The Jungle Gym

Real lessons for future entrepreneurs

WILL CHRISTOFERSON | SIBCO CREATIVE | ACU '09
FEBRUARY 23, 2026

"Raise your hand if you've ever sat in a room like this and thought..."

Yeah, but that won't apply to me.

Good. I did too.

Everyone talks about the career ladder.

THE LADDER

Linear
Predictable
One path up

THE JUNGLE GYM

Non-linear Unpredictable Multiple paths Sideways Backwards Leap Climb Pivot

The thing that defines you probably hasn't happened yet.

My path wasn't my plan.

2009

ACU grad with acting aspirations

2011

The dream was real

2010s

Paying My Dues

2018

EVP at a bank (looked great on paper)

2021

Saw a gap. Banks were overpaying for marketing I could do better.

2022

Bet that if one bank had this problem, others would too. Started Sibco.

Now

Strategy, marketing, systems. Family.

Your turn.

💬

What do you want to build?

❓

What's stopping you?

💡

What do older people keep getting wrong?

(Be honest. I can take it.)

Lesson 1

You don't need permission to start.

What I thought at 19:

"I need a degree, a mentor, funding, experience, the right connections..."

What I know now:

The best time to take a swing is when you have no mortgage, no kids, and nothing to lose. That's now.

Nobody is coming to save you. No boss, no mentor, no investor. You have to move first.

Lesson 2

Ship before you're ready.

Ideas are worthless. Execution is everything.

The person who ships beats the person who plans.

You will be bad at the thing before you're good at the thing. Most people quit during the bad part.

AI changes the tools, not the game. The game is still: find a problem, solve it, get paid.

Lesson 3

Sustainability beats intensity.

I burned out chasing someone else's scoreboard.

The market doesn't care how hard you worked. It only cares if you solved a real problem.

The people who win are the ones still standing in year five.

Your reputation is built one kept promise at a time. It takes years to build and one moment to destroy.

Wisdom from the field.

What founders and CEOs wish they'd known.

"Be prepared for how hard this will be. And when you do it, there will be times when the whole world is against you. And in some ways it is. You are doing the hardest thing there is - building something new by sheer force of will. And you will be alone - just your guts and your wits. And on those days that feel like god himself is against you, you must rejoice. Because now you will win."

Michael McNamara

Co-Founder and CEO @ Lancium

"Don't be close minded on your possibilities. I originally told myself I never wanted to own my own law firm and would simply work for someone the rest of my life. I have now been a solo practitioner for the past 8+ years and do not plan to go back."

Spencer Chaffin

Founder and Partner @ BC Counselors at Law

"People (most of them, anyway) want to see you succeed, so 1- don't be afraid to ask for help and 2- get comfortable asking folks for business/referrals. And then pay it forward!"

Vianei Braun

Shareholder and Partner @ Decker Jones P.C.

"People (most of them, anyway) want to see you succeed, so 1- don't be afraid to ask for help and 2- get comfortable asking folks for business/referrals. And then pay it forward!"

Dan Pope

Co-Founder and Chairman @ Victory Bank

What nobody tells you:

Building something is lonely, slow, and often boring.

The highlight reel is a lie.

The people who make it are the ones who just keep showing up.

Open the book.

The 30-Day Challenge

You have more tools than any generation in history. AI can write, design, build, research. The only thing it can't do is start.

Ship something in the next 30 days. A landing page. A podcast episode. A newsletter. A product. An idea with your name on it.

Send it to me: will@sibcocreative.com

I'll respond to every single one.

One question to sit with:

What's the one thing you're avoiding that you know you need to do?

(Don't answer out loud. Just sit with it.)