Rob with his kiddo’s pet rat, November
Rob Curran is the kind of person who has never met a stranger. If you’re fortunate enough to be in the Stoke coworking space at the same time that he is, you’re going to have a good day. You might even walk over to La Estrella and get some amazing tacos and chat over lunch. That’s the kind of vibe we super appreciate here at Stoke, so when Rob is away for the summer, we all shed a collective tear and can’t wait for him to return in the fall to regale us with tales of his adventures, make us all laugh until we cry, and perhaps sing us a little ditty.
Learn more about what Rob does (he writes!) and about him in his own words.
What industry/industries are you in?
I’m a proud member of the much-maligned media. I work part-time for the financial publication Dow Jones Newswires and contribute freelance articles on a range of subjects to publications like The Dallas Morning News.
If you could choose an all-encompassing, creative job title, what would it be? (+ actual job title please)
Writer-at-large...journalist
Tell us about what you do and what a typical workday looks like for you.
Wake up, wake daughters Gracie and Lydia, drink a lot of coffee. Ride or drive to Stoke. Banter with other Stokers. Work on freelance or passion project writing. 12 pm eat Estrella tacos al pastor. After lunch, start on daily market newsletters for Dow Jones. 4 pm go home and start on dinner. 6.30 pm slump on couch and watch Bob’s Burgers with Gracie, Lydia and Sara. Drink beer. Read. Repeat.
“Little adventurers” - Photo provided by Rob
What did it take to begin your career and how do you feel about where you are now looking back?
I have aspired to write for a living since I was 12 years old. I studied literature as an undergraduate, and one of my professors told me I wrote like a tabloid journalist. I wrote for my local paper after graduating college. Paid by the word, I knocked out epic two-pagers on meetings of local historical societies and junior sports. My breakthrough came when I arrived in Texas in 2000, where I landed a regular gig as a theatre critic for the Austin Chronicle. As the junior critic, I attended a lot of small, experimental productions whose writers also seemed to be paid by the word. But it was nice to see a paycheck for the produce of my mind rather than physical labor. And it was thrilling to hear from readers with whom a piece connected, a thrill I still feel when it happens today. I don’t see my career as a straight line, but I definitely still have plenty of highs and lows and the money is a little better than it was when I started at the Liffey Champion.
What was your path into your business/doing the work that you do?
I have tried to stay close to my dearest dreams. I still do a lot of work just for the money. But, once in a while, I almost feel bad getting paid to have so much fun.
What are your thoughts on the coworking environment at Stoke and what it’s like to be a member here?
I love Stoke. I chose a very lonely profession, which is a bad match for my personality. I grew up in a large and very sociable family, in a small and extremely sociable country (Ireland). I started my career as a journalist in a very large open-plan office in New Jersey, surrounded by smart and funny journalists. When I moved back to Texas, my work life was reduced to a phone and a laptop. Stoke restored the collegial feeling. I was once more surrounded by smart and funny people (without any of the political intrigue that comes with traditional offices). Stoke has allowed me to have fun at work again. I am also touched by how my Stoke friends go out of their way to show interest in and directly support my endeavors.
What are your “measures of success”?
Hope to publish a novel one day.
What has been your biggest business/work challenge or most difficult project to see to completion?
TThe nonfiction book I’m working on with an anthropologist friend. During the last half decade, Andrew Nelson and I took three trips to border regions in South and Central America. We interviewed migrants who were in situations of extreme duress. We documented their incredible journeys, which often involved crossing more than a dozen borders, traversing rough seas, treacherous jungles and mountain passes of extreme altitude, sometimes with their young children on board. The book, “Journey without End: Migration from the Global South through the Americas” will be published in November by Vanderbilt University Press. You can get a discounted copy by following the link below and using the code 15PRE.
On the other hand, what has been a memorable, enjoyable part of what you do?
Eating street-food in far-flung places
Do you have a favorite app that you use lately?
Shopping List app
What do you think are essential traits that an entrepreneur should have or work to develop?
Accounting, flexibility, the courage to throw it all out and start again.
Do you have any advice or insight that you would offer to someone starting out on their own entrepreneurial endeavor?
Set realistic goals, then chase them down.
What are you looking forward to in the future for yourself or your career?
Publishing books.
Favorite coffee/restaurant/bar in Denton? What do you get?
Keicchi’s -- Salmon tail sushi and ribs.
Is there anything else that you would like for us/readers to know about yourself?
I practice karaoke at home.
Find out more about Rob online: