Hello.
2009 has been quite a year and at the Fitzgerald household, we’ve been paying attention to local, national and international news to look for key trends that will affect our economy, our world and our future. As we’re sure you’ll agree, 2009 had one big takeaway: you’re nobody if you’re not on reality TV. Not to be outdone by Balloon Boy’s family or the White House gate crashers, the Fitzgeralds too plan to cash in on this lucrative and attention-seeking pastime.
Lila, between taking care of the family, continuing to cook incredible meals and kicking butt on the tennis court, has honed her business skills working as a finance and HR manager for a Bay Area start up. She will be pitching an Apprentice/Iron Chef crossover where she evaluates small business proposals, rewarding promising startup ideas with baked goods and office management advice and chasing the bad ones out of the meeting room with a tennis racquet.
Jim is staying fit with regular morning exercise at hours he claims exist before 7am and is excited about a new startup project he is leading which will most likely change the world as we know it. With that in mind, Jim proposes a business show in the style of Gordon Ramsey’s The F Word or Biggest Loser where he goes into small to mid-sized businesses, yells at them until they cry, makes them do pushups, then saves their crumbling business.
Connor is 16 and is planning a new mashup show of Survivor and American Idol. As a Boy Scout finishing up his Eagle project and a member of a local band, he would be ideally placed to beat out the competition as he eats bugs to survive and makes alliances, only to stab competitors in the back by stealing the lead guitarist spot right before the big show. If worse came to worse, he could always appear on Pimp My Ride, as if his driving the family car weren’t horrifying enough to his sisters.
Kelly turned 20 this year and we fully expect her to be the star of House MD International, where, as an up and coming college biochemistry major, she travels around the world solving medical mysteries. Since she spent the summer working in hospital placements in Argentina and already speaks fluent Spanish which she continues to study at Vassar College, the show will send her to remote forests with forgotten languages – just to keep things interesting.
Meaghan is 23 and has moved to London where she is working for a tech startup doing marketing and sales while drinking lots of tea and trying her best not to acquire a British accent. Because her company reviews and lists London events and entertainment, Meaghan plans to star in a cross between the Amazing Race and Paris Hilton’s New British Best Friend where she travels around Europe looking for the best parties and wearing the best clothing on a limited budget.
As you can see, the Fitzgeralds are perfectly placed for prime time action. Any producer would be crazy to pass on these opportunities and all of the exciting things to come in 2010. Of course the supporting cast of all of our friends and family have really made this year red carpet-ready and we couldn’t have done it without them.
That sounds like our cue, and we wish you the best for 2010. Look for us on Channel 2… we’ll tell Balloon Boy you say hello.
Love,
Meaghan and The Fitzgerald Family
Meaghan Fitzgerald is a marketer and entrepreneur building and growing consumer and gaming products and experiences. A Silicon Valley native, she started her first company, DormWise, in 2006 which she later sold in 2009. Meaghan spent 7 years in London in early stage consumer startups, two years at Xbox as a product marketer for Minecraft, and is currently the head of product marketing for VR experiences at Facebook and Oculus. Meaghan writes here about business, technology, gaming, and marketing. She has been named a top