Robert Rowland

Brand Sense

by Martin Lindstrom. A really interesting insight into the power of sensory experiences when it comes to brands and how we interact with them and the memories and thoughts we are left with. I love anything that looks at the complete picture and tries to make every element as perfect as possible. Almost impossible to ever do but even trying to do it will put you ahead of the rest.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

“Today, I choose to be happy.” A customer of mine told me this, advice he was told by someone when he was setting up his company and it always stuck with me. If you look beyond the slightly hippyish nature of it, it’s about not sweating the small stuff. It’s very easy, especially when running your own company, to let things get overwhelming. You make bad decisions in those moments so it’s about maintaining perspective and vision.

What inspired you to start your own business?

I always think I’m right! It was always on the agenda from a young age, I have just never been able to vision not being in charge of my own future or doing things the way I wanted to.

What would you say to your 18-year old self leaving Wellington?

Don’t take things too seriously and if you have an idea of what you want to do (as I did) don’t put it off, just start it. Probability shows it’ll likely fail but what you’ll learn by failing, or succeeding, will be invaluable. Failure is always a new opportunity and we should not be scared of it.

Thanks so much to Robert Rowland and his team at BOOM Cycle for their cooperation and information in creating this series!