Our Founder
It takes a village to pull
off a whole-ass nonprofit.
Meet one tiny speck of that village
& the founder of The Failure Ball.
— OH, HI! —
I’m your friendly
neighborhood Jess.
(Or Jessica Manuszak when I’m in trouble.)
AND the maestro behind this FANCY
FAILURE OF A HOOTENANNY.
As a fellow freelancer & business owner for the last decade, I know firsthand what an absolute clusterf*ck entrepreneurship can feel like.
So often, our self worth gets tied to our external successes (or lack of successes).
Before we know it, a single failure has us flailing in shame — and isolation — for years.
✹ But here’s the thing. ✹
There’s nothing shameful
about failing. Like, ever.
It’s just a natural part of doing cool sh*t you care about.
Simply STATED? I care
about a lot.
As the owner of Verve & Vigour Copywriting Studio, I’ve done some neat things over the last 10 years.
From playing with international campaigns for Nike to naming regional events for Levi’s Jeans, I’ve had my grubby little hands in enough projects that you’ve probably seen my work out in the wild.
That’s the stuff that makes me feel pretty neat.
So I’ve failed.
A lot.
BUT THEN THERE
ARE THE — UH —
LESS NEAT PARTS.
Like the time I closed down my first business seconds after getting my first order. (The panic was real.)
Or when I ignored my taxes for the first four years of freelancing and owed $40k in backtaxes.
Or the day I checked myself into an in-patient mental health facility the week after starting my copywriting studio, nearly 10 years ago to the day. (I had to cancel client projects from my intake bed whilst my buttcheeks flapped about in a backless hospital gown. But more on this later. Wink.)
I know that once we throw open the
doors on our dirty little secrets…
We see how squeaky clean
& normal they actually are.
Backed by an indelible team of businesses & a lineup of unparalleled people to speak, this evening is for every single person who’s ever been rejected, dropped the ball, or biffed it big.
I’m just a girl, standing in front of the internet, asking you to celebrate the act of TRYING — all while raising a little cash for a mental health nonprofit.
Screw ups are a mandatory
part of everyone’s success.
revel in never-before-heard failures & find
comfort in community of other folks who try.
October 12th, 2024 ✹ 5 o’clock in the evening ✹ Denver, Colorado