Benedict Townsend

Yes.

Yes.

Couldn't quite believe his personal website. I think there's maybe 20 words total on the whole website. It doesn't feel like a man who's aching to be contacted. Yeah.

Couldn't quite believe his personal website. I think there's maybe 20 words total on the whole website. It doesn't feel like a man who's aching to be contacted. Yeah.

obviously did not expect to get reply and then like six weeks later in my inbox hi yeah russ would maybe like to talk we now have an agreed time and place for an interview yes the time is 10 minutes from now yes the place is here exactly and he's i've had whatsapp communication with him this morning which has given me reason to believe that he is going to show up

obviously did not expect to get reply and then like six weeks later in my inbox hi yeah russ would maybe like to talk we now have an agreed time and place for an interview yes the time is 10 minutes from now yes the place is here exactly and he's i've had whatsapp communication with him this morning which has given me reason to believe that he is going to show up

Okay, so all things being equal, we should be talking to Russ in about 10 minutes. Dear listener, if the next voice you hear is Russ, we did it. If it's not, well, you know, we tried.

Okay, so all things being equal, we should be talking to Russ in about 10 minutes. Dear listener, if the next voice you hear is Russ, we did it. If it's not, well, you know, we tried.

Can you hear me?

Can you hear me?

Surprise! He turned up. Ross Yusupov, Vine founder in the flesh. Yeah, Ross. Excited to talk to you. Thank you so much for being here. Well, not in the flesh so much as sat in New York chatting with me over video, but there he is. Jet black hair, peppered with grey, black t-shirt, professional-looking microphone, a tasteful potted plant behind him. But he does quickly disable his video.

Surprise! He turned up. Ross Yusupov, Vine founder in the flesh. Yeah, Ross. Excited to talk to you. Thank you so much for being here. Well, not in the flesh so much as sat in New York chatting with me over video, but there he is. Jet black hair, peppered with grey, black t-shirt, professional-looking microphone, a tasteful potted plant behind him. But he does quickly disable his video.

Like any good reporter, I kick things off with a hard hitter. Why six seconds?

Like any good reporter, I kick things off with a hard hitter. Why six seconds?

Simplicity, the heart of any good idea. And Russ had a lot of those. You know, there's a lot of hype around tech founders, a lot of mythology. But before Vine was even a thing, Russ's portfolio of work was already intimidatingly impressive.

Simplicity, the heart of any good idea. And Russ had a lot of those. You know, there's a lot of hype around tech founders, a lot of mythology. But before Vine was even a thing, Russ's portfolio of work was already intimidatingly impressive.

For someone who would soon hit entrepreneurial megastardom, Russ's story probably doesn't start where you'd expect.

For someone who would soon hit entrepreneurial megastardom, Russ's story probably doesn't start where you'd expect.

Until the age of five, Russ was a child of communism, growing up in the USSR, in what is now Tajikistan. In 1989, a couple of years before the Soviet Union collapsed, his family joined thousands of others in a huge migration wave out of the country. But his family didn't just leave the USSR, they moved to the very heart of capitalism itself, New York City.

Until the age of five, Russ was a child of communism, growing up in the USSR, in what is now Tajikistan. In 1989, a couple of years before the Soviet Union collapsed, his family joined thousands of others in a huge migration wave out of the country. But his family didn't just leave the USSR, they moved to the very heart of capitalism itself, New York City.