BRANDING STORY: Thrival Music + Innovation Festival

From a casual coffee meet-up to the design thinking behind an incubator, a business competition and a music festival

Somewhere around 2011 and 2012, my husband invited me for coffee to discuss some ideas he had brewing. During that time, with no kids to tend to, meeting for coffee and brainstorming solutions for the world's problems was part of our weekly routine.

As a designer, I found myself asking him the toughest questions, while my husband, an entrepreneur, brought me back to earth whenever my ideas leaned towards expensive execution.

But this time was different.

We met at a coffee shop near his former office on Ellsworth Ave., and I listened intently as he presented his vision: 'Bringing the community together while fostering and promoting entrepreneurship in Pittsburgh.’

Notes from the meeting, 2011 Since their graduation from Carnegie Mellon University, he and his close friends had been hosting a significant block party since the early 2000s. However, with most friends moving away, he felt the urge to create something that could draw them back to Pittsburgh. His idea was to offer a fun event, host a business competition for idea pitching, and motivate them to actualize these concepts.

Most of our conversations tend to conclude without resolutions, leaving us with plenty to contemplate afterward. Even now, after three kids, this still holds true, and our coffee sessions remain a cherished ritual, albeit shorter, sometimes with the aid of a babysitter.

Returning to the Pittsburgh idea... 

Over time, it became evident that this notion needed to support, mentor, and sustain these entrepreneurs. This led my husband and his friends to secure a grant to kickstart an incubator. To cut a long story short, that coffee date, along with years of running the business competition, culminated in the birth of a music/tech festival known as the Thrival Music + Innovation Festival. I played a role in its inception by listening, posing numerous queries, and designing their branding/collateral. In the process, several ideas materialized, showcasing some of the work accomplished:

Over the years, the festival experienced remarkable growth. Fresh talent propelled this event to new heights. A cohort of designers, engineers, robotics experts, artists, marketers, and project managers all played integral roles in the festival's success. Reflecting on those times, it was truly a delight to witness and be part of this phenomenal journey.