Victor Riparbelli

So this is back in 17. So it's a long time ago now. And the very short story is that we're a bunch of people. We had this sort of idea that generative AI, which back then wasn't really a term that most people thought about. But generative AI would change how we create content. And the big shift was that back in 2017, when most people thought about AI, it was about analyzing data, right?

Making decisions. That's kind of like that era of AI. But there was these early kind of GANs, which was basically a neural network that could kind of produce new data instead of just analyzing existing data. We thought that this was going to be a world-changing technology. We thought it was going to change everything we know about how we create content from video, speech, audio, music, whatever.

Making decisions. That's kind of like that era of AI. But there was these early kind of GANs, which was basically a neural network that could kind of produce new data instead of just analyzing existing data. We thought that this was going to be a world-changing technology. We thought it was going to change everything we know about how we create content from video, speech, audio, music, whatever.

Making decisions. That's kind of like that era of AI. But there was these early kind of GANs, which was basically a neural network that could kind of produce new data instead of just analyzing existing data. We thought that this was going to be a world-changing technology. We thought it was going to change everything we know about how we create content from video, speech, audio, music, whatever.

But we were focusing on video. I went out to the world with a great PowerPoint deck and, we think, a great vision. But I think, understandably, most people thought we were pretty crazy, right? We basically went out and said, look, in 10 years, you're going to be able to make a Hollywood film from your laptop, needing nothing else than your imagination.

But we were focusing on video. I went out to the world with a great PowerPoint deck and, we think, a great vision. But I think, understandably, most people thought we were pretty crazy, right? We basically went out and said, look, in 10 years, you're going to be able to make a Hollywood film from your laptop, needing nothing else than your imagination.

But we were focusing on video. I went out to the world with a great PowerPoint deck and, we think, a great vision. But I think, understandably, most people thought we were pretty crazy, right? We basically went out and said, look, in 10 years, you're going to be able to make a Hollywood film from your laptop, needing nothing else than your imagination.

That wasn't a pitch that landed particularly well, especially not in Europe. We were based in London at the time. Why do you think that was? Because I think in Europe, the VC industry is still dominated by people who used to work in private equity. And that's a very different mindset than technologists, right?

That wasn't a pitch that landed particularly well, especially not in Europe. We were based in London at the time. Why do you think that was? Because I think in Europe, the VC industry is still dominated by people who used to work in private equity. And that's a very different mindset than technologists, right?

That wasn't a pitch that landed particularly well, especially not in Europe. We were based in London at the time. Why do you think that was? Because I think in Europe, the VC industry is still dominated by people who used to work in private equity. And that's a very different mindset than technologists, right?

So when you used to work in private equity, you're like a financier more than you're a technologist. And this was not a pitch you could understand for an Excel sheet. So we got turned down by, I mean, basically everyone, I think like 80, 90 investors, something like that. Including podcasters.

So when you used to work in private equity, you're like a financier more than you're a technologist. And this was not a pitch you could understand for an Excel sheet. So we got turned down by, I mean, basically everyone, I think like 80, 90 investors, something like that. Including podcasters.

So when you used to work in private equity, you're like a financier more than you're a technologist. And this was not a pitch you could understand for an Excel sheet. So we got turned down by, I mean, basically everyone, I think like 80, 90 investors, something like that. Including podcasters.

The first round was a million dollars. We ended up doing it at 5 million post with Mark Cuban.

The first round was a million dollars. We ended up doing it at 5 million post with Mark Cuban.

The first round was a million dollars. We ended up doing it at 5 million post with Mark Cuban.

And with today's valuation of 2.1 billion, that's... He has like 15% today. Something in that range.

And with today's valuation of 2.1 billion, that's... He has like 15% today. Something in that range.

And with today's valuation of 2.1 billion, that's... He has like 15% today. Something in that range.

So that was the later round. So that was back in 2017. We did a million at five. That kind of got us started. We went like 12, 18 months, as you do. Went out to the market, felt like now we had a working technology. We were back then focused on AI doping, not the kind of avatar tech that we mostly have today. Again, learned a hard lesson.