#anti Ellie moving into the garage

[tlouramblings]

TLOU Part 2 Opening scene Part 2

A rant/break down about this flashback scene from the the second game.

Part 1

This is the first look we get at Joel and Ellies living situation in Jackson. It shows us that Ellie is living in a garage that's in Joels backyard.

They managed to find a way to keep Joel and Ellie close but also so far apart. Joel can always keep an eye on her from his house, but she can also keep her distance from him.

There is a time skip between Joel and Tommy's conversation to now. Since then Ellie and Joel have settled into Jackson and become more civilized.

I wish we knew more about the process of Ellie moving into the garage. When did she make the decision to move? Did she immediately call dibs on the garage when they got to Jackson? What was Joels reaction?

The first look we get of Ellie in this game is her by herself drawing and jamming out to music. We also get to see how she has decorated the garage and made it her own. This is the first time Ellie’s really had her own space to live in freely. Back at FEDRA she had to share a room and she probably didn’t own that much.

Ellie is covering up her bite with a bandage so she doesn’t have to wear long sleeves around everyone. I wonder if the chemical burn had already happened at this point? There would only be so long Elie could wear the bandage before people would start to question it.

She is also drawing a deer, which in the last game represented her trauma with the winter/David.

When Ellie finally realizes Joel is in the room she immediately closes her drawing book and stands up. She awkwardly leans against her desk and avoids eye contact for a few seconds.

Her body language is tense and uncomfortable. She doesn't want to see him or talk to him right now.

I love how Joel is being a typical dad here. He goes into her room and awkwardly walks around and touches as much stuff as possible.

Based on this sentence it seems like Joel and Ellie hadn’t spoken in a while, at least a couple days. He's had to subtly check in on her through other people in Jackson. Which foreshadows what he probably had to do when they were estranged for 2 years.

She's obviously pushing him away. She moved into her own place so she was not forced to see him or rely on him anymore.

She’s angry and upset because she knows he’s lying. But she’s also depressed and has an immense amount of survivors guilt.

This is so cute, yet sad. This perfectly mirrors how she tried to bond with him through jokes in the first game. But Ellie immediately shuts him down and is trying to get him to leave. She uses the excuse that she has to be up in a few hours, but if he hadn't of came in there she probably would of stayed up drawing for a while longer.

They've completely switched roles, she's now the closed off one and he's the one trying to bond.

This also furthers the theory that they hadn't talked in a few days or he would of told her the joke sooner. They went from spending every day together for a year to going days apart without speaking.

[thedaltonsanctuary]

Welcome AXEL MCCRAE to the Dalton Sanctuary as a SUBMISSIVE RESIDENT. Please send in your blog within the next 48 hours or we will have to reopen your role. You may begin dash activity immediately, no need to wait for anything else once your blog is made.

✎ OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION

ALIAS/PRONOUNS: Azi / They/Them AGE: 27 TIMEZONE: PST TRIGGERS: ANYTHING ELSE: 

✎ IN CHARACTER INFORMATION

NAME: Axel McCrae AGE/BIRTHDAY: 40 GENDER/PRONOUNS: Cis-Male / He/Him SUB/DOMINANT/SWITCH?: Submissive STAFF/RESIDENT/VISITOR?: Resident SEXUAL ORIENTATION: Very gay KINKS: Bondage, Watersports, CBT, TPE, M/s, Impact Play, Sensory Play, Marking (Temp & Permanent), Exhibitionism, Orgasm Control/Denial, Bareback, Creampies, Branding, Breath Play, CNC, Double Penetration, Fisting, Flogging, Whipping, Humiliation, Degradation, Knife Play, Rimming, Uniforms, Public Nudity, Wax Play ANTI-KINKS: Vore, Gore, Scat, ABDL, Feet, Age Play, Pet Play

✎ BIOGRAPHY

TW: Homophobia, Assault, Abuse, Death

Axel Buck McCrae was born in Dallas, Texas on January 24th, 1980, but grew up on a farm just outside of Dallas, with his parents, and two younger sisters. Ellie McCrae was a typical stay-at-home mom and housewife, a loyal submissive and in love with her husband, who Axel had grown up with always being home; Buck McCrae, his father, was exactly what you’d expect out of a Dominant farmer, and then some. Rugged, red-neck, homophobic, racist… Though his friends tried to get him to calm down the last two, his father was adamant that bein’ gay wasn’t natural. His sisters were raised to be well-behaved girls and subs. Cook, clean… all that shit, while Axel was raised to be the man of the house- a right proper dominant. He never cooked, he never cleaned, not until he was a teenager, and asked his mom to teach him, without his father knowing. He had always wanted to; She agreed, his father to this day still does not know. They went to church every Sunday; Axel was an altar boy. In high school, Axel played football and basketball. Got good grades, and took mechanics, since his love of cars had always been evident in his life. In high school, he was also out as gay, for the most part. He’d managed to keep it under wraps with his parents, until one day, when his father came home, and caught him jerking off to Indiana Jones. He beat Axel senseless, and told him to get out.

After that, Axel packed a bag and left - he started to hitchhike his way away from Texas. At first he tried to get odd jobs, things that were easy to do - he even had a job in a mechanic shop for a little while, but he wasn’t making enough to actually pay rent or for a hotel room every night, and he had nowhere else to stay. This is when Axel turned to something he hadn’t initially thought about, but he knew damn well he’d be good at it.

Over the years, Axel became more and more popular, finding the places in whatever town he was living in where he’d pick up the richer guys, some of whom would even let him stay the night, get a hot meal and a shower, or would let him stay in the hotel/motel room they’d rent for their little rendezvous. It was what kept Axel alive through his mid and late teens all the way until his early 20s.

He managed to find his way to a bigger city, Chicago specifically, where he got a job at a gay club. He was a go-go boy, and bartender, but continued to do some of his sex work on the side, for the extra income. It helped him to live comfortably, and be able to save up to get somewhere a little less cold than Chicago. While he was in Chicago, he met a man, older, around early 60s, who took quite an interest in Axel. He offered to pay him handsomely if he would solely be his companion, not sexual, but more friendly, for the time being; the man was sick, and only had a few years left. Axel agreed, and was given a place to stay, outside of his apartment, and he got hot meals. Over the time he spent with this man, he had grown rather fond of him. This man was also the one who managed to get Axel tested for his mark, though he was pretty sure already of what he was, but the test made it official. The mark of submissive didn’t shock him, or any of his friends, in the least, but he was glad to actually have it. The old man, Jack, introduced Axel to his son, Rock, a Dominant, who had a garage, and offered to teach Axel how to fix cars, and give him a real job, where he could keep his clothes on, and his dignity. Axel mentioned he used to fix cars and took mechanics back in high school, and that was how he landed the job. What he hadn’t expected from this job was that he and Rock, who he had no idea was gay until a few months later, were going to end up getting very close.

Axel fell in love with Rock, and Rock with him. The two of them were inseparable. While Rock looked after the shop, Axel looked after Jack, and did everything he could. The three of them became a little family unit, something that Axel had truly missed. Within a couple of years, they lost Jack, and it was hard. Axel took over the garage for a bit, letting Rock grieve and honour his father, and would be there for his partner to the best of his ability.

After about 5 years together, Rock and Axel entered a claim. They had all their friends there, and they even went on a nice honeymoon to Hawaii for a couple weeks after. It had been absolutely perfect. They talked about adopting kids together, or having their one friend be a surrogate, since she’d offered. Axel finally had the life he had wanted since he was a kid, the one he dreamed of but could never really talk about. That was all taken away from him.

After about a year after their claim ceremony, Rock was closing up the garage, Axel was at home cooking dinner. A car pulled up to the shop, window open, gun sticking out of it - open fire on the shop and Rock. It wasn’t until a few hours later that Axel got the call from the hospital.

Axel tried to stay at the shop, for Rock, but it hurt too much. He sold the shop, and then moved to New York, needing to be in a city where he could just forget.

He went back to sex work, club work, really the only thing he could do to keep his mind off Rock and off Jack. He lost his family, everything he had worked for.

His boss sat him down one day and told him that having a submissive, of his age, working in the club, without a claim, was starting to cause some confusion. He brought up the Dalton Sanctuary, and mentioned how they were a place that could help Axel heal. He thought about it, and though it was kind of a crazy idea… he was a 40 year old, who never entered a new claim… so his boss was probably right.

[themoonandotherslikeit]

The Daughter of a Righteous Man- Chapter 20

*SEQUEL TO THE LOOK IN HER EYES*

After her husband is drug to Hell, Ava Winchester and her brother in law Sam try their best to do right by Dean and raise her daughter, only to find that good intentions aren’t always enough. Loving someone isnt always enough.

Chapter Twenty, I Am Yours

Ella

About 16 Years Later

He was sleeping. His arm hanging off the side of the bed. His forehead was wrinkled. I couldn't tell if he was having a bad dream or a good one, but his eyes moved rapidly under his eyelids.

I crawled onto the bed next to him, and crouched over his head. I ran my finger down his nose, tickling it. "Wake up," I murmured.

His eyes flew open and he grabbed for the gun under his pillow before he saw it was me. He exhaled slowly. "What're you doing here?"

"I know how hard today is for you, Dad."

He groaned and shook his head. "Nope. I'm fine, kid. Where's Claire?"

"On a hunt," I said with a shrug.

"I can't believe you're dating a hunter,” he groaned, rubbing his face. His green eyes looked dull and tired. He needed to shave. "Not exactly a fathers dream."

"They say girls alway date people who resemble their fathers," I said gently with a mischievous smile.

His eyebrows raised. He pretended to be offended, pressing his hand to his chest. "I am nothing like biker Barbie!"

"Can you stop calling her that?" I asked with a laugh.

"Nope." He grinned widely.

Good. A smile. That's a start.

"Is Sam up?" He asked with a yawn.

"Probably. You know how he is. Up with the birds."

"And Cas?"

I shrugged. "He doesn't exactly sleep. Last time I walked by his room he was binging Game of Thrones."

Dad groaned. "We need to put a timer on his tv. It's going to rot his brain."

The bunker had been surprisingly quiet all morning. I think everyone knew that today of all days we needed to be gracious. We needed to be kind. He shouldn't be rattled, especially with everything that was going on.

"Maybe, but he likes it."

"And Jack?"

I reached out and took his left hand in mine. "Dad what's wrong? Why are you so worried about where everyone is?"

He shrugged. "Curious,” he grunted.

We were the same, Dad and I. We were cut from the same cloth. He squeezed my hand weakly. Today was a bad day on top of a million other bad days. We were trying to find a way to keep Michael contained, but he was worried.

By we of course I meant Sam, Cas, and Dad. I wasn't supposed to know, but I'm not blind. I'm also a really talented eaves dropper, especially when there's yelling involved.

"Want to get pancakes?" I asked him.

He narrowed his eyes and glanced at the clock on his bedside table. "Eleanor Mary Winchester, you're supposed to be at school."

I groaned and fell backwards onto the bed. I never would've guessed, based on my Dad and Sams history growing up that I would've been required to go to school at all, but I was so wrong.

Dad enrolled me in a private school, plaid skirts and all. Uncle Sam helped me with my homework, and with all the books around the bunker growing up I easily skipped a few grades in elementary school. My reading levels were off the charts, and I was easily able to do math and computers from watching Uncle Sam hack. Not to mention all the chemistry involved in spell work. Rowena was a great science tutor.

I was an almost seventeen year old high school senior. I only had two classes to complete next semester, and I was opting to take them online so I could help with hunts. Even though I hadn't told Dad that yet.

"Come on, Dad. It's the end of the week. Next week is fall break, and I'm already ahead on my homework. We can rent monster movies and eat way too much chocolate. It'll be fun!"

"No way, kid. You're going to school,” he said, patting my knee.

He got up, stretching. He turned his head cracking his neck with a satisfying pop!

"Sam May have already called me in," I said, hiding behind his pillow. I was wearing one of Claire's leather jackets, and a Harry Potter T-shirt Charlie had gotten me from Comicon a few years back, paired with my favorite pair of jeans. I wasn't dressed for school, and I had no intention of going.

He crossed his arms and glared at me. "I don't like you going behind my back, El."

I shrugged, twisting my sandy brown hair into a bun. It was getting long, and I kept threatening to cut it, but Claire's favorite pass time when we were alone was braiding it over and over again. Well one of her favorite pass times.

"It's your fault for creating this Full House, three Dads lifestyle for me." I shrugged.

"I am not Danny Tanner if that's what you're implying. We need to be clear on that."

I grinned widely. "Sam is obviously Danny. Cas is unknowingly Joey, and you're obviously cool but stern Uncle Jesse," I said crawling off the bed. I stood on my tip toes to place a kiss on his cheek. "It's way too late for me to show up now. It'll seem weird. Can we just please have a day for just us?"

I turned on my best daughter charm, bottom lip pout and all.

He groaned and pulled me into a hug, placing a kiss on the top of my head. "Fine." I was irresistible to him.

When I went on my first date with a girl everyone joked that it had to be from all the men I was around. How could anyone possibly compare to my three fathers, to the constant love and support? That's just what people saw, though.

I joked that it was all the mommy issues.

"Alright old man! Get dressed, I have triple chocolate pancakes with my name on them!"

Dad grinned. "Yup you're my kid." He said flicking the bun on my head. "I'll meet you in five."

I shrugged and walked into the kitchen. Jack was leaning against the counter staring at the coffee maker. I raised an eyebrow.

I always wanted a younger sibling, but nothing could've prepared me for what it was like to be an older sister to Jack.

"Hey Jackie," I said eyeing him. "Whatcha doin?"

"I want to make coffee... because everyone drinks it, but I just can't figure this out." Jack sighed, looking defeated.

I couldn't help but smile. "Let me show you," I said, taking out the bag of grounds. "Okay take this." I grabbed a filter. "Put it here. Then take a scoop of the grounds and dump them in. Push this back into place and press the brew button! Easy peasy."

His eyes widened as the coffee maker gurgled to life and started spitting out brown water.

"You are so smart Ellie!"

I smiled.

I was the woman of many names. Mom called me Nel when I was a baby, when I was in trouble I was Eleanor Mary, Claire calls me Ella most of the time, Sam mostly calls me Kid or Dean Jr, and Cas has experimented with nicknames, but they're usually so awkward that he sticks with Eleanor.

Jack poured himself a cup and took a sip. He almost dropped the cup, and he met my eyes and softly said, "Ellie this is terrible."

I laughed and shook my head. "Let me show you my ways." I said, wiggling my eyebrows. I walked to the fridge and pulled out the plain half and half, and I grabbed chocolate syrup and whipped cream.

I took his cup from him and poured out half of the coffee, and replaced it with half and half. I poured in a ridiculous amount of chocolate and topped it with whipped cream. "Try now."

He smiled widely and took a sip. His upper lip was covered in whipped cream. "I think I like coffee."

"Me too," I said with a smile. "Don't ever drink it black. I don't even really think Dad likes it like that. He just wants an excuse to be grumpy."

"Oh I do?" Dad asked as he walked into the kitchen. He poured himself a cup and took a sip staring me right in the face. "Mm. Yum."

"Good morning, Dean," Jack said with a whipped cream smile.

"Mornin’ kid." He winked at Jack. "What're you doing today?"

"Reading about social norms," Jack said with a nod. "I'm working on my interpersonal skills."

"Sounds fun," Dad said dryly.

"Castiel said it's essential for me to be able to exist in this world."

"Cas doesn't really have room to talk about interpersonal skills." I laughed and Dad nodded at me knowingly.

"What about you two?" Jack asked eagerly drinking his coffee.

"Breakfast and a monster movie marathon." I grinned widely.

Jack raised his eyebrows. "Is your life not already full of monsters?"

Dad and I groaned in unison.

Sam never liked Halloween, but it was Dad and my favorite holiday. We would always dress up in matching costumes, and stay up all night watching horror films. I would always sneak into his room and sleep curled into his back because it was too scary sometimes. From what I hear, it was the exact opposite of what his childhood was like.

I think he worked hard to keep me from having to learn to shoot guns and be afraid of the dark. Knowing that he fought monsters, though, was enough to make me not afraid. How could I be with The Winchester's as my protectors?

So we played pretend in the fall. We let ourselves watch slasher movies and pretend we were regular people. We pretend that I didn't get an anti-possession tattoo at 15, and that we didn't live in a weird underground bunker.

Dad sat his mug in the sink. "Let's hit the road."

"Can I drive?" I asked when we walked into the garage.

He stopped, and touched my shoulder to stop me. "Maybe you should stay home."

"Why?"

"You've got to have a fever if you think you're going to drive Baby."

I rolled my eyes. "My bad." Shouldn't push my luck.

"Get in,” he said with a laugh.

Dad always looked his most relaxed when he was driving the Impala. When it started up he always took a deep breath and smiled. No matter what he was going through he was able to find peace in his vehicle. A lot of people think that home is a place, but for Dad and Sam... that car was always their home. It's been the only consistent thing in their lives besides each other.

"The Little Pancake?" He asked me as he opened the garage and pulled out.

"Obviously. What? You new here?"

He grinned at me.

The Little Pancake had been our breakfast place since we moved back to Kansas. It had ridiculous pancake options. There's no way they could be healthy, and that's exactly what we loved about it.

He took me there after my first period, my first break up, my first C on a test. It was something special for just the two of us. Sam asked if he could come once, and Dad told him no, because they don't have kale pancakes. I think he hurt Sams feelings.

We went to our usual booth in the corner. "Do you think it's too early for a peanut butter milkshake?"

"Never," Dad said.

"Hey Dean, El." Our favorite waitress Cami said as she walked past our table. "The usual?"

"Yeah!" I said with a grin. "Plus a peanut butter milk shake."

"You got it," Cami said with a nod.

"So," Dad started, leaning across the table to talk to me. "Do we need to get you a homecoming dress?"

"Please," I groaned. "No way.. Claire would never be caught dead at a school dance."

"She might for you." He shrugged.

"Would you have gone?"

"For the right girl, I would've done anything."

I smiled. "You're a softy."

"Claire is too,” he said knowingly. "When it comes to you."

"You're all soft when it comes to me. I'm your Achilles Heel. Princess Winchester heir to the great throne," I said dramatically.

"Who raised you to be this way?" He laughed shaking his head.

"You. It was literally you."

Cami brought my milkshake and Dad's coffee. She smiled at him and lingered a little too long like she usually does. She was maybe thirty five, and she had a huge crush on him. She was pretty, and other than the fact that she worked in a diner, she was pretty spectacular. "You know she likes you right." I whispered to him.

"Me? No way."

"Dad come on. All the girls at school talk about how I have the hot Dad." Technically they say hot Dad's, plural, but there's no need to upset him.

"You should ask her out," I said gently.

"What?" He looked genuinely shocked.

"Yeah. You've been unhappy long enough, Dad. Put yourself out there."

"Eleanor, I'm not going to discuss this with you,” he said sharply. Eleanor. That meant the conversation was over. "So, what case is Claire on? Tell me about it."

I frowned and sipped my milkshake. My dad was my best friend, and I know how that sounds. We were tight knit, and I grew up being taught that family is the only thing that matters. Seeing him hurting was physically painful for me, and he was hurting a lot.

"Haunted house," I lied. "Seemed like a milk run. She should be back in a few days." She was actually researching ways to help Dad with the Micheal situation, but I couldn't tell him that.

"You worried about her?" Dad asked.

"Always," I said with a weak smile. "It's hard to care about someone that's always going. Especially when you can't go with them."

"That may be how it always is with you two,” he said glumly, sipping his coffee.

I shrugged. "Maybe, but I'd rather have her part of the time than not at all."

He didn't know that I had an interest in hunting. How could I not? It would be a fight when it happened, so I avoided bringing it up at all costs.

Cami came with our breakfast. Dad got a slice of apple pie with ice cream, and I got my mess of chocolate masquerading as pancakes. The conversation was over.

"I love this place," Dad said with his mouth full of his last bite of pie.

"Me too." I grinned, wiping the chocolate off my chin.

"To the video store?" Dad asked as he sat down the cash to pay and a high tip.

"Well, I was actually thinking..." I chewed on my bottom lip.

"Spit it out, kid."

"I was thinking maybe we could drop by and see Mom for a few?"

His back straightened and he visibly swallowed. "I.. I don't know, El. Is that really a good idea?"

I took his hand. "I think it's time. Don't you?"

He sighed and shook his head. It was always hard to get him to go see her. He was very cut and dry. The past is the past and that's it. No need in dwelling. But she’s my mom. So of course I had to dwell. It's a kids dream to have their parents together in one place. I knew I couldn't have that, and it was fine. I never grew up missing much. Cas, Sam, and Dad did a great job making sure I didn't miss a thing. Before Charlie died, she would come by and help me deal with the stuff the boys couldn't. Then Rowena... I have a big family, but there's still things that no amount of love can fill. More than anything, though, I needed him to have that closure so he could move on.

"I know you miss her," I said quietly.

He sucked in his breath and blinked a tear away. "Yeah, okay,” he said, tossing me the keys. I caught them without fumbling, which was a huge deal for me. I didn't question him, I just walked to the car and got in. He didn't smile when the car hummed when it started up. He just stared at the landscape as we drove.

We parked after what seemed like an eternity of open road. I took his hand in mine to make sure he could move forward. Pain was obvious on his face as we pushed through the iron gate. The air was chilly, but warm for October. The leaves crunched under our feet as we made it down the path.

"Hey Mom," I said gently, crouching in front of the polished marble. I reached out and touched her name that was carved in. Ava Winchester.

—————

Chapter Twenty-One, A Way to You Again

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[itsyourturnblog]

Inspired by NPR’s How I Built This Podcast

© Oleksiy Boyko

Booty Caller. It was the way-too-crass working name of a mobile app idea a buddy and I had in 2008, the year the App Store launched. Booty Caller would use your phone’s GPS to connect you with potential nearby romantic partners. We made a logo, designed the app interface, and engaged a developer. But ultimately, cowering under a daunting cloud of uncertainty, fear of failure, and lack of know-how, we filed away the project into the coulda-woulda-shoulda folder. Four years later, while we wallowed in nine-to-five obscurity, Tinder revolutionized dating.

After a decade of working for corporate America, NPR’s How I Built This podcast, hosted by Guy Raz, has re-awoken my entrepreneurial vigor and armed me with an instruction manual and the courage to capitalize on the next great idea, should it ever come my way again.

Every episode is must-listen material, but below is a list of practices you’ll need to follow to become the next How I Built This founder.

1. Ball on a ramen budget

Let us first agree it won’t be easy or glamorous, especially in the early years.

During Chipotle’s first year, founder Steve Ellis slept on a friend’s basement couch and worked from early morning until late at night.

Clif Bar’s Gary Erickson, kept his day job working in a bicycle factory for two years, all while sleeping in a garage.

Dermalogica’s Jane Wurwand worked 16 hours a day, every day, and lived a meager existence. “A big night out was a burger on a Friday night. That was huge,” she said. “We saved everything.”

2. Finance creatively

In addition to living on a tight budget, you’ll have to get creative about raising capital for your venture. Some How I Built This founders borrowed money from their moms, some from venture capitalists, but many hatched innovative financing methods.

After being rejected by 20 investors and maxing out a bunch of credit cards, the founders of Airbnb created and sold a cereal called “Obama O’s” to pay off debt. More importantly, their cereal-box hustle impressed potential investors, landing them a spot in Y-Combinator, a prestigious accelerator for small businesses.

When times were bleak, Samuel Adam’s founder Jim Koch put a coupon on 6-packs of beer offering customers a chance to buy shares in the company. All they had to do was send a check. The result? Sixty five million dollars.

3. Prototype, launch, and refine

My perfectionist tendencies often keep me from shipping projects. I want to wait until everything is perfect before launching, which it never will be. How I Built This is a great reminder to move forward with “good enough,” learning from mistakes and consumer feedback.

“There were a lot of typos,” said VICE co-founder Suroosh Alvi of their first magazine, “but it was alive.”

Airbnb was quickly thrown together for attendees of SXSW. They only managed to attract six hosts and one customer, but they learned valuable insights to improve the product. Notably, they realized exchanging money in someone’s home is awkward, leading to the creation of online payments and a way for Airbnb to monetize the site.

4. Learn as you go

You don’t need an MBA. Most of the founders just figured out things as they went along.

Richard Branson of Virgin Brands dropped out of high school to start an anti-Vietnam War magazine. When asked how he knew how to publish a magazine, Branson responded “the best way of running a business is to just throw yourself in the deep end and learn…and ask lots of questions and listen, listen, listen.”

About not going to journalism school, VICE’s Surroosh Alvi commented, “we were going to school in public.”

Even today, after Buzzfeed’s enormous success, founder and CEO Jonah Peretti feels “very unqualified for the job…I’m still figuring it out.”

5. Fake it ’til you make it

Who hasn’t heard this advice? But I was surprised to actually see it utilized by many of the builders.

Before launching TOMS Shoes, founder Blake Mycoskie had another business venture in which he convinced building owners in Nashville to sell their exterior walls for advertising. The key to getting owners to agree was to position his idea as a ‘business’. “You don’t wanna use the word ‘idea’,” he said, “because if it’s just an idea you’re not going to inspire a lot of confidence.”

While trying to secure their first space for WeWork, Miguel McKelvey and his partner secured a meeting the following day with a building owner but had nothing prepared. Spending all night creating a business plan, business cards, and marketing materials, McKelvey felt as if they had no credibility. To their surprise, the investors enthusiastically responded “oh, you actually have something here” and leased them the property.

Barbara Corcoran, real estate mogul and Shark Tank shark, was only seven weeks away from going out of business when she made her first apartment rental. With her first check she made a wise investment — a fancy coat. “It was the smartest thing I could have done with the money,” she said, “because in it, I felt powerful.”

5. Hire or partner with experts

Not everything can be faked so many brand builders found experts to help design their product.

Wendy Kopp of Teach for America did not know how to train teachers so “that’s why we found experienced teacher educators.”

Founder of Samuel Adams, Jim Koch, was a sixth generation brewer and knew a little bit about brewing beer, but also “realized I had to find the best brewmaster in America to help me…He turned me down at first.”

6. Persist in face of rejection

When times have gotten tough in my entrepreneurial endeavors, it has been tempting to tuck my tail between my legs and walk away. How I Built This has given me permission to be persistent.

In trying to find partners for Rent the Runway, Jenn Hyman was on the way to a second meeting with fashion designer Diane von Furstenburg when von Fursternburg’s assistant called to cancel the meeting. Hyman acted like she had a bad connection, hung up, and showed up anyway. Furstenburg was not interested in partnering, but introduced Hyman to Nieman Marcus, which helped get Rent the Runway off the ground.

In trying to gain ownership of the phone number 1–800-GOT-JUNK, founder Brian Scudamore made about 60 calls to find and convince the owner to transfer the number to him. “I could have given up after call 54 or 55,” he said. “I just kept going.”

7. Tell white lies

I don’t necessarily condone these examples, but according to RXBar’s founder Peter Rahal, “In the early stages of a business, you can’t break the law, but you need to bend the rules a little bit.”

In order to convince a grocery store owner to carry his yogurt, Stonyfield founder Gary Hirshberg had his friends call the grocer and ask for Stonyfield yogurt by name. The grocer later called Hirshberg claiming demand had gone off the charts.

VICE’s founder said in a media interview that a certain investor was interested in buying VICE. This investor, who had never even heard of VICE, caught wind of the story, reached out to VICE and ended up buying 25% of the company.

8. Steal from other industries

Innovation often occurs at the intersection of ideas from different disciplines and there were many instances where How I Built This founders borrowed from other places.

1–800-GOT-JUNK’s name was inspired by 1–800-Flowers and the “Got Milk” campaign.

Before TOMS Shoes, founder Blake Mycoskie had a business of selling ads for music albums on the side of buildings in Nashville — an idea he borrowed from movie ads on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles.

9. Remember that marketing and PR actually work

I’ve been a marketer for almost two decades and still sometimes forget that marketing actually works. It doesn’t have to be rocket science — just get your brand in front of people.

In order to generate users of dating app Bumble, Whitney Wolfe who also co-founded Tinder, went to sorority houses claiming there were a ton of frat guys on the Bumble app waiting to connect with them. She then ran over to fraternity houses and told them that a bunch of sorority girls were on the app waiting for them.

Barbara Corchoran invented a NYC real estate newsletter called The Corchoran Report and mailed it to the New York Times, who ended up quoting her on the front page of the real estate section. It gave her instant credibility and within one day she became a recognizable name to potential customers.

10. Capitalize on a previously unsatisfied consumer need

Before any of the above practices should be implemented, you obviously have to have a good idea. A key criterion for a good idea is that it meets a consumer need, ideally a previously unsatisfied one.

Rent the Runway was inspired by Jenn Hyman observing that her sister needed new outfits to wear for big events that she had not already been seen wearing on social media.

Clif Bar was created by an avid cyclist who reached his breaking point of eating gross, highly processed energy bars, so he figured out how to make a good tasting, whole-ingredient-based bar himself.

Finally, even if you already know all of this stuff, How I Built This is a great cheerleader, always providing a healthy dose of confidence and motivation.

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*All quotes sourced from How I Built This podcast.

10 Practices of Successful Entrepreneurs was originally published in It's Your Turn on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

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