Chris Savage

So stressed as I'm doing the demo, you know, just like can't believe that I'm talking to these people. And they're like, this looks good. Let's do it. I was like, oh my gosh, this is amazing. I mean, we couldn't even take their credit card. We were like faxing things to close deals at that point. It was ludicrous.

So stressed as I'm doing the demo, you know, just like can't believe that I'm talking to these people. And they're like, this looks good. Let's do it. I was like, oh my gosh, this is amazing. I mean, we couldn't even take their credit card. We were like faxing things to close deals at that point. It was ludicrous.

We got to about six or seven customers. And we realized, okay, this is going to be bigger than we thought. But we need help. And we're figuring out everything ourselves. And Brendan's building everything himself. I'm doing all the sales and marketing. I'm like blogging two times a day. I mean, it's not that different from now. It's just kind of funny. But We're like, we need help.

We got to about six or seven customers. And we realized, okay, this is going to be bigger than we thought. But we need help. And we're figuring out everything ourselves. And Brendan's building everything himself. I'm doing all the sales and marketing. I'm like blogging two times a day. I mean, it's not that different from now. It's just kind of funny. But We're like, we need help.

And through all those meetups we're going to, we'd met some people we really liked who seemed like they believed in what we were doing. And we started to realize, hey, maybe we should hire two of these people, the sales guy and this engineer. We need help on building the product faster. An engineer would be good. And then we need someone who knows how to sell, we think.

And through all those meetups we're going to, we'd met some people we really liked who seemed like they believed in what we were doing. And we started to realize, hey, maybe we should hire two of these people, the sales guy and this engineer. We need help on building the product faster. An engineer would be good. And then we need someone who knows how to sell, we think.

And actually, he closed a deal before he even joined the company. He sold a Wistia account to prove to us that he was going to be a good hire.

And actually, he closed a deal before he even joined the company. He sold a Wistia account to prove to us that he was going to be a good hire.

They were adults and we were children. And so they needed real salaries. We basically now are covering our basic living expenses. So I'm getting $400 a month. The bread is getting $400 a month. We've not changed our living expenses. We're saving money on top of that, which is an incredible feeling. But. I can't hire someone for 100,000 or something.

They were adults and we were children. And so they needed real salaries. We basically now are covering our basic living expenses. So I'm getting $400 a month. The bread is getting $400 a month. We've not changed our living expenses. We're saving money on top of that, which is an incredible feeling. But. I can't hire someone for 100,000 or something.

So it's through wanting to hire them, we think, okay, if we hire people, we'll go faster, we should raise money. And so we set out trying to raise angel money. And I quickly found my way to one angel investor, this guy, Ashton Peary. And he was super interested and asked a lot of good questions. And he also really believed that that we could take this a very long way.

So it's through wanting to hire them, we think, okay, if we hire people, we'll go faster, we should raise money. And so we set out trying to raise angel money. And I quickly found my way to one angel investor, this guy, Ashton Peary. And he was super interested and asked a lot of good questions. And he also really believed that that we could take this a very long way.

It was surprising to meet this person who's like, of course, you could take this. This is going to be massive. And I'm like, oh, you think this is going to be massive? He's like, oh, this is going to be huge. This is going to be so big. He got excited. And then we just hustled our way again, randomly through the community, meeting random folks. But it probably took us five months or so

It was surprising to meet this person who's like, of course, you could take this. This is going to be massive. And I'm like, oh, you think this is going to be massive? He's like, oh, this is going to be huge. This is going to be so big. He got excited. And then we just hustled our way again, randomly through the community, meeting random folks. But it probably took us five months or so

to close the first round. And the interesting thing was we'd show the deck and we'd show our current customers, show prospective customers. And on the list of prospective customers... was HBO. And we were talking to HBO about them using us for all their dailies, which no one could believe. Me as a filmmaker, I could not believe this. It was insane.

to close the first round. And the interesting thing was we'd show the deck and we'd show our current customers, show prospective customers. And on the list of prospective customers... was HBO. And we were talking to HBO about them using us for all their dailies, which no one could believe. Me as a filmmaker, I could not believe this. It was insane.

I remember when we first started talking to them, I didn't really believe it was them. They said, we just want to try the product. Like, okay. And they started uploading footage in and we go look. And it's footage from The Sopranos that no one's ever seen. Behind the scenes footage of The Sopranos. That's the first thing that gets uploaded.

I remember when we first started talking to them, I didn't really believe it was them. They said, we just want to try the product. Like, okay. And they started uploading footage in and we go look. And it's footage from The Sopranos that no one's ever seen. Behind the scenes footage of The Sopranos. That's the first thing that gets uploaded.

What that meant was it was extremely attractive to angel investors. When they saw this, they're like, oh, wow, these children are talking to this company about a deal like this. And by the way, the quoted size of the deal was like $750,000 a year. So we looked at it and we're like, we just got it made. This is going to happen so fast and all this kind of stuff.

What that meant was it was extremely attractive to angel investors. When they saw this, they're like, oh, wow, these children are talking to this company about a deal like this. And by the way, the quoted size of the deal was like $750,000 a year. So we looked at it and we're like, we just got it made. This is going to happen so fast and all this kind of stuff.