STORIES

Real stories. Practical lessons.

Profiles, journeys, breakdowns, and field notes from people building, creating, and performing at a high level.

The environment changed before the results did Before Charles Chase built a coaching business, he built and lost three others. What actually changed wasn't the plan — it was who he was standing next to. Gateway Growth Editorial6 min read Hundreds of cold DMs a day. Now consistent $56K months. Before CB3 Media worked with Shark Tank companies and got featured on Good Morning America, its founder was cold-emailing hundreds of businesses a day, offering to work for free just to prove it worked. Gateway Growth Editorial7 min read The names I've carried, and the one I chose Before Gēzzy, there was JJ, then Jay, then a last name almost nobody could say right. This is the actual story behind the name — and what it taught me about building a brand on purpose instead of by accident. Jay Nzungize8 min read Learning to dunk at 5'6", starting from a torn meniscus Victoria Agyin was a Division 1 jumper before she ever tried to dunk. A torn meniscus ended her final college season — and started the project that's since pulled in over a million views. Gateway Growth Editorial6 min read Starting before you're ready: Paco's dunk journey out of Hong Kong Paco didn't wait until he had the gear, the plan, or the following. He just started posting his dunk training — and the deeper mission behind it revealed itself along the way. Gateway Growth Editorial6 min read From $40 to a $600K agency — and the freedom he had to build back Leo Umanskiy's first business made him about $40 in seven months. His second scaled past $600,000 a year — and quietly took over his life. This is the story of what he changed, and why. Gateway Growth Editorial9 min read