We recently had the chance to connect with Ethan Orenstein and have shared our conversation below.
Ethan, really appreciate you sharing your stories and insights with us. The world would have so much more understanding and empathy if we all were a bit more open about our stories and how they have helped shaped our journey and worldview. Let’s jump in with a fun one: What is a normal day like for you right now?
This summer has been a little crazy. Between a handful of weddings, my son’s second birthday, listing our house for sale, and juggling changing business situations – time and stress and priorities are constantly shifting. A typical day at the moment may look like getting my ready for his toddler program, dropping him off, turning around to come back home to get the place ready for showings, hopefully grab a bite to eat, try to open up the computer to get some work done, pick son up from school and down for a nap, take a moment to breathe or get something done, dinner/family time, rinse and repeat. I’m pretty tired.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’m Ethan Orenstein. I’m the owner of Wave Arcade, which is probably best known for its surf spot posters inspired by the vintage National Parks serigraphs commissioned as part of the WPA in the 30s-40s.
Behind the scenes, Wave Arcade also helps other small businesses build their websites, strategize their digital marketing, and improve revenue.
The whole thing started as a creative outlet for me when I was temporarily living in Salt Lake City, UT. I used the basement to turn old wetsuits into koozies, design surfboard fins, and screen print t-shirts. Upon moving back to San Diego in 2018, the project shifted into handmade surfboard fins and the digital consulting arm.
Wave Arcade has taken a number of different twists over the years and continues to evolve.
The latest change is the beginning of the Wave Arcade Insurance Agency, which will live at www.policysurfer.com.
How does a surf fin business turn into an insurance agency? That’s a good question.
As part of my small business consulting and some jobs I’ve had in the past, I’ve been involved with a number of insurance-related projects. After doing some research into an insurance project of my own, setting up an agency emerged as the next logical step.
So, whether you need some coastal-inspired surf art or a partner to help you find the right personal or commercial insurance policy, Wave Arcade is your one-stop-shop.
Okay, so here’s a deep one: Who were you before the world told you who you had to be?
I’ve always been curious about everything and love to learn and explore. It has been pretty cool to see those same qualities in my son over the past two years as well.
I think most of us probably are like that when we’re young. Then we go to school, get a degree, get a job, and the day-to-day of all that often gets in the way of our curiosity and imagination.
It certainly did for me. I’ve never known exactly what I wanted to do as I got older (still don’t), and sort of stumbled into a journalism degree and then an job as a content writer and then a digital marketer with an MBA.
While I don’t regret any of that nor that path I took to get where I am, I certainly lost focus of the importance of curiosity and imagination somewhere along the way.
Starting Wave Arcade was a result of me noticing all that and getting back to it.
What’s something you changed your mind about after failing hard?
Ever since I was a kid I’ve always been coming up with different business ideas or inventions. Back then and up until starting Wave Arcade, I think I had the assumption or desire that I needed everything planned out and variables know before going all in on something I was interested in.
I’m not sure what it was exactly, but when I quit my job to start Wave Arcade, I forced myself to abandon that requirement.
I learned pretty quickly that starting your own business and figuring out your own path is failure or missteps a lot of the time.
However, failing doesn’t been you have to stop. It just means you’ve got to take what you’ve learned adapt. Even the failure itself is not a negative thing – all the skills and experiences it took to get there are still useful and will continue to compound.
And honestly, the fear of failure and the fear of the unknown are always worse than the actually experience. As long as you don’t allow yourself to dwell in that fearful space, you’ll keep on moving forward.
So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. Where are smart people getting it totally wrong today?
I think all of us can do a better job at accepting that it’s okay to be wrong, change our minds with new evidence, realize that it’s okay to not have the answers, and recognize that rarely are things ever black and white or 0% or 100%.
Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. Are you tap dancing to work? Have you been that level of excited at any point in your career? If so, please tell us about those days.
Wave Arcade is deeply back into unknown waters again.
Art sales are slightly down compared to the last few years, and I’m entering net new territory that will require new skills and new challenges I haven’t encountered yet.
But, I’ve learned to enjoy being in that space.
As strange as it sounds – getting the insurance license and getting this new side of the business up and running as been new and exciting for me.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.policysurfer.com/ & https://wavearcade.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wave_arcade/
- Other: https://www.etsy.com/shop/WaveArcadeArt
