business

A collection of 8 posts

A Pre-Launch Pivot

ApartmentJet: The Story of a Startup Part 1.3 5 min read

This post is part of an ongoing series of articles about my previous startup. Click here to view the table of contents.

A Pre-Launch Pivot

By the end of summer 2016, we were stuck. Our idea of a sharing economy solution for apartment dwellers had been dismissed by many of the biggest players in the multifamily industry. The handful of companies who loved the idea said there was no way they could make it work, because they had an unofficial NO-Airbnb stance.

We weren’t about to let that stop us. We knew Airbnb (and sites like it) were here to stay. We set about brainstorming.

Now, the following paragraphs highlight some of the problems we identified and how we solved them. They're not particularly

Hello, Rejection

ApartmentJet: The Story of a Startup Part 1.2 4 min read

This post is part of an ongoing series of articles about my previous startup. Click here to view the table of contents.

Hello, Rejection

In June 2016, we held our first unofficial ApartmentJet meeting at my house.

I was in the process of moving in. The rooms were empty. The cupboards were bare. Stacks of boxes lined every wall. I did, however, have two folding chairs and a whiteboard, which is all we needed.

Andy and Eric in my empty apartment.

We began with our basic idea. Something multifamily, something “sharing economy”.

We identified four primary stakeholders. Property owners, management companies, residents, and guests. Each stakeholder had separate concerns.

Guests (also known as Airbnb travelers) who stay at a property want reliability and security.

Some Origin Stories Begin with a Phone Call

ApartmentJet: The Story of a Startup Part 1.1 4 min read

This post is part of an ongoing series of articles about my previous startup. Click here to view the table of contents.

Some Origin Stories Begin with a Phone Call

It can be difficult to pinpoint the origin of a new business. Companies often mythologize origin stories for marketing purposes. Ours, however, began with a phone call.

Late on a Spring evening in 2016, I felt a buzz in my pocket. I answered, and a familiar voice dove right in. “Just talked to Eric,” Andy said. “Wanted to run a couple ideas past you.”

I met Eric Broughton and Andy Hamilton ten years earlier at a startup named Yield Technologies. We were three of the first six employees. In its infancy, the company performed software consulting projects for a range

Here We Go

ApartmentJet: The Story of a Startup Introduction 4 min read

This post is part of an ongoing series of articles about my previous startup. Click here to view the table of contents.

Here We Go

On October 29, 2018, after months of planning and preparation, Expedia Group’s communications team came alive. At 6AM pacific time, their press release hit the wire. Shortly thereafter, embargoed news outlets ran the story. One of the world’s largest travel companies announced to the world it had acquired two short term rental startups.

One of them was ours.

They had scheduled our day in fifteen minute increments. The legal team briefed us about what we could and couldn’t say. Expedia was, after all, a public company, subject to all sorts of regulations, and no one, especially us,

Introducing Streetlamp Media

business 2 min read Introducing Streetlamp Media

It's no secret I have a passion for books and cameras. I first attempted to write a novel in seventh grade. I made my earliest stop motion Lego movies even younger. I've always been fascinated by the telling of a story, the emotional response of humans experiencing it, and the technology behind both.

In college, I taught myself how to write code so I could create websites and (later) applications with which people could interact.

Twenty years ago, I worked at an independent creative studio, where I learned about 3D animation, keyframing, film editing, pre-production techniques, digital workflows, script wranglers,

Introducing Amulet Studios

business 2 min read Introducing Amulet Studios

As mentioned in my introduction of Streetlamp Media, one of my other big projects is the formation of a small, indie animation studio, officially known as Amulet Studios. On day one, our primary goal is to develop an animated series using Epic Games' Unreal Engine, but we're hoping to take it much further.

I'll be partnering with long time friend Brian Dean. We've been exploring cameras and filmmaking together for twenty years. He's the creative impetus behind this idea. He's spent the last few years stressing to me Unreal Engine's potential to disrupt (or at least evolve) current animation workflows.

Introducing Dander (Update: Deprecated)

business 1 min read Introducing Dander (Update: Deprecated)

For those who don’t know, I’ve got a new side project. It’s a mobile app dedicated to creating awareness and raising money (via microdonations) for animal shelters.

We call it Dander. You know, like Tinder, but Dander, except for pets, not humans. Actually, our original concept really was a Tinder for Pet adoptions (swipe right if you want to talk to the pet shelter), but the app doesn’t look or work like Tinder any more.

In any case, if you love pets, want to support animal rescue shelters, or maybe just want to support a few

The End of an Office

business 2 min read The End of an Office

This is the end. The final chapter. The goodbye. Of what? An era? A company? A dream? Let’s not get melodramatic.

It was October 2011. A growing company moves into a larger office space. We’d built this company from four employees to twenty. In the next two years, we’d grow to fifty. A consulting firm had blossomed into a product company with nearly ten business products and a consumer social site with teams of engineers, salespeople, marketers and customer service ninjas. It was a wonderful thing, growing, expanding, struggling but winning. It couldn’t possibly last.

In