Mission
Brand Fifty is a platform dedicated to helping people in their fifties and beyond realize their true entrepreneurial spirit. Our podcasts, videos and blogs are meant to inspire and spark meaningful new ideas…Real stories by real 50 plusers! Whether it’s a side hustle or a full time venture, remember it’s never too late.
Mid-life isn’t an age-it’s an experience!
Hello!
We’re Jack Uhalde and Robert Iriartborde. We’ve known each other since birth being cousins but happen to also be best friends. We both took the path of graduating with a BA in Broadcast Communications at San Francisco State University. Jack’s emphasis was video and Rob’s was audio. We reserved the fact that at some point in our lives we would put our expertise together to form some type of business.
After reaching our 50’s we wanted to show people they could turn their years in the workforce into their own business later on in life. Our media production skill set along with the reach of the internet created a platform we feel can help guide people into a different direction later on in life. Read the more detailed decade by decade timeline of our experiences which brought us to this point. We wish everyone the best of luck.
Robert Iriartborde
I was born in San Francisco CA. I distinctly remember being 14 years old listening to music and being transformed by not only what the music was saying to me but the sounds and how all of the instruments were mixed together to form a polished recording. I knew at that time I had to do something in sound and production. That spark got me interested in playing drums with various small bands throughout the area where my first experiments with recording were fostered. I later went the University of San Francisco and then graduated with a BA in Broadcast Communications from San Francisco State University in 1987.
Jack Uhalde
I was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area and attended San Francisco State University where I graduated with a degree in Broadcast Communications. At a very young age I loved cameras/lenses and sports, and it wasn’t until college that I realized that I could combine those passions into sports production as a profession. While in college, I received a paid internship with ESPN, where I began to learn the principals of shooting professional sports. This was the best learning experience I could ever have received. Not only was I getting amazing training while still in college, I was on the field or court shooting my favorite childhood sports teams which included SF Giants, 49ers and GS Warriors.
Robert’s Bio
The Decade of my 20’s
Upon graduating I immediately landed a job with Sound on Stage which has grown to be one the most reputable companies in the Bay Area providing sound services from the smallest to largest concert venues. It was a great initial step into my career. At the time they had a policy that you had to work for them for a full year in order to go on tour with the major acts of the time. Nine months into my employment I was offered a starting position at The Music Annex Recording Studios in Menlo Park. Even though I loved working for Sound on Stage and so close to going on major tours my love for the recording process swayed my decision to work at the studio. I remained a staff engineer there for fifteen years as I worked on various projects ranging from music, corporate, advertising, and post production audio for video.
The Decade of my 30’s
While still working at The Music Annex Recording Studios, clients called on me to work audio for live shows, field production and corporate events which prompted me to start my own sole proprietary business in 2000 now named Scenic Audio. During these exciting times I married and within a couple of years two incredible additions came into my life. First my son Gene and a little later my daughter Rene.
The Decade of my 40’s
In 2003 I transitioned to Menlo Park Presbyterian Church now called Menlo Church as the head audio engineer where I worked on a production team supervising the many audio and video venues. After fifteen years of recording experience it was a great change of pace to get back into live sound. This is where my previous experiences with Sound on Stage and Music Annex payed off and melded together as all of our live services and events were recorded and distributed. Once again it was another great opportunity over the next eleven years to work on a variety of productions from conferences, bands, and orchestral concerts.
The Decade of my 50’s
In 2014 I moved onto a company named Advanced Systems Group L.L.C. based out of Emeryville, CA. They build broadcast rooms and maintain service contracts with enterprise companies such as Google, and NetApp in Sunnyvale where I was part of a nine person production team. Our team was responsible for the corporate communications throughout the world wide offices where we streamed the live large company conferences and events. Even though audio is my expertise, I was able to go back to video productions as we worked in a green screen studio on campus shooting the VP presentations and other productions opened to the whole company. I would also do remote field productions and editing on Adobe’s CC platform using Premiere video editor, After Effects, and Photoshop.
The Decade of my 50’s-Part 2
After working three great, fulfilling and educational years at Advanced Systems Group L.L.C I decided to quit and pursue to go full time with my Scenic Audio business alongside launching Brand Fifty with Jack. My “why” in starting Brand Fifty with Jack is to show that’s it’s never too late to start your business. In my years I’ve seen too many people get laid off or fired. We want to show people that you can leverage your years in the workforce to start something on your own. Our goal is to offer an online resource to help guide people in their ventures. Since our expertise is in production we will use different forms of media ranging from podcasts to videos to educate and motivate. There are many great stories of people starting their business later on in life and we want to share those with the next wave of entrepreneurs and business owners.
Jack’s Bio
The Decade of my 20’s
Right out of college I landed a job working for GGP Sports, a sports production company based in Marin County. My first assignment was as a camera assistant covering World Cup ski racing from France, Italy, Germany and Austria. Not bad for a 23 year old right out of college! I still pinch myself when I think about the opportunity I got. I worked my way up the ladder pretty quickly and within 6 months was out shooting and editing my own stories. GGP took me around the World: I worked on Time Magazine documentary specials, John Madden Super Bowl Specials, and World Cup Ski Racing. My travels took me all through Europe, parts of Asia and South America and through most major cities across America. I did all of this before the age of 26! It was literally a dream come true and best job I could have ever received right out of college. While I loved the travel and adventure of Sports Production, the extensive travel and hectic schedule wouldn’t work in a new marriage (I got married at 25), so I ended up leaving GGP and took a job working in the news department for the NBC affiliate station in the San Francisco Bay Area. During the decade of my 20’s my wife Adriana and I had two children, Gina and Robert; Matthew would soon be joining the family! Having a family to support definitely raised the stakes!
The Decade of my 30’s
After almost 5 years covering news, and at age 30, I eventually got bumped up to the programming department where I became the Director of Photography for a very popular local show called Bay Area Backroads. At 31, Adriana and I also added baby # 3, Matthew to the fold. Backroads was a local travel/adventure show that, for 80% of the time, covered Northern California’s best places to visit. The other 20% took us to outdoor adventure destinations like Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Costa Rica and National Parks across America. My passion for environmental protectionism, adventure and great storytelling made this job a perfect fit.
Along the way and for over a decade, I also did a lot of Freelance work for NBC and other international media properties. I shot Olympic profile pieces on the world’s top Olympic athletes and was hired to work in the Special features unit for NBC during the 2002 Olympics where I was part of a team that was awarded a National Emmy. The Backroads team was like family to me but as I approached my 40th birthday, I realized that I had other interests and challenges to pursue. I’ve also always had a deep interest in business and how media companies made money, so decided to change careers and move into Sales/Business Development. I had accomplished a lot working on the creative side, won a National and several local Emmy’s, but felt that if I didn’t at least explore a different path, I would regret it down the line. At 40, with 3 kids about to enter a high school and not too far away from college, I traded in my camera for a suit and tie!
The Decade of my 40’s
When I look back at the career change I made I still can’t actually believe I made it. I’m a creature of habit and like having consistency. I can eat the same thing day in and day out without getting bored. I like having routine and don’t like surprises and media sales is anything but routine. The transition went well because, although I literally made a significant career change, I still worked in the same industry and for the same company. I stayed at KRON doing media sales for 3 years but after 18 years at KRON TV, which eventually lost the NBC affiliation and became an independent; it was time to move on. I was recruited by NBC Bay Area to head up a new unit that was going to be doing branded content integration.
This was the best move I could have ever made! While it was difficult to leave a company that I’d worked at for 18 years, NBC is a phenomenal organization to work for. With the media industry on the cusp of some major disruptions, I believe NBC Universal is making strategic investments and are going to be well positioned to continue with a leadership role in the media industry. Along the way I’ve had a few internal job changes and currently am the director of Strategic Partnerships/business development for NBC Bay Area.
The Decade of my 50’s
Interesting things start to happen with the brain when you near or turn 50. Dinner conversations with friends seem to revolve around your future retirement plans or lack of financial planning to make it happen. Though I’ve done a good job preparing financially for retirement, I don’t ever plan to fully retire.
When I turned 50, like many other 50+ers, I started thinking about legacy and what I find joy in. What’s my why? Like many other AARP card holding members, I come with a lot of work experience. Both on the creative and business side; so my plan is to utilize the professional skills I learned from my 20’s –to- 50’s and develop top quality content that helps 50+ers become the best versions of themselves. I love telling stories about people that motivate and inspire others-that’s my why!
Our content will hopefully give you a business, new career or philanthropic giving idea. We all have experience and talents in something but aren’t sure what it is or how to find it. Our goal at Brand Fifty is to help you find your “why”!