Layoffs hit creatives differently.When your identity is tied to what you make…When your voice is your product…When your worth is constantly judged, critiqued, iterated, and reimagined…losing a job isn’t just losing income. It’s losing an anchor.In this episode of League of Laid Off Legends, we sit down with Tré, an Aussie designer / videographer / creator whose layoff didn’t break him — it unlocked him.Instead of spiraling, he used unemployment as a creative runway.Instead of chasing virality, he built a 10,000+ person community by being radically human.This episode is a roadmap for any creative trying to understand:“How do I handle a layoff when my art, my identity, and my income are all tangled together?”In this episode, creatives will learn:🎨 How to stay grounded when your creative identity gets shaken🛠️ Why layoffs can sharpen your artistic voice if you let them🧘 How to listen to your inner creative compass when external validation disappears⏳ Why Tré now "creates like he's running out of time" — and why you might need to tooWho this episode is for:Creatives navigating layoffsFilmmakers, videographers, artists, editorsContent creators trying to find their voiceAnyone who feels the fear of being “replaceable”Creative leaders trying to support impacted team membersTré’s story is a reminder that a layoff doesn’t diminish your talent. Rather, it helps you to rediscover it.If you’re a creative who’s been laid off, or fears you might be, this episode will challenge you, comfort you, and give you a path forward.

You got laid off. Or you’re watching AI and “re-orgs” quietly erase your role.

You can either pray for the next two-week paycheck…or you can start owning the thing that prints the paychecks.

In this episode of Laid Off Legends, I sit down with Greg Ugwi, a Princeton-trained mathematician, former Goldman Sachs quant, founder of a multi-million dollar data startup (Thinknum) with a successful exit, and now CEO of WeFranch, a platform helping people buy into iconic franchises the way PE firms do.

Greg went from growing up in Lagos watching his mom get laid off over and over…to valuing billion-dollar businesses on Wall Street…to realizing that the real unlock for generational wealth is owning a piece of an iconic brand... think Wingstop, McDonald’s, Chick-fil-A, youth education, coffee, spas, and more. And he’s now bringing that playbook to regular people, especially those coming out of corporate layoffs.

We dig into:

Why franchising creates more millionaires in the US than tech or finance

How PE firms evaluate franchises vs. how “regular” people do it — and how to close that gap

How to use data, FDDs, and SBA loans to de-risk your first franchise instead of YOLO’ing your life savings

The mindset shift from employee to owner: intelligent risk, agency, and living with “24/7 liability” without burning out

The biggest myths about “passive income” and franchising that keep corporate high performers stuck

If you’ve been laid off, are tired of playing corporate musical chairs, or just want to stop renting your talent and start building equity, this conversation is a masterclass. It’s not fluff. It’s the actual playbook Greg’s using to help operators step into ownership.

🔗 Connect with Greg & WeFranch

Learn more / book a consult: wefranch.com

Email Greg: gregory.ugwi@wefranch.com

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What do you do when your work ends up in a White House press briefing, your brand is at the center of a national boycott, and then you’re laid off in the first wave?In this episode of League of Laid Off Legends, Monk Inyang, co-founder & CEO of First Street Partnerships and President of the Montclair Board of Education, walks us through his journey from:Leading influencer & entertainment partnerships for Budweiser and Bud Light at Anheuser-BuschBeing laid off in the fallout of the Bud Light/Dylan Mulvaney controversyWrestling with identity, ambition, and “big brand” statusTo building an AI practice focused on practical, culturally relevant AI for Black and Brown communities and everyday workersIf you’ve been laid off from a big-name company, are watching AI reshape your industry, or feel like your career has drifted away from what really moves you, this conversation is a playbook, not a pity party.You’ll hear Monk talk about powerful themes: The day of the layoff, & how he realized he was “pushing a stone uphill” inside a system that wasn’t built for his kind of creativity, Why working with Black creatives (Issa Rae, Ryan Coogler and more) felt more powerful than any Super Bowl party, and How a single workshop with fashion designers flipped his path from “marketing consultant” to “AI for the culture”The mindset shift: forgiving yourself after a layoff, separating your worth from your title, and designing the life you actually wantHow to think about AI as your “highly competent intern” — and why reading about AI is useless unless you use itIf you’re a laid-off legend in the making, this is your reminder: The brand was never the magic. You were.Resources: Website: https://1ststreet.co/Monk's Books on Amazon: Nightmare Detective: The Skeleton King: https://a.co/d/9xoaYEGNightmare Detective: The Oracle's Blessing (Book II): https://a.co/d/h822bKs