16 desks, even though there were only about 8 staff, it felt HUGE. We were full of giddy excitement for the future.

Best word to describe him: Kind.

Most annoying habit or endearing behaviour he has: Clicking the button at the end of a ballpoint pen while he’s thinking.

I try and ignore it. I try and not let it get to me. I am bigger than this. Then I’ve dwelled on it for too long.

I‘m frustrated as I can’t ignore it. I can hear the clicking in my soul. My heart is now beating with the click of a pen.

He’s blissfully unaware. Frustratingly, it’s invariably when he’s coming up with his best ideas.

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