On the Shores of Cape Coast, Ghana
Hey there!
If you made it to this page, you must be wanting to learn more about me (since you clicked that “About” link). Where to start, where to start…
Before we actually start this process of explaining where I come from, what I do, and why I do what I do, let’s get one thing straight. I’m very privileged and I know it. YOU are too . If we can’t agree on that, I’m sorry, but we aren’t going to have much in common.
With that said, let’s continue…
For starters, my name’s Drew Meyers (legal name is Thomas Andrew Meyers) and I grew up about 20 minutes east of Seattle. If you’ve read this blog, follow me on Twitter or Facebook, or met me in person, you undoubtedly know I’m a travel addict. Currently, I’m living in Chiang Mai for a month (or two or three). While I know things can change quickly, I left with a one way ticket December 28th with no return date in sight.
That said, I still gotta cover my travel expenses, right? My main source of income is ESM Exec Designs, a website design firm I founded a couple years ago specializing in corporate and personal blog design and started working on full time late 2011 when I left my job. I also still manage the Geek Estate Blog, which keeps me on the pulse of the real estate tech world.
I believe life is about more than money; it’s about spending time with passionate people, giving back to others, and making the lives of others’ better. Since I discovered Kiva in 2007, my philanthropic focus has remained microfinance. As a result of following that passion, I co-founded myKRO.org in 2008 with Jerry Ostradicky.
This quote from Will Smith resonates loud and clear with me:
If you’re not making someone else’s life better, you’re wasting your time.
One of my favorite past times is reading. I absolutely love a good book — and my Kindle was the best purchase I’ve ever made. Never again will I lug around paper books on the travel trail. Some of my favorite books of all time include Scar Tissue (Anthony Kiedis’ autobiography), Pillars of Earth, World Without End, Fall of Giants, all of Dan Brown’s books, The Alchemist, and The Game of Thrones Series (in process).
I’m spiritual and believe there is a higher purpose in life, but am not at all religious.
The political system in the USA sucks and I try not to follow it. That said, I’m certainly very liberal on the majority of issues and tend to vote Democrat — but I don’t believe in political “parties”. It should be about the issues, not the “party” (what does that mean anyway?).
I’m a big picture, strategy, and marketing guy. Whether it be business strategy, a car motor, dishwasher, or networking — I quickly grasp how everything is pieced together. Details aren’t really my thing.
It’s turned out to burn me a few times, but — for better or for worse — I am loyal to a fault. Once you gain my loyalty and trust, I’ll stick by you no matter what.
When you meet me in person, you’ll probably notice I’m not the most outgoing person to strangers that you’ve ever met. Contrary to my public persona, it takes me awhile to get comfortable enough with someone to really open up — but my true friends know the “me” that resides under the surface.
Here’s a list of things I’m going to do before I die (work in progress).
Work hard, play hard.
Travel
I think the fact that I love traveling is apparent given my travels over the last two years. When I left my amazing job at Zillow in early 2010, people thought I was crazy. I had the job everyone wanted — doing online marketing & getting paid to travel around the country for a well funded internet startup founded by the guy that started Expedia. But I hit the 5 year mark, and had become a bit bored with my current role — and took off and spent almost all of 2010 traveling. That included a 6 week road trip around the Western US and then 7 months abroad including a two week trip to Tokyo and Seoul, the best f’ing summer of my life living on Santorini, a month in Spain, followed by a month in both Kenya and Ghana. I tell you, particularly for those who have never ventured outside the USA, Africa is like nothing you’ve ever experienced before. I really don’t know how to describe it, but to say “surreal”. Despite the fact that they have literally nothing, the people in Kenya and Ghana were filled with happiness 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. That’s a far cry from the materialistic bullshit that you see in the United States.
On the travel front, I run a multi author travel blog, Oh Hey World, which I haven’t begun to monetize yet. But that’ll start happening later this year (first step is traffic generation).
Why am I non stop traveling you may ask? I’m on a quest for something better than the 9-5. Something more fulfilling and purposeful.
And I can. So, why not is the better question.
My Background
What’s my childhood and professional background? Well, for the curious folk, read on if you must…
My childhood was spent moving Bellevue, Preston, and Bellevue again — before finally landing in Issaquah (technically, its now Sammamish) living on Lake Sammamish where I resided from 4th until 12th grade. A member of the first freshman class ever at Skyline High School in 1997, I graduated in 2001. Raised by a single mother, I never struggled for money growing up, but was never well off like many of my friends’ families. Despite attending a very “preppy” and materialistic high school, I had a good group of friends, and a few GREAT ones who I still keep in touch with. Oh yea, I almost forget to mention Skyline won the State Football Championship my senior year. Go Spartans!
I went on to attend & graduate from the University of Washington in June of 2005 with a Business Administration degree. After one year in the dorms, I signed with Sigma Phi Epsilon, and was on the executive team during WaBeta Chapter’s migration to the Balanced Man Program in 2004. My Spring quarter of my senior year, I interned with Tim Reha at Venture All Stars (now NewMediaSynergy) – an experience that truly changed my life for the better. Tim introduced me to the small business and startup world — and I never turned back.
Following a two month trip to Europe (13 countries) that set a string of irreversible events in motion (external link), I landed an internship at Zillow in September of 2005. I worked there through January 2010, managing Zillow’s API program and various online partnerships. Over the course of that time, I worked extremely closely Zillow’s amazing PR team and served as a spokesperson for the company in various fashions via social media. As I mentioned, after departing from my cozy job at Zillow, I spent about 8 months traveling. When I finally ran out of money and came back to the United States, I took a job at Virtual Results running marketing — and worked there for roughly a year before I decided to hit the travel trail again.
And that, my friends, brings us to today!
What’s next?
Regardless of what happens as I progress in my professional career, real estate will retain a part of my heart. Throughout the 6+ years I’ve spent in the industry, first with Zillow and then Virtual Results, I’ve developed some amazing friendships with a number of agents and brokers — people like Kris Berg, Lori Bee, Doug Heddings, Jay Thompson, and Ines Hegedus-Garcia. I feel fortunate to have been immersed in an industry that everyone can relate to at some level during one of the craziest times in recent memory (the 2008 recession).
I’m mulling a few different options right now, including a new travel startup that I believe has heaps of untapped potential. Basically, as I’ve told a few people, I’m seeking the right business opportunity and/or girl before I decide to settle down somewhere.
Until one or both of those things happen? I’m going to keep doing what I’ve been doing.
Traveling the globe.
Whenever I decide to return to the good ol USA – I have a hunch it will be to the Big Apple aka NYC. It’s been an itch of mine since 2009, and I plan scratch it at some point soon.
– Drew
Whether you need a new website or want to understand the website creation process, SEO help, want to chat about microfinance, have a travel question you can’t find the answer to, or anything in between — I’d love to hear from you. I’m not hard to find. My email addy is drew@esmexecdesigns.com — so fire away.
Fan of
Red Hot Chili Peppers, Top Gun, Spy Game, Seattle Mariners, Ken Griffey Jr, Seattle Seahawks, Michael Jordan, Zillow, my Macbook Air, Kindle, Santorini, cats.
PS: The Yankees and Lakers SUCK.
Blogs to Find My Writing:
Wow, you’re still reading? If you want the “professional” version of this bio, that can be found RIGHT HERE.
