Meet Paul Stonick | Founder, Chief Problem Solver

We had the good fortune of connecting with Paul Stonick and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Paul, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
Absolutely, having spent nearly three decades immersed in the digital design world—beginning with web design in the 1990s, back when the magic was written—I’ve arrived at a juncture where factors like salary, age, and experience might seem like drawbacks in a traditional sense. In the creative industry, you often encounter two archetypes: the youthful prodigies, bursting with groundbreaking ideas that redefine the field, and the seasoned veterans, whose craft deepens and ripens over years of dedication.

I’ve found myself reflecting on this after navigating a series of layoffs in recent years and distancing myself from environments marked by toxic cultures and challenging leadership. Through those experiences, I came to a powerful realization: what I once viewed as liabilities could, in fact, be my greatest strengths. Experience isn’t just a tally of years—it’s a reservoir of insight, resilience, and adaptability. The real question isn’t whether you’ll grow and shift as a professional; it’s about how boldly you’ll reshape the very definition of value in your career. Embracing this mindset led me to take a leap and launch my own venture, KICK Consultancy, where I could harness that hard-earned wisdom on my own terms.

What should our readers know about your business?
KICK Consultancy is a boutique design management consulting firm offering a range of solutions including strategy, workshops, AI upskilling, leadership training, fractional creative leadership, team optimization, squad enablement, facilitation, roadmapping, Gen Z trends and insights, operations, tailored coaching, corporate offsites, talks and keynotes.

With a hyper-focus on human-centered principles, culture, people, collective creativity, collaboration, and authenticity, our value proposition is how to enable companies to liberate teams, work together better as a whole, improve processes and maximize business performance.

Performed in-person, hybrid or remote, our services are designed for stakeholders, teams, senior executives, and C-suite leaders who are involved in strategy, product, design, operations, marketing, change, and policy. We partner with you to forge a powerful, unified vision of what success looks like, measured by outcomes, timing, cost, and effort.

We’re different because we don’t believe in the ordinary and boring. In a world where everyone tries to fit in, KICK dares your team’s creativity to stand out. We have sat where you are right now. Decades of working with in-house corporate teams and gritty startups have revealed what truly works—and what falls flat. This supergroup of expertise, anchored in human-centered principles, lets us understand your reality, what’s really holding your business back, and ignite your teams to think differently. By partnering with you, we’ll stage dive complex challenges, culture, and products—together, from planning to execution.

At KICK, we embrace discomfort as a catalyst for growth. We look ahead and liberate teams through unconstrained thinking, crisp solutions and strategy that empower businesses to break free from convention and obstructionism. We’re not just consulting, we work alongside our clients as partners to understand reality, define opportunity and deliver outcomes over outputs.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
For an unforgettable week-long visit to Metro Atlanta, I’d take my best friend on a thrilling tour of the area’s top spots: The Beltline, Marietta Square, Little Five Points, High Museum of Art, Blue Ridge Mountains, and The Battery. We’d start with the High Museum of Art’s inspiring collections, stroll the lively Atlanta Beltline Eastside Trail, and soak up the eclectic energy of Little Five Points. Day 2 explores the historic charm of Marietta Square, while midweek, we’d venture to the Blue Ridge Mountains for a scenic hike and a wander through Blue Ridge town. A must-visit dining spot is Gun Show Restaurant in Glenwood Park—its bold, dim-sum-style dishes rolled out on carts make it an unmissable experience, so we’d carve out an evening (say, Day 2) to savor its creative flair.

The fun rolls on with a stop at The Battery on Day 3, catching a Braves’ game at Truist Park in the Battery. Day 5 takes us to the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park and the Jimmy Carter Presidential Museum and Library for a dose of history, followed by a relaxed Beltline walk. We’d wrap up with the Georgia Aquarium’s awe-inspiring tanks on Day 6 and the Fernbank Museum of Natural History on Day 7 for a laid-back farewell. This mix of urban buzz, culture, quaint charm, nature, sports thrills, and a standout meal at Gunshow ensures a week packed with excitement and memories!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
As I reflect on my journey, I realize that our successes are never solo acts—they’re shaped by the efforts, love, and support of others. For me, that guiding force is my incredible aunt, Lucienne Von Doz, the original La Mer muse and, at 86, Estée Lauder’s Brand Historian Advisor, inspiring their new campaign. She’s profoundly influenced who I am, personally and professionally. Growing up, I spent countless hours with her in New York City, immersed in art, theater, opera, and ballet—experiences that shaped my worldview. She didn’t just show me culture; she instilled a lifelong sense of wonder. I’m endlessly grateful for her impact and dedicate this shoutout to her.

Website: http://kickconsultancy.co

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/paulstonick/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stonick-executive-design-ux-creative-officer/

Other: http://paulstonick.com