Dan Fink was destined to end up in a creative field, though he came to it in a roundabout way. The classically trained singer grew up in New Jersey before attending Stanford University, where he studied biology and joined the Chamber Chorale, touring in venues across the globe—and scratching the creative itch he’d had since he was young. “I just always imagined in some way that I would have a creative life. I didn’t know exactly what form that would take, but I knew from the time I was a kid that the arts were going to be in my future,” he tells host Dennis Scully on the latest episode of The Business of Home Podcast.
After graduating, Fink worked as an executive assistant in the tech industry, eventually taking on a design project for his boss before pivoting to the industry full-time with the launch of his eponymous firm in 2010. His business has since grown to a team of 15 employees who take on architecture and interiors projects across the country. A rising star in the industry, Fink applied the same appreciation for detail and refinement he’d learned as a classical singer to his design work—a method that recently landed him a spot on the AD100.
Despite an early career surrounded by tech entrepreneurs, Fink takes a nuanced approach toward technology and tends to avoid social media. While his firm utilizes software for the day-to-day tasks needed to run a design business, you won’t find many behind-the-scenes videos of Fink at the job site. “Time is a zero-sum game. If you’re spending it doing one thing, you’re not spending it doing something else,” he says. “I’ve always felt like my time is best spent focusing on my clients, my team, becoming a better designer—through practice and through focus, by observing the world around me, and by being present in the world around me.”
Elsewhere in the episode, Fink discusses the qualities he looks for in employees, the lessons he learned from working in tech, and how he leads every new project with transparency.
Crucial insight: From his years in the tech world, Fink took with him the sense of care and responsibility required to manage clients—one of the most important aspects of running a design business. “I have always viewed it as a client services business. It was really important to me not only that the design would be great, but that the experience of getting to the final result was one that everybody felt really good about, especially the clients. I was putting a lot of attention into how we would present materials, handle our billing, handle our proposals, and then, ultimately, deliver on an installation that was in line with the budget and schedule that we had established from the beginning,” he says. “Following through on those expectations proved to not only make it a much more gratifying experience for everyone, but it was smart business, because [the clients] had a good experience. And the next thing I knew, they were referring me to friends who not only would see the work and say, ‘Oh, this looks great,’ but then the client would say, ‘It was really well-run.’”
Key quote: “Design work is serious work, and sometimes [designers] don’t treat it with the level of respect that I think it really deserves. You’re dealing with a lot of money for people. It’s a big spend. And so there is a real responsibility,” says Fink. “We have to manage it with the right level of care and seriousness. And I think that is in my personality. I do take things seriously because I want to do a great job, and I think that is a virtue that has been really helpful in my life and in my work.”
This episode is sponsored by Loloi and John Rosselli & Associates. Listen to the show below. If you like what you hear, subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
The Thursday Show
Host Dennis Scully and BOH executive editor Fred Nicolaus discuss the biggest news in the design world, including a surprising AI study, why Zillow is walking back a climate-risk feature, and what happens when decor scares away home buyers. Later, columnist Warren Shoulberg joins the show to talk about the state of home retail.
This episode is sponsored by Joon Loloi and Programa. Listen to the show below. If you like what you hear, subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
