A little about me.
Hi, I’m Gina. I live in Oakland, California with my husband, and also next door to 20-ish friend-neighbors. It’s a pretty adorable set up. But in my heart of hearts, I’m still a New Yorker who grits her teeth over hesitant drivers and slow walkers. My god, live a little!
I love smiling at strangers, firm handshakes, and cheeky eye contact. It’s all about people for me — knowing them, feeling known, and figuring out what sort of chemistry develops in the space between. So perhaps it’s no surprise that I like to write about social design: the ways we can organize our lives to make us feel as alive and connected as possible.
I help founders and company leaders build smarter businesses through the lens of brand. I was also the founder of a company called Dipsea—a venture-backed audio erotica company that I started with co-founder Faye in 2018.
We wanted to shift culture around lots of things: women as a valuable market, female founders as smart bets, pleasure as important, fiction as an educational tool—because the status quo sucked. We wanted our stories to color listeners’ imaginations and set a higher bar for real romantic partners. We wanted to build a brand with integrity. It was steep hill, and I’m proud of what we created.
Because of Dipsea:
I spoke at TED about the power of imagination
The New York Times wrote about a week in my life
The New Yorker dubbed Dipsea the app transforming erotica
Faye and I made it onto the 30 under 30 list (right under the wire)
I was featured in a Netflix documentary about the principles of pleasure
Before that, I was a strategist at an architecture & experience design firm called Rapt Studio. Rapt designed physical spaces—the most maximal expression of ‘brand’ there is. I got to think about things like “How might a physical space make Google execs most open to learning?” and “How can we bring a winery’s 200 year history to life?” I continue to believe that IRL experiences are the best way to develop real relationships with people: customers, teams, friends, anyone.
I started my career as the first strategist at a brand studio called Character. It was all very, “Give me a chance and I’ll prove I can do it!” which is one of the greatest gifts of being 22 years old. I grafted a new brand strategy practice into an already flourishing design practice, helping shape and articulate some brands that you probably know in tech, fashion, and CPG. I left with a lifelong appreciation for people making things that are both high utility and high art.
Why subscribe?
Because I aspire to write things 54.5x more interesting than the doom-scrolling alternative. Most, if not all, of the content will be free for the time being—but paying for things you like is always cool (and very appreciated), as is a comment or email that something I wrote meant something to you.
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