Luke McCool

There’s a unique trait that some of us possess that gives us the ability to think outside the box and innovate on a completely different level. These people can build, curate, and take to market ideas that can transform into something even greater than themselves. Our next guest has done just that and is continuing to innovate in ways that help bring people closer together.

Please welcome, Luke.

Luke and I snagged time recently and dove in on what makes Luke, Luke.

“I was born in Mississippi, essentially grew up there – but realized early on there wasn’t enough opportunity there for the things I wanted to accomplish. With that in mind, I moved to Destin, Florida, and then Miami – and then Austin.” Luke Explains. “Initially, I moved to Florida to find purpose & opportunity but again, it wasn’t at the level I desired. I did, however, learn a lot about myself regarding my personal strengths & weaknesses and built the foundation for what would later help me find success personally.”

Like many of us – we end up choosing cities we live in based upon what it offers us – both creatively but also from a community lens.

“I landed in Austin in 2020 – and it was clear that there’s a lot more collaboration and driven mindsets in this city. Everyone here is working together for a common goal and have growth mindsets, I would say it’s tenfold more than anywhere else I’ve lived.” Luke details.

But, why Austin specifically?

“I was traveling to Austin a lot for work – I owned an Internet Marketing company for many years and had clients in this area, I really just started to fall in love with the city and people. When the pandemic hit, I sold my company. Austin just looked like the perfect city where I could truly find happiness. 

Speaking of work, I asked what Luke was currently working on – and let me tell you, he did not disappoint.

“Now I’m mainly focused on my eCommerce brands and videography, I guess you could say I’m sort of a jack of all trades but these two are my biggest passions and focus areas.” Luke explains.

We dive into both.

“On the video side, I must say I really love seeing the world – and wherever I visit, I’m always taking my drone out and creating videos and filming the places I’m in. Eventually some people started to see the content I was creating and asked if I would film videos or events for them – I just sort of ran with it from there.”

Often, something we enjoy doing – turns into not just a passion, but a business. This is where the creative juices flow best. Speaking of creative juices – we pivot the conversation into his date night brand.

“In addition to videography, I’ve also built a few eCommerce brands but I’m most passionate about our most recent product” As Luke is explaining, I start to lean forward in my chair – he follows suite. “It’s called Date Night Box, and inside the box are a collection of scratch off cards that provide detailed and fun date night experiences for couples. There are icons on each card that provide helpful hints into what the date entails without giving too much away. You and your partner scratch off the card and follow the instructions.” Luke leans back and smiles. “We spent a lot of time creating unique experiences for couples to enjoy that were outside of the normal dinner & a movie. We are also focusing on multiple new product lines under the brand which is really exciting.”

This curated collection of unique dating ideas can be purchased on Amazon.

What an exceptional way to bring continued excitement, romance, and adventure to a relationship –Luke’s vision and ideas are clear, laser focused and inspiring. 

We close, in typical fashion. Advice.

“Try everything, man. You don’t really know what you’re passionate about until you try everything. – But when trying everything, be sure you fail forward – Listen, I’ve owned 10 businesses & failed at 8 of them. It’s easy to get discouraged but It’s important to use those inevitable failures as a learning experience to move forward into what you’re truly passionate about which will in turn be your biggest success.”

As we end our chat, the metaphor that comes to mind is that finding what you’re passionate about, or what business you’re interested in is no different than dating. Sure, you must go on a lot of dates, meet different people, understand who you are, who they are – and ultimately see what you like and what sparks a fire inside of you. Luke’s case is no different – he dipped his toes in the water of various businesses till he really found what he was good at, what he was passionate about – and failed forward the entire time.

Who knows, you could be just one scratch date card away from your last first date – and that’s a risk worth taking.