Leaving the agency world to follow mycelium

Originally published on Research Live in March 2024

Image description: Jess Jorgensen, in a blue corduroy bomber jacket, with spring blossoms.

Hello,

Lots of new subscribers to Sporesight this week - thanks for being here.

I’m Jess Jorgensen, Founder of Sporesight, strategist, researcher, futurist, mycophile and average cultivator of home-grown mushrooms.

A year ago Research-Live published my story, titled ‘Off the beaten path: Leaving the agency world’.

Now seemed like a good time to re-share it, as a sortof intro and some context to what sparked Sporesight.

It's a reflection on the journey of leaving a "good job" to follow mycelium. Following mycelium, researching fungi and myco-culture has led to a mid-career change that has the potential to change systems in my small corner of the world. Here's hoping.

A lot has changed in a year. April '25 is very different to March '24. We've moved beyond talking about 'polycrisis', to 'collapse' and 'ecocide'. Uncertainty is certain. Affecting change feels urgent.

Personally, my own collapse (near death) had to happen for me to rebound and regenerate (just like mushrooms, ha). Since March '24 I've recovered, upped the mushroom research to 100+ perspectives and smashed a corporate Global Insight role. I’m still freelancing, while building up Sporesight.

We've inoculated. Now we’re fruiting and spreading spores, seeking suitable growing conditions. Expect more cringe myco-metaphors as the journey continues ✨ 🍄‍🟫

Excerpt below. Read the full piece here at Research-Live.com

Yours in spores,

Jess

Thanks to Liam Kay-McClean, Deputy Editor at Impact Magazine & Research-live.com, for sharing this story.

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Off the beaten path: Leaving the agency world

Jess Jorgensen, formerly of BAMM and now a freelance insights consultant, shares her experience of leaving a full-time career to pursue her mushroom passion.

In 2023, I quit my job to run with mushrooms. For 16 years, I worked in cultural and consumer insights before leaving a director-level agency position to run with a passion project: exploring the culture of mushrooms and psychedelics.

Leaving the agency world and a full-time salary behind has been terrifying, enlightening, and rewarding. Mushrooms – both my subject matter and matter of admiration – have been key to navigating this new path.

Colleagues and peers have supported but also questioned this choice, and I’m sure they secretly thought it was mad. Why would one quit a perfectly good job, without an income stream, to explore a weird niche? The decision was driven by three things: wellbeing, morality, and motivation.

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Read the full story here at Research-Live.com

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