Today we’d like to introduce you to Chris Gorges.
Hi Chris, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I grew up in New Bern, NC, studied business at UNC’s Kenan-Flagler Business School, and spend the first five years of my career in Washington, DC, in management consulting. In 2011, I moved to New York City to attend the NYU Stern School of Business, and pivoted my career into the overlap of the startup / venture capital world, and creative services. After working in advertising at big agencies in NYC for a couple of years, I co-founded a brand strategy and design firm with a mentor in 2015. We built that agency for about three years, and in June of 2018 I spun off from that firm and started Thompson & Prince. For the past 7.5 years, we have offered branding, design, and website services to startups and small businesses of all shapes and sizes. We provide naming, logo design, visual identity / brand guidelines, messaging / positioning, marketing collateral (presentations, one-pagers, merchandise, packaging, etc.) and website design & development. Our clients range from small “mom & pop” local businesses to venture-backed tech startups and corporations.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Entrepreneurship is never a smooth road! We of course have our ups and downs, but we continue pushing forward. Our work is all project-based, not retainer – so once a project is “done,” we’re off to find the next client! This can lead to unpredictability in revenue and business growth, but since our model is dependent on freelance / contractor work, we’re always able to ramp up and ramp down based on our clients’ needs at any given time.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
We offer high-quality branding, design, and website services for small businesses. I like to say we’re in the “Goldilocks zone” between working with a freelancer and a full-service creative agency. We can be fast and nimble like a freelancer, but provide quality and depth of strategic and design services typically only offered by larger full-service agencies.
I manage each of our projects, so working with Thompson & Prince feels like working with an individual, with one single point of accountability. I’m extremely proud of our ability to offer a broad range of solutions to a really wide set of clients with extremely different needs. No matter what the budget, we can always help our clients find the right creative solutions for their business needs.
Lastly, I’m a natural-born connector – so there’s an element of “family” to working with Thompson & Prince. Even if we’re just designing your logo, I want to leverage my network to spread the word about your business, make partnership connections, connections with investors, etc. We want to grow *with* our clients.
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
AI is obviously having a big impact on the creative services industry. We use it in some cases, usually for exploratory purposes, and always let our clients know if we’re going to use AI to explore concepts. However, for final, refined work product, we always apply the human touch and skill of our individual freelancers.
Pricing:
- Our pricing is all dependent on client needs, timelines, aspiration / inspiration, etc.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.thompsonandprince.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thompsonandprince
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/thompsonandprince/
- Twitter: https://www.x.com/thomprincenyc
