Today we’re thrilled to celebrate a big milestone for our team…Zilker Media’s 5-year anniversary.

The saying, “time flies when you’re having fun” rings true to this moment. Our team has been celebrating BIG this past week with confetti bombs, celebration meals, arcade games and the groundbreaking of our new headquarters on Fitzhugh. Throughout the celebrations I have spent a lot of time reflecting on the memories, successful growth, clients we’ve had the honor to partner with and (most importantly) the fun we’ve had along the way. 

To commemorate the moment, each of our team members shared what they love most about Zilker Media on our blog. But before I get to that, I would love to share three of my most coveted moments with our team throughout the years (you would be reading this forever if I could share them all!). 

Setting our vision for Zilker Media 

During one of our first “official” meetings, our founding team members sat down at Austin Java (right next to our namesake Zilker Park) and we each shared our 5-year visions with each other. I vividly remember the electric feeling from that meeting as everyone painted a picture of where we would be and how closely our dreams were aligned with one another. Fast forward to the end of 2021, those same team members sat around the room to revisit what we had written in 2017. It was special to take that small moment of reflection and celebrate with one another how our current reality has far exceeded our 2017 vision. Zilker Media’s vision to build a world-class independent agency with undeniably fun culture and team of leading experts all stemmed from the core foundation our Chairman Rusty Shelton, CFO Patti Conrad, Publicity Director Shelby Janner and Brand Strategy Director Nichole Williamson laid. It has continued to flourish due to my partners Rusty and Clint, each of our team members and alumni that continue to build this dream brick by brick.

Celebrating with a little cheese

Our Christmas parties are normally a blast, but this year was extra special after growing our team primarily remote the past two years. We had our first official team gathering and did a cheese tasting hosted by the incredible Antonelli’s (inspiring Austin entrepreneurs who truly bring community together and spread joy through cheese). Although some team members had not met in person yet, the energy and laughter in the room was like we had been in person all along. It’s truly a blessing to have the ability to work with some of your closest friends and make a true impact with the collaborative work we do together. Our resilient commitment to our craft, clients, community and culture continues to drive our rewarding growth.

Digging into our future

Last week during our team’s surprise 5-year celebration, we unveiled the architectural plans and broke ground on the new Zilker Media headquarters on Fitzhugh. With our branded hard hats and shovels (of course!), we took the first dig on the foundation that will serve the future of our team. It was exciting to look around and soak in what we have built together, and rewarding to continue building upon the impact we will have years to come.

It’s special to have the privilege of doing what you love every day, but it’s an honor to have the opportunity to do it alongside those you love. Cheers to our team and Zilker Media’s 5 years! 

This is only the beginning…the best is yet to come!