Paul Friederichsen

Paul Friederichsen  

Friederichsen Brands www.friederichsenbrands.com

The Blake Project www.theblakeproject.com/

The American Marketing Group www.theamericanmarketinggroup.com

The Home Trust International (HTI):  Why marketing?

Paul Friederichsen (PF): It was a way I could be creative and make a living without becoming a starving artist on the street corner. 

HTI: Who or what has been the strongest influence on your career and why?

PF: Fear of failure and desire to win. You only have so much time and no one knows their expiration date, so why not go for it!

HTI: If you could have told your 20 year old self one thing, what would it have been?

PF: Stop smoking. I didn’t quit until much later.

HTI: Please tell us about your family and your personal life.

PF: I’m married to a saint – she’d have to be to put up with me all these years (we got married at 18). Raised five kids, all through college and three through grad school. Now we’re poor.     

HTI: What is the best advice you have received and who was it from?

PF: Keep going until somebody says stop. From my wife. She’s not a quitter.

HTI: Is there a common thread that runs through all great products?  

PF: The work I do is strategically on point. Creativity is often a subjective opinion.

HTI: Do you prefer the country or the city?

PF: I’m a suburban kind of guy.

HTI: What recent project or transaction are you most proud of?

PF: You know, I’m really proud of the work I do for a trade show, Domotex USA. It doesn’t rely on my usual skillset, but I like the fact that I have a hand in bringing some very smart and talented people together to make other people smarter.

HTI: In what ways has your company or your industry changed over the years?

PF: It’s gotten more competitive and complex.      

HTI: The one thing I’ve had forever is:

PF: My scalp. My hair left a long time ago.

HTI: What do you miss the most?

PF: My hair.

HTI: What is your favorite object that reflects extraordinary design and why? 

PF: I have a piece of channel iron that I accidentally bent into the most fluid shape when I worked in college on a scrap yard. I retrieved it and have hung onto it. I love it because it’s extraordinarily simple, elegant, and even looks like a human form. It reminds me of the summer I labored in oppressive heat and that sometimes something beautiful can emerge by accident.