Stop Hiring Designers. Start Scaling Creativity with Johnathan Grzybowski
In this episode of the Pixel Retentive Podcast, Carl sits down with Jonathan Grzybowski, CMO and co-founder of Penji, an Inc. 5000 creative subscription service that has grown to serve thousands of clients across 80+ countries.
Jonathan shares the real story behind bootstrapping a global creative company with over 500 team members, the grit required to scale without outside funding, and how solving real problems beats chasing money every time.
They also explore AI’s impact on creative production, hiring in a fast-moving technological landscape, building community as an entrepreneur, and why defining your exit strategy matters more than most founders realize.
Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:
How Jonathan built Penji from zero to Inc. 5000 without outside investment
What “grit” actually looks like in a 15-year entrepreneurial journey
Why solving problems creates better businesses than chasing revenue
The hidden cost of hiring unreliable creative talent
Scaling a 500+ person distributed team
How AI is reshaping creative production and talent evaluation
Why operators will matter more than ever in an AI-driven world
The importance of building an exit strategy
Community, fatherhood, and entrepreneurship
Why betting on yourself is sometimes the only real option
“Money is a byproduct of the problem that we solve.” – Jonathan Grzybowski
For Jonathan, business is not about chasing revenue. It is about identifying friction in the market and relentlessly solving it. When value is created consistently, revenue follows.
In This Episode…
Jonathan reflects on building Penji as his “Mona Lisa” — a company born from his early days running a digital marketing agency that evolved into a scalable creative subscription platform. From years of not paying himself to managing hundreds of team members worldwide, he breaks down what it really takes to grow without a safety net.
Carl and Jonathan dig into the realities of creative hiring, why cheap talent often costs more in the long run, and how Penji filters for top-tier designers at scale. They also unpack a fascinating story about hiring a candidate who completed a skills test in five minutes using automation — and why embracing new technology instead of fearing it can unlock massive opportunity.
The conversation expands into AI, creative operators, and the future of production. Rather than replacing designers, Jonathan believes AI will amplify those who know how to manage it effectively.
They also discuss fatherhood, burnout, building community through Jonathan’s upcoming Working Dads podcast, and the importance of defining a long-term exit strategy so your work can outlive you.
This episode is about resilience, ownership, and building something that feeds both your business and your family.
Shout Outs:
Jonathan gives a heartfelt shout-out to his wife for being his grounding force, sounding board, and long-term partner throughout his entrepreneurial journey. Carl also gives a nod to LinkedIn for making the connection and continuing to build meaningful creative relationships.
Until next time,
Carl Cleanthes
Resources Mentioned in this episode:
Penji – https://penji.co
Connect with Jonathan on LinkedIn – Search: Jonathan Grzybowski
Working Dads Podcast (launching soon)
Sponsor for this episode...
This episode is brought to you by Epic Made.
Epic Made creates entertainment-quality animation, digital art, and graphic design to elevate brands and build fandom.
We are a collective of senior-level artists across multiple disciplines, producing trailers, key art, social campaigns, branded storytelling, and motion systems for entertainment, gaming, and pop culture brands. Our work has supported major networks and studios, including SYFY and Nickelodeon.
To learn more, visit www.epicmade.net or email hey@getepicmade.com.
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