Tim Hally was 16 when he found his mother having a brainstem stroke in the Shrewsbury High School parking lot after one of his lacrosse games in April 2013. Doctors gave her three days. She survived, locked in and unable to move, and Tim visited her every day for the two and a half years she spent in an assisted living facility before the family brought her home in 2015. He says everything he's built since started in that moment.
Tim and his co-founder Justin started Munq, a Worcester creative agency, on December 21, 2020, the winter solstice. In this episode of The PR Bunker Podcast, Tim talks about the second chance that set him on this path and why he treats storytelling as sacred work.
A few takeaways from the conversation:
Tim was kicked off a Division II lacrosse team after a traffic stop turned up his roommates' marijuana in his car. He calls it rock bottom because it came from his own choices. His coach pointed him to Jeff Cohen at Clark University, who gave him a second chance. His very first class at Clark was Entrepreneurship 115, and he caught the bug, started landscaping businesses, earned his MBA and now teaches entrepreneurship at Clark as an adjunct professor.
Munq is named after monks of many faiths, who take a different path to know themselves and then share what they learn in service to others. Tim says people make decisions emotionally and justify them with logic, so storytelling is the bridge. A good story needs stakes and tension, and he points to Lord of the Rings. If Frodo had just flown an eagle to Mount Doom, there'd be no trilogy. Munq's work for Family Health Center of Worcester, recruiting entry-level staff at a community health center serving vulnerable people, is the kind of story he wants told with dignity.
Tim's biggest lesson is that a business only grows as far as its owner does, so if you don't work on your mindset, discipline and consistency, it'll show up in your business. He says it happens quicker than you think and takes way longer than you think, and if you're only in it for the money you'll quit the first time the money doesn't show up.
Munq started in video production and now does brand strategy, design, websites and campaign work for nonprofits, healthcare and education clients, with growing work in manufacturing and professional services. Next up are monthly retainers and in-person workshops. Search for Munq online and connect with Tim on LinkedIn.
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What is Munq?
Munq is a Worcester, Massachusetts creative agency co-founded by Tim Hally and Justin in December 2020. It offers brand strategy, video production, design and website work, with a long history serving nonprofits, healthcare and education.
Where does the name Munq come from?
The name is inspired by monks of many faiths, who take an alternative path to understand themselves and then share what they learn in service to others. Tim Hally wanted a brand with a story, not just another agency.
What makes a good story, according to Tim Hally?
Stakes, adversity and tension. Tim says every good story follows a journey with setbacks and growth, because that's what people recognize from their own lives.
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