From tech sales to full-time artist | Daphne Vantine on The Backpack Show

Daphne Vantine quit her tech sales job at 27 to become a full-time gouache artist. Two years in, she's refreshingly honest about the messy middle — the ~600 sales, the part-time work, and the slow build of making art a sustainable business. After graduating from University of Delaware with a degree in Entrepreneurship, Daphne spent 5 years in tech sales, progressing from Sales Development Rep to Senior Account Executive at Wistia (a video software company). But two years before she quit, she picked up an iPad and Procreate, then watercolors, and finally gouache — and realized she couldn't spend her creative life not doing this. So she left. Founded Daphne Rae Creative in her home studio. Started painting vibrant landscapes, botanicals, and fruits inspired by nature, travel, and everyday moments. Did art markets, built her Instagram following, experimented with commissions and licensing. Made sacrifices most artists skip over in the highlight reel — thrifting everything, cutting costs, figuring out sustainability. In this episode of The Backpack Show, Chris Brogan and Kerry O'Shea Gorgone talk with Daphne about: What it takes to walk away from a stable tech job in your 20s The sacrifice years nobody talks about Daphne's advice for people wanting to make creative work pay What's in her backpack for success If you're wondering if you should take the leap, or you're tired of hearing only the success stories without the messy parts, this conversation is for you. Daphne tells it like it is. ABOUT DAPHNE VANTINE: Daphne Vantine is the owner and artist behind Daphne Rae Creative, a Greater Boston-based art studio specializing in vibrant gouache paintings. After 5 years in tech sales (including roles at Wistia as SMB Senior Account Executive), she left corporate in 2023 to pursue art full-time. Her work captures joyful moments in life — hikes in Maine forests, ski trips to Switzerland, visits to local farmer's markets — translated onto paper through gouache paint. She sells original paintings, prints, greeting cards, and calendars through her online shop, at art markets, and through commissions. In November 2024, her week-long pop-up showcase in Melrose, MA (hosted by Project: Popup) contributed 16% of her year-to-date revenue and boosted her confidence as an artist. She's now exploring gallery representation, art licensing for passive income, and launching in-person painting workshops. Daphne graduated from University of Delaware in 2018 with a degree in Entrepreneurship and Technology Innovation and a minor in Integrated Design. She was heavily involved in VentureOn and served as a Horn Ambassador. Her mother, also an artist, gave her key advice: "Charge what you are worth" and reject the starving artist mentality. She got married in February 2025 and lives in Medford, MA. Find Daphne: Website: www.daphneraecreative.com Instagram: @daphneraecreative LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/daphnevantine UDelaware Feature: horn.udel.edu/alumni-spotlight-daphne-vantines-daphne-rae-creative ABOUT THE BACKPACK SHOW: Real conversations with people building success from unexpected places. Co-hosted by Kerry O'Shea Gorgone and Chris Brogan. Join us live every Friday at 11 a.m. ET for new episodes, and subscribe so you don’t miss “Bedtime Stories from The Backpack” — past shows' success lessons turned into soothing bedtime stories — posted every Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET. Subscribe: youtube.com/chrisbrogan?sub_confirmation=1 The new & improved Backpack Show is brought to you by our sponsors: Chloë Forbes-Kindlen — From friction to flow. BusinessOPS helps turn your scattered workflows and tools into one custom Notion workspace built for how your team actually operates. Head to businessops.co/backpack to access your free Notion for Business Starter Kit. Fauzia Burke — Digital book publicist with 25+ years of experience, and an AI educator helping authors, teams, and leaders use AI wisely and well. Follow Fauzia on Substack for practical, real-world ways to integrate AI into your work and life: fauziaburke.substack.com/ #careerchange #artist #techsales #entrepreneurship #gouache #millennialcareer #creativebusiness #artbusiness