Today we’d like to introduce you to Zach Horvath
Hi Zach, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
LIVE A GREAT STORY was inspired by off-the-beaten-path adventures, embracing life’s unknowns and connecting people through stories.
At 22, I bought a one-way ticket to Europe, setting off on an open-ended backpacking trip with no itinerary, only a carry-on backpack and the goal of collecting as many experiences as possible. The trip took too me to 17 countries as I couch-surfed and hitch-hiked across Europe taking photos, journaling and saying yes to all the adventures. Embracing my creative storytelling passion I was always taking photos and writing stories. One day I scribbled the phrase LIVE A GREAT STORY into a journal. This phrase was inspired by my conversations with people from around the world as I realized that even though we might seem different from different countries with different backgrounds, in the end we’re all humans living our own experiences and it’s up to each of us to write our story.
Seven months later I returned to Austin, TX and one night grabbed a can of red spray paint to write the words LIVE A GREAT STORY on a pillar above Lady Bird Lake under Mopac.
Soon people started sharing photos of the mural on Instagram and the message started spreading through social media.
Leaning into my entrepreneurial spirit, I made LIVE A GREAT STORY stickers and shirts and started selling them online. To keep inspiring people with the LIVE A GREAT STORY message, I installed street art murals in cities across the country (shh don’t tell the police).
Slowly the message started to spread as more and more people embraced the LIVE A GREAT STORY message in their own lives through traveling to bucket list destinations, embarking on a new life path or overcoming personal challenges.
From a business perspective, I’ve tried building LIVE A GREAT STORY through almost all routes in the digital business space. From the LIVE A GREAT STORY Conference to hosting international trips to all variations of online community building, I’ve basically tried it all but through lots of triand and error I eventually realized that people just love wearing apparel with the LIVE A GREAT STORY message to inspire themselves and others.
LIVE A GREAT STORY has now grown into a travel apparel brand that equips the modern adventurer on their hero’s journey, selling apparel and accessories designed for thrilling adventures, challenging side quests, and stories worth telling around a campfire.
True to its roots of storytelling with strangers, over the last 10 years LIVE A GREAT STORY has hosted dozens of events across the country to connect people through stories.
For LIVE A GREAT STORY’s 10th birthday we are undergoing a big brand update to launch a new product collection, fresh website and a giveback non-profit partner in Explore Austin to empower economically disadvantaged youth to reach their full potential through mentoring, leadership and outdoor adventure.
Keep a lookout for LIVE A GREAT STORY’s 10th Birthday happening in September!
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
The LIVE A GREAT STORY story has been anything but smooth. The entrepreneurial journey is filled with ups and downs, overcoming fear and failures but picking yourself up to keep going.
All of this started with spray paint on a wall: how do I turn that into a business? LIVE A GREAT STORY started in the beginning years of e-commerce and social media so there was no road map, no precedent or people to copy. I just had to figure it out, which meant lots of mistakes.
The failures have been plenty: messing up my first big order of 500 shirts. Launching a failed Kickstarter campaign. Not forecasting and managing finances well enough that led to big red numbers at the end of the year. Hiring the wrong people. Mismanaging production and being left with incorrect or overstocked products. Learning the best fulfillment strategy after trying all the wrong ways.
Business, like life, requires lots of trial and error, failing, picking yourself up and moving forward. This process repeats forever and it’s all part of the ride.
Hopefully, we minimize the downside and capitalize on the upside enough to balance out so we can pick ourselves up to keep moving forward.
Even now with our 10 year anniversary there are huge moves happening, which are scary but invigorating. I’ve heard that physiologically the body can’t tell the difference between fear and excitement so it’s up to us to choose how we respond to these feelings.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
LIVE A GREAT STORY is a travel apparel brand that equips the modern adventurer on their hero’s journey. We sell clothes and accessories that inspire people to be the hero of their story… and the stories people send us are amazing.
Almost daily we receive inspiring community stories about perseverance, overcoming daunting challenges and people choosing to face life head on to live on their own terms.
One of the coolest parts about LIVE A GREAT STORY is how the message connects like-minded people out in the world. Wear a LIVE A GREAT STORY shirt, put a sticker on your water bottle or hang a luggage tag from your carry-on and it’s almost guaranteed that someone will comment on it, creating an opportunity to share life stories.
To date over 3 million + LIVE A GREAT STORY stickers have spread to all corners of the globe so keep a lookout for some on your next trip!
Since the original spraypaint in Austin back in 2014, the LIVE A GREAT STORY mural has remained a landmark in the Austin street art scene so make sure to snap a picture of it next time you cross the bridge under Mopac.
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
No risk, no story.
Risk is inherent to growth. If we want something new, we have to try new things. It’s scary but learning to embrace risk leads to new possibilities.
Building risk tolerance is a muscle so start with taking little risks. When you succeed, you develop more confidence in yourself for the next risky endeavor. The more risks you take, the more that work out, the bigger risks you’ll feel comfortable taking next time.
Sometimes risks don’t pay off and that’s just part of the story. Pick yourself up, analyze what went wrong and then try again… and again and again and again and again and again forever because the game doesn’t end until the very end.
The surf instructors in Indonesia have a great saying: “Never try, never know”.
You have to take a risk and try something new or you’ll never know what could have happened. Better to try and fail then to have never tried.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://liveagreatstory.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/liveagreatstory
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/liveagreatstory
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@liveagreatstory
