This weekend I will be spending some time packing. That’s right, we’re moving offices.
Incidentally, yesterday Rak was in the studio filming something and he asked me about the move. I told him the story I tell everyone: that when I was hauling the stuff into our 4th floor office last year I told myself no way would I ever move the crap out (due to shutting down), and if I did move, it was because we had clients, were a growing business and needed more space. Well, all of that is true and it’s time to move.
When Rak came in to interview last year, I was alone in the office and there were two extra empty desks next to me (we split our office between a filming studio and an office); I’m not even sure if the film crew was in at the time.
It was funny, we had this reasonably medium-sized office and there I was in it alone, telling everyone who would listen that we were building a Web TV company. At the time, I am pretty sure the WatchMojo.com site was not even up yet. It was hard to sell people on the vision stuff when there was no site.
Today, things are different: 4,000 video clips, clients, partnerships and an expansion plan underway later, people are coming to us. It’s like they say, everyone’s got a vision but those who can execute are rare.
And now that our lease is up, we’re moving. I got a 1 year lease last year and our new spot is also a short lease. Trust me, we are going to be moving again soon because we’ll need more space. When I chose the new spot, I knew that we’d need more space, I just did not know if we’d be expanding here in our hometown or into our second office, in NYC.
NYC, I’m glad you mention that. I’ll be writing a bit on my extensive meetings in NYC earlier this week but I just need to assess how much I can write without messing deals up (ah, life is hard when you have “a big mouth”, I suppose).
But I’m psyched about the move: we’re doubling up square footage and will be better suited to film. WatchMojo.com is basically building a Web TV studio. I’d say right now we’re a TV station, but we have some initiatives in place that are turning us into a TV network.
2006 was all about the base.
2007 is about going all out and making this big. Real big.
During my meetings in NYC I was telling people that
- the first startup I joined in 2000 is now a publicly traded company worth $75M on the Nasdaq;
- the second company I was at returned 27 times the investor’s capital.
- Third time is the charm and this being my third startup - but first one I start - I intend on doing everything I can to make this company have a longer lasting legacy that those two combined. That is by no means a knock against those two companies. Those were great companies in their own right. It’s a testament to setting and surpassing goals.
It sound crazy, but telling people I was going to build one of the largest Web TV companies out there sounded pretty darn crazy as well last year, today, it’s almost a fact.
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February 24th, 2007 at 1:53 pm
Happy to hear that things went so well in the Big Apple. Can’t wait to take a look at the new space–that is, if I ever get away from my 9-5 gig long enough to drop by while you’re there…
February 24th, 2007 at 8:29 pm
It’s nice to know that we ensured having a bigger BBQ area in this new office than in our first digs.