Our Philosophy
To paraphrase Andrew Shepherd in The American President, entrepreneurship isn't easy. You've got to want it bad. Because it's going to put up a fight.
It lures you, seduces you, spurns you, adores you, rejects you, loves you and infuriates you. Often in the same day. A siren's song. But as entrepreneurs we are drawn not by the music, but by the exploration. Of what is possible. And of ourselves.
That journey is personal. Intensely personal. And there are no templates or maps. Just a lot of dimly lit roads leading somewhere.
When we started our first business we didn't know what we didn't know. By the time we sold that company ten years later, we'd expanded into multiple cities and multiple countries. Merged multiple businesses and multiple culture. Developed revolutionary technology.
We'd also learned a lot. Today we use that expertise to advise entrepreneurs and incubate new businesses.
Our job is to be your guide for a while. By the time we go our separate ways you'll know where you are, and where you're trying to get to. And you'll have a lamp - with a long life battery.
The rest, as it always was, will be up to you.
Charles Day
Charles developed his business sensibilities in a home where silence was imposed during the commercials. He began his career in film production, with James Garrett in London before joining Ogilvy & Mather in New York. From there he moved to O&M/Chicago, where, after brief stints buying media and in account management, he joined the agency’s television production department.
Hired by DDB/Chicago, Charles ran the production side of the agency’s McDonald’s business where he met Chris Tardio. A year later they left the agency and founded a Chicago-based film editing company for which they had big dreams.
Over the next ten years they added offices in L.A., London and New York, winning more awards than any supplier to the advertising industry, and in the process redefining the way internationally networked companies should work.Today the Whitehouse remains unparalleled in its ability to support clients around the globe.
Since selling his ownership of the Whitehouse, Charles has developed The Lookinglass Consultancy, working with entrepreneur-led companies around the world to expand, restructure, and re-capitalize their business.
He also consults with not-for-profit and animal welfare organizations, and is a senior advisor to Sir Ken Robinson, one of the world’s leading authorities on Creativity and Innovation.
He and Chris are parents to five dogs, each of which Charles claims was a strategic decision.
Contact Charles at: charles@thelookinglass.com +1.212.353.3600
Chris Tardio
Chris’s view of the business world has been shaped by a unique career path that spans a television revolution, an iconic brand and an industry-changing company.
As a Producer of The Oprah Winfrey Show and then the VP of Publicity and Promotions for HARPO Productions, Chris helped guide the early evolution of a local Chicago talk show host into the most powerful media personality in the world.
Turning her attention to advertising, Chris became Manager of Broadcast Production at DDB/Chicago with responsibility for the agency’s McDonald’s and General Mills brands. A partnership with Charles Day on the McDonald’s account, evolved into a mutual dream to build a new kind of networked company.
By 2005 Charles and Chris had taken their small start-up through a carefully crafted evolution that encompassed both national and international expansion. When they had finished, the Whitehouse stood as a unique, seamless creative network, supporting talent on a platform of innovative systems and management philosophy.
Since selling her ownership in the Whitehouse, Chris has incubated several businesses and advises leading companies in the arts, media, communications and innovation through The Lookinglass Consultancy.
Contact Chris at: chris@thelookinglass.com +1.312.927.9908