Welcome to the new M O X I E
What’s Moxalicious?
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about “voice”. While our voice can simply be that which comes from our larynx, we know it’s generally thought of something much more symbolic. Our voice is our attitude, expression of our beliefs and that intangible part that makes us all unique. It comes in many different forms; a recording, writing, a painting or photo, or how one might design lighting in a space. When I founded Moxie, it’s voice was small, compact and fit into a 4’ x 8’ room . The business had one voice…mine. It was summer of 2017 when it first whispered its existence and now close to three years later I’ve gone from me to we, and from whispering to what feels like a small chorus singing in the shower our new existence “Moxalicious”
There is no I in team
Richard Fleig came first. A veteran to the lighting industry, Rich is the opposite in many ways of someone you would expect with his tenure. Always open to improving and trying new things, willing to take a chance with a startup, willing to wear a multitude of hats, all while working from his home in Victor, NY. It had been over a decade since Rich had even been to NYC when he joined up with me and now it feels like he is more a New Yorker living remotely than an Upstate guy. He comes down to the city every 4 to 6 weeks to meet with customers and spend time with the rest of the Moxie family, a family that wouldn’t be here without him or all his hard work over the last two and half years. I’m constantly surprised by his passion to want the best for his projects, customers and teammates. He truly is one of the most selfless people I have met.
After Rich can Sebastian. Working part time to start and only 19 years old, Sebastian had moved to NYC from Florida, doing what so many have done before him, looking for a new start, a new community, a place where his voice would be accepted. As is life, Sebastian left at the beginning of 2019 to go back to Florida for a bit, but we’re so lucky to have him back in the city again, working with our family.
Then Kevin made the leap. Kevin and I had worked together at Zumtobel, becoming friends and finding that we had very different voices often, but that they could balance each other well and learn from each other. When Kevin made the leap, Moxie entered a new chapter. We moved from 4’ by 8’ to 10,000 square feet and what is our main home now. The space was empty, a blank canvas. I tend to be a Jackson Pollock, I see blank and I want to throw paint everywhere. Kevin has a little more structure to his voice and without him I know our current home would not be what it is. From 2 am mornings drilling holes in the ceiling, to helping build out the structure of our specification team in NYC to now tackling work in the Hudson Valley, Kevin has taken on many hats and it been awesome to see his own voice expand in the process. You’ll find a lot of that voice in our social media and marketing as well.
Justin, my older brother, came on in the beginning of 2019 shortly after Kevin to handle our expansion into the Upstate, NY market and it became evident quickly that we shared the same voice (seriously you can’t tell us apart on the phone!) and that ultimately our adventure should be a joint one and so we joined Moxie and Moxie Upstate under one formal umbrella with the idea that we would be much stronger unified as one than two separate groups just running side by side, although you’ll often find us running side by side through the woods!
After Justin? Celia. It’s always remarkable to see how resilient and independent people can be. Celia started right around when Justin did in what was very much a face paced environment. She learned quickly and often independently and now works for both upstate and downstate. She handles not just a lot of our internal administrative task, but also has been a huge asset in customer service, handling order entry, shipment tracking and even quotations.
Next up is “The Last Millenial” Elaine. With a background in mechatronics and experience on the manufacturing side, where she helped build 3D printers and develop product, Elaine’s ability to think on the fly and be creative is beyond impressive. Her power-point presentations might be too good, and her attention to detail never goes unnoticed. Working with Kevin and myself, we truly are a team now serving our designer and letting our creative flags fly.
Last but certainly not least (and probably not last for long) is JP. JP and I both got our starts in Syracuse NY working for competing reps. Here we are 10 years later and he is now on the Moxie team heading up outside sales for the Syracuse territory, but really doing much more than that. Like everyone at Moxie, he takes part working with the team across both territories and wearing many different hats. His energy is infectious, and he brings us up to two “cat” people now, making sure that Kevin is no longer on his own in choice of pet 😊.
And behind everything is David aka DAD. How do you express enough gratitude to someone who not only taught you much of what you know, but pushed you to learn, take risk, and always take the highroad (shout out to my mom here as well). He’s truly been there from the beginning and none of this happens without him.
I couldn’t be more proud of the “New Moxie” and even more so of what everyone on the team has done to grow our voice and make it better. It’s been humbling and rewarding to now just be a small part of that voice, and its exciting to see where everyone continue to take it.
Sincerely,
Matt “Matteo” Seconi
Chief Lumenologist and Founder
