There are so many factors that can play a role in determining our results, performance and ultimately our success, but some factors matter more than others. We asked folks what they felt was the most important factor driving their success.

Alicia & Shawn Rizzo | Owners

The most important factor behind our success is our culture. It is the foundation of everything we do. When we were birthing Kraken Motorsports we wanted to create a place that was different, a place where everyone was welcome regardless of status or knowledge level. The foundation to achieve that had to be the culture. We had to hire people that foundationally have the same values at their core that Shawn and I do. People who not only love performance, but care about the car and the person driving it. People who have pride in their work, strive to provide the highest quality possible and are honest (sometimes to a fault) all while treating Kraken as a home, not just a job. Our brand is our culture, it’s the paintings on the walls, the laughter, the crazy Australian Shepard that greets people at the door, the kick butt cars we build, the base for the level of quality work we do, the standards we live by on a daily basis and it all starts with the people that are this team. Read more>>

Pedro Lavin | Artist and Filmmaker

At the beginning of 2020, I left a full time creative director position at a world renowned animation studio. For a couple of years, my artistic life had been unbalanced. Commercial work provided a decent wage but required me to sacrifice artistic integrity and to quiet my voice in favor of client demands. Moving towards independence was primarily a way for me to balance the equation, and reclaim my time and ownership of my work. I now find myself at a place in life where I have the time and resources to create. Unexpectedly, this has turned out to be a double edged sword. At times, it’s been a source of elation and pride; but it’s also created anxiety, led to me to set lofty expectations for myself, and to endlessly question where I am in my career. Ultimately, I see these two seemingly warring sentiments as complimentary. One represents gratitude, and proud recognition of where I am; and the other is an engine, constantly propelling me forward, never stopping at satisfaction for too long. My perception of my own success changes every day. Read more>>

Lindsey Ganter | Special Effects Makeup Artist

Two words: Vulnerability and Authenticity. In a culture where behaving as something we are not in order to be accepted by others (who, in parallel, are also behaving as something they are not) is widely pressured upon us, embracing both vulnerability and authenticity is often scorned. And due to the fear of what others think, authenticity is rare to see and public vulnerability might as well be a death sentence. My right leg was caught in this cultural bear trap and I needed to gnaw my way out. I realized I was trying ridiculously hard to be who I thought my following/friends/family/clients/the world expected of me. I was exhausted and found myself in a professional identity crisis. Business was decent and continuing to grow, but something was missing and I was hitting proverbial walls. The bear trap tightened its bite. “What is wrong? I’m doing everything I am supposed to be doing,” I’d cry out. It all felt incongruent. Un-centered. Gross. Then that day hit where introspection was sobering: it wasn’t about what I was DOING, because God knows I was doing all the things. It was about who I was BEING. Read more>>