Today we’d like to introduce you to Jake Donaldson.
Jake, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I was born and raised in Garland, Texas, earned a Bachelors of Environmental Design from Texas A&M University in College Station. And then moved to Houston in 2004 to pursue my Masters of Architecture at the University of Houston. During that time I worked for a small one-person industrial architecture firm called Architects Plus.
After growing the firm to 8-10 people and a failed ownership transition, I made the tough decision in 2008 to quit my job and start my own firm, Three Square Design Group. This turned out to be horrible timing. Although I was fortunate to have a few projects to get me started, my young firm quickly felt the effects of the Great Recession and I was forced to lay off my only employee.
However, these hard lessons helped shape my business for the better and ultimately made us more resilient. Within a year I was able to hire that same employee back, we quickly adapted to the new market conditions, and over the next 8 years, we grew the firm to 22 people with $3.6 million in annual revenue. In the meantime, the firm I left behind had changed hands; two of my college buddies had successfully bought out the previous owner.
In 2016 we made the decision to merge the firms together and rebrand as Method Architecture. The firm now has four partners, employs 50 people, does $6-8 million in annual revenue, and in 2017 acquired a small 6 person Austin-based firm with a 30-year history of doing K-12, civic, and public projects. We pride ourselves on being an ego-free design firm.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
One of the biggest challenges I’ve faced professionally was quitting my job in 2008, right before the Houston economy tanked during The Great Recession. I naively thought new business would be easy to get, as it had been at my last firm.
But I quickly learned that it takes a lot of time and energy to build new relationships, repeat clients aren’t a dime a dozen, and sometimes external environmental factors outweigh your best efforts. It was a tough time for me personally and financially, my wife and I really had to tighten our belts at home. At work, although I didn’t have very many projects, I had to work twice as hard to ensure that I distinguished my firm from the competition.
During normal times, but especially when projects are scarce, you have to give prospective clients a clear reason to use you over someone else. So focusing on being faster than everyone else, extra responsive, and giving my ego the boot were all parts of my work mantra. I hung in there and came out stronger because of it. Those core values I developed in a time of desperation to survive are what we still drill into our employees today and has enabled us to continue our strong pattern of growth.
Please tell us about Method Architecture.
Method Architecture is a uniquely ego-free architecture firm, committed to a systematic creative process that focuses on clients and their needs first and foremost. Operating with the flexibility of a small firm, but with a big reach, Method is a full-service architecture firm specializing in tenant finish and ground-up projects encompassing industrial, corporate interiors, healthcare, hospitality, breweries, retail and more. We have offices in Houston and Austin, but do work across 15 states,
We have a one of a kind company culture. No private offices, work hard play hard, unlimited vacation, and beer taps in the break room. We want our employees to enjoy showing up for work every day because we think that mentality shines through their work. Happy employees are healthier, work harder, and ultimately provide a higher quality product to our customers.
The firm is led by four dynamic partners and friends that each brings something unique to the table. We fight and argue with the best of them, but at the end of the day, it’s very rewarding to share our passion for growing the firm and making it successful.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
My favorite childhood memories revolve around camping. My family had a pop-up trailer and it was always fun to cram in together and spend time in the outdoors. I was also very active in cub scouts and boy scouts. Scouts taught me survival and leadership skills, it was a very formative experience for me.
Contact Info:
- Address: 2118 Lamar St., Suite 200 Houston, TX 77003
- Website: www.methodarchitecture.com
- Phone: 713-842-7500
- Email: jdonaldson@methodarchitecture.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/methodarchitecture/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/methodarchitecture/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/methodarchpllc
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/company/10632722/
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