Russ Yusupov

We had met on the internet, I think in the late 90s, early 2000s, as part of a community of digital creators, if you will. Before social media, people used to come together on the internet through message boards. That's how I met Dom. We were both interested in the same things, heavy metal music, video games, flash websites, web design, 3D modeling, and 3D art. And then in 2006, 2007, we...

We had met on the internet, I think in the late 90s, early 2000s, as part of a community of digital creators, if you will. Before social media, people used to come together on the internet through message boards. That's how I met Dom. We were both interested in the same things, heavy metal music, video games, flash websites, web design, 3D modeling, and 3D art. And then in 2006, 2007, we...

started working at the same firm in New York and collaborated on the first version of Hulu.com. And we redesigned CNN.com and other projects together. It was, yeah, it was a really great collaborative relationship. We were close friends.

started working at the same firm in New York and collaborated on the first version of Hulu.com. And we redesigned CNN.com and other projects together. It was, yeah, it was a really great collaborative relationship. We were close friends.

At the time, Dom and I were working on different video technologies, right? We were thinking like, how do we make watching TV better? You know, what would a TV channel that was personalized to you look like? And we were constantly looking at other video experiences. And there was this one particular problem that we were interested in solving. It was like,

At the time, Dom and I were working on different video technologies, right? We were thinking like, how do we make watching TV better? You know, what would a TV channel that was personalized to you look like? And we were constantly looking at other video experiences. And there was this one particular problem that we were interested in solving. It was like,

How do we help people make a video on their phones easier and more enjoyable? Because at the time, around 2012, making a video on your phone involved holding your phone horizontally. You just had endless seconds to record. So a lot of videos ended up being minutes long. And then uploading those videos was really painful. Like, 3G cell networks were pretty slow.

How do we help people make a video on their phones easier and more enjoyable? Because at the time, around 2012, making a video on your phone involved holding your phone horizontally. You just had endless seconds to record. So a lot of videos ended up being minutes long. And then uploading those videos was really painful. Like, 3G cell networks were pretty slow.

So it took half hour to upload a video that was a couple minutes long. And then downloading that video and watching it was just as painful of an experience. The video wasn't that interesting, right? And payoff just wasn't that great.

So it took half hour to upload a video that was a couple minutes long. And then downloading that video and watching it was just as painful of an experience. The video wasn't that interesting, right? And payoff just wasn't that great.

Yeah, we fell in love with the idea pretty much immediately after that spark.

Yeah, we fell in love with the idea pretty much immediately after that spark.

So, you know, we're also looking around at different creation tools. And we found one that one of our peers, Dan Savage, had created called Gift Shop. And it let you make a GIF on your phone in a really simple way. And we thought, well, what if we used some of these learnings and help people make a video, right?

So, you know, we're also looking around at different creation tools. And we found one that one of our peers, Dan Savage, had created called Gift Shop. And it let you make a GIF on your phone in a really simple way. And we thought, well, what if we used some of these learnings and help people make a video, right?

So let's help you capture more frames, include audio, and let that play back on a loop, just like a GIF.

So let's help you capture more frames, include audio, and let that play back on a loop, just like a GIF.

We had invited Colin shortly after founding Vine to help develop the back end and the technical infrastructure.

We had invited Colin shortly after founding Vine to help develop the back end and the technical infrastructure.

We were pretty certain about Vine. We knew we had something special. We knew that all of the friends and people that we gave the prototype to enjoyed it just as much as we did and that there was something there, something with big potential.

We were pretty certain about Vine. We knew we had something special. We knew that all of the friends and people that we gave the prototype to enjoyed it just as much as we did and that there was something there, something with big potential.