MEET ERIC SHAFT

Meet our fictional Chief Excuse Officer: a visionary who saw the gap between ambition and achievement and immediately asked whether it could be invoiced.

A distinguished graduate of the University of Trust Me, Bro, Eric holds a Bachelor of Vague Assurances and a minor in Moving the Goalposts. His senior thesis, “Let’s Take This Offline,” remains unavailable for comment.

Eric’s career began with a groundbreaking discovery: wearing a lanyard near an important person is almost the same as knowing them. He has since built an extensive network of conference badges, expired guest passes, and people who vaguely recognize his jacket.

His experience spans sports, music, film, television, and the delicate art of saying “we’re very close” without specifying to what. He once turned a missed deadline into a phased rollout and has been chasing that high ever since.

As founder of SHAFT2WIN, Eric oversees every aspect of the business: initial enthusiasm, elaborate proposals, increasingly abstract progress reports, and the deeply personal task of forwarding invoices marked “gentle reminder.”

Outside the office, Eric enjoys golf-adjacent networking, inspirational captions, and describing a restaurant reservation as a strategic partnership. His greatest sporting achievement remains getting the client to pick up the check.

A NOTE FROM THE FOUNDER

YOUR DREAM. OUR REVENUE STREAM.

“People ask me, Eric, how do you build a successful agency? I always say the same thing: first, define success. Then make sure you’re the only person allowed to redefine it.

I founded SHAFT2WIN after noticing something troubling about the marketplace. Clients had money. I had a blazer. Bringing those two resources together felt less like a business decision and more like a calling.

Our philosophy is simple: relationships matter. Especially the relationship between a signed agreement and a non-refundable deposit. Everything else is an opportunity for further discussion.

I wear many hats here: founder, managing director, strategist, agent, adviser, visionary, thought leader. This is why one meeting can appear seven times on your invoice.

We listen to our clients. When you say you want results, we hear that you value outcomes. When you ask where the outcomes are, we hear an opportunity to schedule a listening session.

Some agencies measure success in conversions. We measure it in conversations about conversions. It’s a more sustainable model, particularly when there aren’t any conversions.

Transparency is one of our core values. You can see right through most of our explanations. Accountability is another. There is always somebody else we can account for.

To our valued clients: thank you for believing in the vision, trusting the process, and occasionally checking your spam folder for what we insist we already sent. Your patience is our most renewable resource.

Together, we can achieve something extraordinary. Exactly what, and by when, will be covered in a separate statement of work.”

— Eric Shaft, Chief Excuse Officer Fictional executive. Real commitment to the bit.