You’re probably here because you’re curious about how my Jay-Z-inspired activation concept turned into a business lesson I’ll never forget.

In 2017, I pitched an idea for an interactive art gallery celebrating Jay-Z's lyrics to a contact at Genius.

As the popular lyrics website sought to expand into experiential marketing, my concept was designed to honor my favorite rapper and his induction as the first rapper into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

A few months later, Genius announced an event that looked exactly like what I had pitched—right down to the lyric inspired art gallery concept.

Coincidence? Maybe.

But it was a learning moment, and it was my fault for sharing the deck before securing a meeting.

Here’s what I learned so you don’t have to make the same mistake:

🤝 Secure the engagement
đź“„ Use an NDA or IP clause
🧰 Use tools like PandaDoc that’ll track opens

Anyways, drop your email below and I'll send you the original concept deck: