My Shot: If the Earth Could Talk

Tim Dougherty’s (B’15) love of reading, the environment, and entrepreneurship equipped him to take on the challenge of writing his first book, Timelapse: How We Change the Earth. The coffee-table book, published by Penguin-Random House, is a beautiful collection of satellite images documenting humans’ impact on the Earth and how the planet responds.

“I had been working on this project as a side gig for almost three years leading up to the book deal,” Dougherty said. As the former head of partnership for Daily Overview, Dougherty established relationships with key satellite and aerial imagery providers. “Getting the opportunity to create a cohesive story of all the changes we had observed over the years was a dream,” he said.

Still, there is an intimidation factor at play when creating a book. “When you’re looking at a blank document knowing it’s going to have to turn into a chapter about transportation, with 30 stories that all need to make sense together, it can certainly feel daunting.”

After finding success and fulfillment in writing the book, Dougherty encourages other emerging entrepreneurs and aspiring authors to take risks and bet on themselves—he says it will pay off.

Timelapse is available on Amazon or Barnes & Noble, which named Timelapse to its list of Best Books of 2020.

This story was originally featured in the Georgetown Business Fall 2023 Magazine.