I'm here too
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I'm Here Too Podcast

I’m Here Too Podcast

A podcast, hosted by Ara Tucker that explores the intersections of art, culture, creativity, family, identity and all that fills the spaces in between.

We all have a chance to make our own mark, our own impression. Big or small as it ends up being. What a freeing realization that has been for me. Don’t get me wrong. It’s been a long and circuitous road getting to the place where “I” feels authentic and where I don’t apologize for the way I walk through the world.

It took me a long time to get to here, a place where I will be seen and heard. But now that I’m here, I’m eager for some company. I look forward to sharing my journey with you, learning from others, and creating a space where we can feel more connected, inspired and safe to be ourselves.

Off we go!

Nobody Gets a Playbook, a conversation with Jeff Gurtman

You can also find this podcast on YouTube (transcript available), Spotify (video and audio versions), Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts (transcript available) and other fun places where podcasts live so subscribe, follow and tell your friends and your cat to listen and let me know what you think.

“Nobody gets a playbook.”

Jeff and I have known each other since nursery school, when we were already trying to sell “pencils” made out of sticks. This year marks 25 years since we graduated from college in 2001.

We talk about what that era felt like. The pressure to land one of the “good jobs.” Consulting. Finance. Real estate. The subtle message that there was a right path, and that deviation required explanation.

We revisit that moment with more distance now. The myth that adulthood comes with answers. The realization that you can hit every milestone and still feel like you are figuring it out in real time.

From there, the conversation widens. Technology and boundaries. Jeff teaches me what the GS in Apple IIGS stands for. We trade notes on all things cassette tape design. He makes a convincing case for Carmen San Diego vs. Oregon Trail. Time as a luxury. Parenting. Friendship. 

And finally, Jeff’s line that has stayed with me: designing a life so that he can have a sidewalk that goes somewhere.

About Jeff Gurtman

Jeff Gurtman is a hospitality professional and art dealer with a career built around a sharp eye for detail and a low tolerance for mediocre service. He believes the smallest moments—timing, tone, follow-through—are what define a great experience, and has spent years helping luxury brands refine those moments in ways that actually work in the real world.

His early training dates to a Montessori classroom alongside his oldest friend and podcast host, Ara, where the two first crossed paths washing tables and cutting carrots. While neither knew it at the time, this was Jeff’s introduction to systems, standards, and doing things properly the first time—skills he’s been applying (with slightly higher stakes) ever since.

Earlier in his career, Jeff worked in media as a basic cable television host on TLC and the Travel Channel, where he covered travel and hospitality—an experience that, while firmly in the past, still tends to come up at cocktail parties and company “get to know you” sessions, usually as a subtle (and occasionally not-so-subtle) flex.

Today, Jeff runs a boutique consulting firm, partnering with leading hotels, resorts, and brands to elevate service through practical, experience-driven evaluation. In parallel, he is the co-founder of Essex Co Vintage (@essexcovintage), where he operates as an art dealer, sourcing and curating vintage pieces with character, history, and just the right amount of weird.

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