Words by Morgan Mercer | Photos by Sarah White
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When it comes to age-old debates like which fork to use first at a fancy dinner, or what flavor of pie Americans like best at Thanksgiving, Lemonly’s work has settled the score (answers: start with utensils farthest from the plate and work in; pumpkin). But for John Meyer and his team, beautiful photographs and clever GIFs are more than just fun eye candy. For him, visual storytelling has the power to break down complex topics and make them easier to understand. Over the past six years, Lemonly has partnered with brands like Netflix, Lego, MLB.com, and Samsung to tell their stories through infographics, videos, annual reports, and social media graphics. But the possibilities don’t stop there. Lemonly sees a world where visuals could improve industries like healthcare, making confusing medical jargon easy for patients to understand and improving quality of life through better post-diagnosis treatment instructions.
Pollen: When was the last time you made an unexpected connection with someone that turned out to be transformative?
John Meyer: I try to do this once a week by sharing coffee with someone I don’t know too well and asking a lot of questions. Recently I learned my neighbor down the street is working to start her own company. She has incredible talent and motivation. I’m excited to help her get this endeavor off the ground however I can.
Pollen: What is the story we need to be telling about our region?
John Meyer: That we have unique expertise.
The narrative—and often our own belief—is that we are followers, but in many ways we are leaders.
Pollen: Along with story, what tools are you using to make your community a better place?
John Meyer: I’m using Lemonly as a tool itself.
We have a goal to make Lemonly the gold standard for company culture in the Midwest.
We transparently blog and share about our policies, procedures, and practices. I’ve also brought both Startup Weekend and 1 Million Cups to the Sioux Falls area to help build the entrepreneurial community.
Pollen: What are the core values of Lemonly? What’s the story behind how you arrived at those values?
John Meyer:
Creativity. Integrity. Collaboration. Adventure.
It took us a couple years to discover our core values, but eventually we realized that all of our decisions center on these principles—from hiring to how we treat our clients. It’s part of Lemonly’s DNA. Now we’ve created policies and practices to emphasize and live out these values.
POLLEN: What is your greatest source of pride?
John Meyer: The Lemonly team. We’ve grown to 20 people. If you start to consider husbands, wives, boyfriends, girlfriends, and children, the “Lemonly Family” has grown to over 40 people.
It’s incredible, and I’m so proud of the positive footprint this company makes on people’s lives.
