GE245:HowAnimoto’sBradJeffersonRaised$30MandReinventedVideo

CreationService[podcast]

GrowthEverywherePodcastTranscriptGrowthEverywhere.com

Brad: Wedon'twantpeopletothinklikevideoeditors,wewantthemtothinkasabuilderofamessage.It'sjustyouwanttocommunicateinthislanguageofvideothat'sbeenmadeevenmorepopularbyFacebook,andwewanttogiveyouthatvoicetohelpyouspeakvideowithoutknowingthathowdifficultitreallyis.

Speaker2: Doyouwannaimpacttheworldandstillturnaprofit?Thenyou'reintherightplace.WelcometoGrowthEverywhere.Thisistheshowwhereyou'llfindrealconversationswithrealentrepreneurs.They'llshareeverythingfromtheirbiggeststruggletotheexactstrategiestheyuseonadailybasis.Soifyou'rereadyforavaluepackedinterview,listenon.Here'syourhost,EricSiu.

Eric: Beforewejumpintotoday'sinterview,ifyouguyscouldleaveareview,andarating,andalsosubscribeaswell,thatwouldbeahugehelptothepodcast.Soifyouactuallyenjoythecontentandyouliketohearmoreofit,pleasesupportusbyleavingusareviewandsubscribetothepodcastaswell.Thankssomuch.

Alright,todaywehaveBradJeffersonwho'saCEOofAnimoto,whichturnsyourphotosandvideoclipsintoprofessionalvideoslideshowsinminutes.Brad,how'sitgoing?

Brad: It'sgoinggreat.

Eric: Yeah,wellthanksforjoiningus,Brad.Whydon'tyoutellusalittlebitaboutyourcompany,whatyouguysdo,andIwasjust...BradandIwerejusttalkingright...Literallyrightbeforewestarted,abouthowIwasusingAnimotoaboutsevenyearsagowhenIfirststartedlearningdigitalmarketing.SoBrad,takeitaway.

Brad: Great,yeah,soAnimotohelpsbusinessesofallsizescreatemarketingvideos,andinthatend,youwereanearlydoctorofusingAnimotoforthatbusinesspurposesevenyearsago.We'vebeenaroundfor11years.Sowhenwestartedthecompany,wewerereallyfocusedontheconsumeropportunity.Youtubehadjustcomeout,wefeltliketheclipsonYoutubewereboringandnotprofessionallookingenough,soMichael[inaudible00:01:58]andIcametogetherandsaid,"Man,imagineifwecouldallowanyoneintheworld,justpointtothere,theirphotosandvideoclipsandasong,andwewouldautomaticallyturnitintoaTVqualityvideoproduction."Sothat'swhatwecreatedfromtheverybeginning,orvideoslideshows,and...Butoverthecourseofthe10years,wehavecateredtoalotofdifferentusecasesandalotofdifferenttypesofcustomers,butwe're...There'sthebiggesttractiontodayisreallyhelpingbusinessescreatemarketingvideosforsocialmedia,tohelpstandoutonsocialmedia.

Eric: Gotit.That'sincredible.Youguyshaveraisedwhat?30milliontotal?

Brad: That'sright,yeah.

Eric: Gotit.Sowhathaveyouguys...Iguesshowdidyouguysdiscoverthatitwastimetomakesensetopivotoverfromconsumerovertobusiness?What'dyouguyssee?

Brad: Yeahwell,sointheearlydays,whenwewerefocusedontheconsumercustomer,wedidn'tfeel...Onethingthatwegotrightfromtheverybeginningwaswehadabusiness

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model.Wesaid,"Ifthisisqualityenoughthatpeopleshouldbewillingtopay,"andthat

wasprettybold.SowelaunchedinAugustof2007,andwelaunchedwithasubscription

service,andluckilythatcametrue,isthatpeopledidviewit...Atthetimetherewas

competitorssetwithsomethinglikeSlideandRockYou,ifyourememberthose

companies.Soluckilypeopledidviewusdifferentenough,andwerewillingtopay,but

ourpriceforaconsumerwas$30ayeartocreateasmanyvideosasyouwanted.

Sotheinterestingthingwaswestartedtocreateabusiness,westartedtobringinsome

cash,andwegotthiscohortofcustomers,atthetimeitwasprofessional

photographers,andtheysaid,"Wow,thisisperfect.Butifyouaddthisfeatureandthat

feature,we'dbewillingtopay10timesmorethanyou'recharging."Sobasedonthe

dataandtheinput,wesaid,"Well,we'dbefoolishnottodothat,"sothat'swhenwe

startedtowatchthedata,makesurewe'retalkingtocustomersandfigureoutwhat

theirneedswereandadaptingaccordingly.

NowIthinkthisactuallyturnedintoachallengeforusbecauseyoufastforwardtothat

severalyears,andyoucanloseyouridentity,andI'dsaythathappenedtouswhenwe

realizedthatin2011-2012,iswewerecateringtoalotofdifferentkindsofcustomers,a

lotofdifferentkindsofusecases,butifwewerereallytruetoourselves,weweren't

perfectforanytargetcustomer.Whenwelookedatwherethefuturewasgoingand

madesomebets,wesaid,"Okay,we'reprettyconfidentthatthere'sgonnabea

businessdemandhere.We'reprettyconfidentthatthecloudprovidersthatallowyou

tostoretheirphotosforfreearegonnagiveserviceslikethistoconsumersforfree."

Sowemadeourbet,anditwas2011-2012thatthefutureofthecompanywouldbe

helpingbusinesses.Now,westillhavetheverybigrobustbusinesshelpingconsumers,

sofromatotalstrategyperspective,that'simportanttous,butweknowwherethe

futureis,soinaway,it'sonlyimportanttousbetoreally...Tocatapultourbusiness

focus,sowe'llcontinuetohelpconsumersforareally,reallylongtime,butourfocusis

reallyhelpingbusinessesstandoutonsocialmedia.

Eric: Gotit.SowhatI'mhearingisobviouslystartinganykindofbusiness,youhavea

hypothesisinthebeginning,andthenyoutooksometime,lookedatthedata,andthen

youdecidedtofocusinanotherdirection.Howlongdidthatwholeprocesstakeforyou

totransitionoverfromhypothesistomovinginanotherdirection?

Brad: Ohman,probablylongerthanitshouldhave.It'sreallyhardbecauseyoufallinlove

withallthesedifferentkindsofcustomertypes,andformeasaconsumerandanavid

userofourproduct,theusecaseofifIwanttouseitfor,wastheonethatwewere

pivotingawayfrom.Sothere'salwaysalotofstraininthatprocess,soIthinkit'sbeen

anevolutionforus.ButI'dsayreally...Forour...Probablysomethinglikefiveyearsit's

beengradual'causewe'vebeentryingtode-riskitasmuchaspossiblethroughoutthe

process.

Butthecognitiveswitch...Ithinkthatthekeyiswhenthecognitiveswitchhappens,

andthattooksixmonthsofdataandthenthecognitiveswitchhappened,andthenit

wasallabouthowdowedothisinthemostresponsiblewaysothatwecancontinueto

grow,continueeveryyeargrowasacompany,butthatarethemostchipsonthe

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biggestopportunity?

Eric: Right,okay.Yeah,thereasonwhyI'mgettingatthisis'causeitjustittakestimeattheendoftheday,right?Peoplewantthingstohappentomorrow,butthefactofthematterisittookyouguysfiveyearstomakethattransition.Ithinkit'sokayforpeopletojusthangbackalittlesometimesandthenjustbepatientandgoodthingswilleventuallyhappen,right?

Brad: Yeah,Ithinkit'sright.It'sharder...Ifwewerepre-revenueatthetime,it'dbesomucheasier.Butbecauseweactuallyhadsolidlines,multiplesolidlinesofrevenue,wecouldn'tjustkillthoselinesofrevenueanddoapivotmassively.

It'sfunny,wewerewrittenupinTechCrunchin...Ithinkitwas2011,andRyanLawler,who'sthewriterofthearticlethatcoveredus,thetitlewas,"AnimotoPivotstoBusinesses"andIwassocarefulinmyinterviewwithhimnottoeversaythewordpivot'causeformeitwasjustafocus.We'regonnafocusmorehere,butIthinkheunderstoodwhatIwassaying,andinsomewaysIfeellikeIprobablyshould'vebeeninsomewaysmoreboldofmakingthatpredictionatthattime.

Eric: Gotit.Okay.Makesalittlesense.I'mcurious,what'syourbackground?What'syourstory?

Brad: Solet'ssee,went...MyfirstjoboutofschoolwaswithanenterprisesoftwarecompanycalledOnyxSoftware,andwewereaCRM,acustomerrelationshipmanagement.Wecompetedwith[CBull00:07:31],andSalesforce.com.We...Iwaswiththatcompanyforeightyears,soIsawitreallygrow.Actuallyasanintern,beforethat,Isawitgrowfrom17people,allthewayto800peopleandthroughanIPO,andIdidavarietyofrolesthroughmostlyinprofessionalserviceshelpingbigcompanieslikeStarbucksandAAAimplementthisenterprisesoftware,butalsodidstintsinsalesandoperations.

Sothatgavemethebusinessexperience,butitactually...TherootsofAnimototracebackallthewaytohighschool,isIhavethreefriendsIwenttohighschoolwith.Twoof'emwenttocollegewithme,andwehaddoneacoupleprojectsbefore,andmyfavoritewasatDartmouthwe...Igraduated'98,wehadcreateda...somethingcalledaDartmouthinteractivedirectory.DartmouthhadalinkcalledtheFacebook,wecalledtheGreenbook,whichwasaprintoutFacebookthing.Sowewerethefirsttoputthatonlineandinaveryprimitiveformofsocialnetwork,butitwasreallyawesome,andthestudentsusedit.

Oncewegraduated,itdieddown.ThesamepeoplethatcreatedAnimotocreatedthat,andIthinkthatgaveusthebugtorealizethere'ssomebigopportunitieshere.It'sreallyfuntoworktogether,andwhilethatwasn't...Weneverthoughtofthatasacommercial,wethoughtitwasanonprofit-ythingforthecollege.It'sfunnytolookback,Idon'tlosesleepoverthis,but'huh,whatifwehadthoughtbigger?Whatifwehadthoughtoutsideoftheboundsofourschool?'

NowtherealityisIthinkitwaswhatwerethesocialnetworksthatcameoutafterthat?LikeFriendster,andMyspace,soitwasstillsixyearsbeforeZuckerbergentered

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Harvard,but...Sowehadthebug,wehadthebugtodosomethingagain,soweallwentourdifferentways.

Thewaymybackgroundisnotinvideo,butallthreeofmyco-foundersareinentertainmentvideoandmusic.Sosomeoftheirpaths,onewasaproduceratMTVforsomeshows,MTVandVH1,both.ThenanotherwastheleadeditoratPeterJonesProductions,whichwasapartofABCatthetime,sohewasdoingallthemotiongraphicsthatwouldgointothelongformdocumentary.That'swheretheideaandthevisioncamefrom,wasthetwoofthemwerechattingatasakebarinNewYorkCity,andtheywouldchataboutdifferentstartupideas,andCDR,ourfounder,ourtechnicalfoundersaid,"I'mcreatingalotofthesamesortofvideoeditingstyles,andIcan...Inmymind,IcanseewhatIwantittolooklikevery,veryquickly,butthetools...There'szeroscalabilityinthetoolsthatIhavetousetoactuallyproducethatandturnitintovideo."

Sohestartin'tothinkaboutusingtheCSbackgroundtoautomatesomethat,andJason,who'sourpresidentandreallythevisionaryfortheproductfromthebeginningsaid,"Man,imagineifanyoneintheworldcouldtapintoyoursortofvideoeditingskillswithoutdoinganythingaboutthesophisticationofthesoftware."Sotheypitchedthatideatome,andIdidn'tknowifitwaspossible,butIdidknowI'dseensomeofthevideosthattheyhadcreatedintheirfreetime,andthoughttomyself,'ThisisaproductIwoulduse.Idon'tknowifit'sabusinessperse,butIwannausethisproduct,'andIknewmymomwantedtouseit,Iknewmyfriendswouldwanttouseit,sothat'sreallywhatweralliedaround.

Eric: Gotit.Sohowisittoworkwithyourthreehighschoolbuddies?Howtheexperiencebeen?

Brad: It'sbeengreat.We'vebeenatitfor11yearsnow,andIthink...Soforme,'causeIwentintoitwitheyeswideopen.Infact,oneofmymentors,theformerCEOofthatcompanyOnyx,IaskedhimwhenIwasabouttostartthisanyadviceI'dhaveandhebasicallysaid,"Doyoulikeyourpeoplethatyou'reinterestedinco-foundingthiscompanywith?"Isaid,"Yeah,they'remybestfriends."He'slike,"Well,bereallycarefulbecausemoretimesthannot,it'sgonnaturnoutnegativeandyou'renotgonnabefriendsattheendofthis."

Sothatwas...Iwentinwitheyeswideopenofthat,andwemadesurethatwesetupourpartner...Welawyer-edupalittlebit,andmadesureourpartneragreementupfrontwasfairandthatin...Wetriedtocontemplateallthedifferentscenarios,allthedifferentdownsidescenarios,makesurethatweallfeltlikethoseit'dbefairhowthingswouldplayout.SoIthinkifyoucangetitright,ifyoucansetitupright,youhadthatfoundationoftrustfromtheverybeginning,andthatcanpermeatethroughthewholeentireorganization.Soitreallybecomes...Asyoubuildtrustacrossthewholeorg,it'sreallyaboutthevulnerabilitybasedtrustandifyouhavethatatthecore,Ithinkitmakesitaloteasierforthewholecompany,soIthinkthere'sabiginfluenceonculturebecausetherearesuchgreatfriendshipsatthecore,andwecontinuetobegreatfriendstoday.

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Eric: Yeah,that'sinteresting.I've...YouhearfromtheBillCampbellfromthepasttellingF.Williams,"Don'tworkwithyourfriends,duh,duh,duh,duh,duh,"andI'veseenmore...I'vepersonallyworkwithacoupleoffriendsinthepast.Somehavegonewell,somehaven'tgonewell,butyeah,Ithinkultimatelywhatyou'regettingatisalignmentattheendoftheday.Justmakingsurethatyouguysareallonthesamepage?

Brad: Yeah.Oneofthefourofusleftayearago,anditwas...Ifeltlikethewaythatitwasdone,andthewaythatweapproachedit,andthewaythateverythingwasdoneverymaturely,andhe'sgonnabeoneofmybestfriendsfortherestofmylife.ButIthinkyou'dhavetogoinwith...Youhavetohavethosehardconversationsupfront,youhavetoplaythroughthedownsidescenariosandmakesurethatyou'reallcomfortablewhatwouldhappeninthosecases,andIthinkifyoudothatmaturelyandsetitupright,itcanbegreat.

Eric: Awesome.SoIwannatalkaboutthecompanyalittlemorenow.Howdoyouguysmakemoney?Howdoyouguyscharge?Allthatkindofgoodstuff.

Brad: Yeah,soit'sasubscriptionservice.Consumerspayus$99ayeartomakeasmanyslideshowvideosastheywant.Businessespayusonaverage$250ayeartocreateasmanymarketingvideosasthey'dlike.TheproductitselffromamarketingperspectiveisitsakintoSquareSpaceorCanva.

Sotheideaisyougoin,andit'sabuilderprojectandbythatImeanit's...Thereare...Wecall'emstarterstoryboards.Wehavealotofdifferentvideosthatarealreadyproduced,soyoujustlookatafewofthoseyoucanfilterorsearch.Whenyoufindonethatyouwant,yousay,"Oh,Iwannacreatethat."Thenit'sasimpledraganddropinterfacewhereyoujustdraganddropinyourownlogo,maybeafewphotos,maybekeepthephotothat'sinthere.

Withinafewminutesallofasuddenyouhavethisprofessionallookingvideo,sothetrickofitisthatwedon'twantpeopletothinklikevideoeditors,wewantthemtothinkasabuilderofamessage.It'sjustyouwanttocommunicateinthislanguageofvideothat'sbeenmadeevenmorepopularbyFacebook,andwewanttogiveyouthatvoicetohelpyouspeakvideowithoutknowingthehowdifficultitreallyis.

Eric: Awesome,okay.Sohow'sthecompanydoingtodayintermsofwhatevernumbersyoucanrevealaroundrevenues,numbercustomers,thingslikethat.

Brad: Let'ssee,sowehadover...Wehaveover20millionpeoplewho'vetriedtheproduct.Wejustlaunchedthisnewmarketingvideobuilderproductaboutayearago.We'vealreadyhadamillionbusinessescreateavideoonthatnewproduct.

Eric: Wow,okay.Soitsoundslikethisis...WhenyoutalkaboutCanvaandSquareSpace,thisislikewhenpeoplearelookingtogetstartedandtohaveasimplewayofputtingavideotogether,right?Notgoingalloutwithavideoproductioncompany,thingslikethat.

Brad: That'sright.Yup,yup,soit'ssointerestingthatvideosblownupsomuch,withsomany

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categoriesofvideo.Sowe'renotthecompanythatisgonnacreatethecartoonvideoforyoutodemonstratehowtouseaproduct.We'renotgonnabringactorsonsite,we'renotthelightingpeople,we'renotallthatstuff.Ifyouwanttocreateavideolikethevideo'sthatyouseeonFacebook,whetherit'stheTastyfoodvideos,orhowtheypresentnews,orjustthateyecatchingcontentwithyourownlogoinitandyourownphotosandyourvideoclips,andyourownmessagereally.That'swhatyouwannauseAnimotofor.

Eric: Gotit.Okay.Sohowdidyou...Let'sgobacktotheearlydays.Howdidyougoaboutacquiringyourfirst,let'ssay1,000customers?

Brad: Firstofall,Ithink...Well,sowe...Thisis2007,andwewereprettynaïve.Wefeltlike,'Ohman,ifyoucreatedagreatproductthatallofasuddenallthesepeoplewillshowup...'Sothefirst100peoplewerefamilyandfriendsthatwebeggedtousetheproduct.Luckilytheylikedit.

WewerepickedupearlybyUSAToday,theyhadatechblog,ortheystilldo,sothatthendrove...Ithinkthatwasresponsibleprimarilyforthatfirst1,000.ButIthinkit...Wewereabitnaïve,wefeltlike,'Okay,soifwejustgetthesePRhits,that'showyougrow.'Whatwedidn'trealizewastheproductitselfshouldandcanreallydrivegrowthitself.Sowe'retryingtofigureout,'Okay,what'sthedistributionchannel?What'sthedistributionchannel?Howdowegetinfrontofcustomers?'

SoweareseducedbyafewthingslikeifyourememberGooglecreatedasocialnetworkcalledOrchid,waybackwhen.WewereoneoftheirlaunchpartnersonOrchid,andwethought,'Okay,thisisgreat.We'regonnagetinfrontofalltheircustomer.'Thatdidnotwork.Wewereactuallysurprisethatwhentheyreleasedtheirlaunchpartners,wewereoneof250launchpartners,soitbroughtinzerocustomers.

However,wethensaid,"Wellwegottaputourdestinyinourownhands.Let'screateaFacebookapp."Wehadseenthingslikehow...Ithinkitwascalled,"IliketheMusicService"onFacebookthatwentreallyviral.SowecreatedaFacebookappandsimilarthing.Ifyoubuildit,'Okay,aretheygonnacome?'No,theydidnotcome,sowestartedtoplayaroundwithsomeofthe...Someviralhookswithintheapp,andweplayedwithitalot.Atonepointitgotabitspammierthanwenecessaryhadintended,butitledtoalotofinterestingoutcomes.

SoI'llgiveyouanexample.We...ThisFacebookapp...Thiswasin2008,youcould...Whenyouinstalledourapp,itwouldautomaticallycreateavideoforyoufromallyourphotos.SostuffthatFacebook'sdoingtoday,howevertheymakeitprivateandyouhavetoshareit.Wewouldautomaticallyshareitonyourbehalf.Thenwhensomebodyelsewantedtoseethatvideo,they'dhavetoinstalltheapp,anditwouldcreateavideo,andthenwe'dshareitontheirbehalf.Sothatgotalittle...Thatgotprettyspammy.

Eric: IthinkIrememberthat.Iactuallyrememberthat.Iwaslike,"Wow,thisisactuallyprettyaffective."

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Brad: We...Ithinkwehit...Wemight'vehiteverypersononFacebookin2008withthat.

Backbeforeitwashowbigitistoday,butitledtosomeinterestingthings.Oneiswe

realizedholycrap,the...Youcancreate...Therearewaystobuildviralityintoproducts,

andthatwasmorespammythanwewantedtodo,butwe'relike,'Whoa,holycow,this

is...Thisconceptofinternet,youcantouchalotofpeoplearoundtheentireglobe

reallyquickly.'

Sothenwewantedtoharnessthatforgood.ItalsoledtoinvestmentbyAmazon.com.

Wehad...Oursteadystateofvideocreations...Ican'trememberthenumbersexactly,

butwewere...Wehadmaybe200servers,EC2servers,andthiswasearlyin'08.Thisis

theearlydaysEC2,S3hadbeenoutayearorso,butEC2was...Therewerenotalotof

customersonEC2.Inordertohandlethespike,wehadtoscaleourservercountto

5,000overthecourseofafewdays.ThatwasreallyexcitingbecauseAmazonwasinthe

processoftryingtofigureouthowtotellthestoryofEC2.SoJeffBezoswasonthe

road,sotheyendedupusingtheAnimotocasestudyofthefactthatyoucanscale.

It'snotlikethe...There'safamousstoryofthe'ILike'guysthe[inaudible00:19:21]was

theyhadtodriveupanddowninSiliconValleywiththeirU-Haultrucktogetservers

fromalltheirfriendsto...Inordertopowertheirs.Forus,itwasjustinstantiatingnew

instancesofEC2serverswithafewclicksofabuttonandhopethatAmazonhadenough

powerbehindit,andluckilytheydid,andluckilyitallworkedout.Butitreallywasthis

newcasestudyoftheabilitytoscalefastandusingcloudcomputingfromacompute

side.Sowewerereallyexcitedtobepartofthathistoryandagainitledtogoodthings

withAmazon.TheybecameaninvestorofAnimotobackthen.

Eric: Gotit.That'sincredible.Okay,wellwhat'sworkingforyounowadaysintermsof

customeracquisition?

Brad: Weareconstantlytryingallchannels.Yeah,we'reeitheroptimizingcertainstufflike

paidsearchlikeGooglepaidsearch,orwe'reexperimentingwithstufflikeFacebook

advertisingvideos.Butwe'renotdoingmuchbrandstuff,it'sallperformancebased.So

we'renotonbillboardsorsidesofbuses,oranyofthosekindsofthings.Wereallylike

totrackthereturnoninvestmentofourspend,andstaytightthere.

Eric: Gotit.

Brad: But,yeahallsortofchannelswhereyoucanmeasurewe'redabblingin.

Eric: Whatdoyouthink'sthemosteffectivechannelrightnow?

Brad: Wellwhenproductsaregood,wordofmouthiswhatyouseepeoplesayandhowthey

heardaboutyou.That'stheonewewanttobethehighestintermsofhowpeople

heardofus,butwe'rereallypushingtomakesurethatthat'stheonethatwewantto

growthefastest.Theonesthatwefeellikewehavemorecontroloverarepaidsearch,

puttingitthroughGoogle,emailmarketingisveryeffectiveforus.

Eric: Gotit.Okay,great.Whataboutonebigstrugglethatyoufacedgrowingthisbusiness.

I'msureyoufacedatonofthem,butwhat'sthebiggestonethatyoucanremember?

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Brad: Wow,thebiggeststruggleIcanremember.Wellthere'stheidentitycrisesaretheones

thatareinterestingtome.IthinkItalkedaboutthisalittlebitearlier,butwhenyoutry...Ifyou'retryingtoappealtoallcustomers,you'renotgonnabeperfectforanysinglecustomer.Theremightbemorebiggeridentitycrisisoverouryears,butIfeellikethat'stheonethatwe'rereallyfocusedonrightnowishowdowebeperfectforacertaincustomer,whichmeansthatwe'renotgonnabegreatforothers.Butversusbeinggoodforeverybody,wewannabegreatinsingingfromtherooftopsgreatforacertain,particularcustomer.SoI'llusethatasanexample.

Eric: Makessense.Theysaytherichestaretheniches,andsometimesyoucanapplythattocertainnichesofcustomers,right?Andfocusonthose,andthenthat'swherethe80%or80-20roll,right?That'swheretherevenuecomesfrom.

Brad: Yeah,exactly.

Eric: Cool.JustacouplemorequestionshereasIworktowardswrappingup.Whatisonenewtoolthatyou'veaddedinthelastyearthat'saddedalotofvaluetoyourlife?CouldbelikeEvernote.

Brad: Let'ssee,onenewtool.WellI...Wellone...It'saproduct.IgotaPelatonBikeearlierthisyear,andIactuallyfeellikethat'simprovedmyworkinbusinessquiteabitbecauseI'monitallthetime,andI...A,theendorphinsarerunnin'andit'sbeenreallyeffectiveasapersonalhackformefromafitnessperspective.

Eric: That'ssofunny.

Brad: Didthatcount,ordoyouwanna-

Eric: Yeah,thattotallycounts.Iwasjusttalkingtosomebodyelseaboutityesterday,andthen...God,whowasItalkingtoaboutit?IthinkitwassomeVCmaybe,butit'samazingbecauseit'sbasicallyyou'reableto...Youbuyitandthenyoupayamonthlysubscriptionandyou'rebasicallydoingsoulcyclewithpeopleacrosstheworld,right?

Brad: Yeah,yeah,exactly.Exactly,it'dbefuntoget...TogettheirCEOonyourshow.

Eric: Yeah?

Brad: Theyare...Yeah,Ithinkgoingbacktowordofmouth,they'retoutingtheirNPSscoreis90.It'sonlyeclipsedbyAppleandTesla.Idon'tknowifthat'strueornot,buthereIamonyourpodcasttellingalotofpeoplethatthat'sbeenareallyeffectivelifehackformethisyear.SoIwon'tbesurprisedifit'sthatstrong.

Eric: Soareyouabletoworkonitwhileyou'reworkin'out?

Brad: No.Thethingforme...OneofthethingsIreallyfocusedonthisyearis...Ithinkthereis...Myownhealth,andit'snotthatIwasunhealthy,it'sjustthatIfeltlikehealthwasonthesidelinescomparedtomybusiness,andI'vebeeninthislongenoughtorealizethat

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it'snotasprint.It's...Thisisamarathon,andIneedtomakesurethatI'minthebestpossiblehealthsothatIcanbethereforcompany,Icanbethereformyfamily,soI'vereallyfocusedonafewthingsonthepersonalsidejustaround...

ItreallycomesdownIguesstothreethings,whichiswhatIputinmybody,exercise,socaloriesin,caloriesout,andthensleep,whichthesleeponewasasurpriseformethisyear.Ialwaysfeltlikeyoujustdidn'tneedalotofsleep,andItypicallywouldbeupuntil2:00AMworking,butIchangethatroutinequiteabitsoIcangetupnowearlytodothePelatonbeforework.Ifeellikeitsetsmeupwiththerightendorphinsandjustgettingenoughsleepandthenexercisingfirstthinginthemorning.NowI'matmybestatwhenIgettoAnimotointhemorning,andthatI'vejustseenpositivefeedbackloopsbecauseofthatandlotsofdifferentwaysinmylife.

Eric: That'ssointeresting.

Brad: It'seitherthatorit'sliketakecareofyourselfifyouwannatakecareofothers.

Eric: Yup,I'mgonnahavetomaybereplacemystandingtreadmilldeskwiththePelaton,butIthinkyouturnedmytowardsthat.I'lltakealookatthatafterwards.Finalquestionforyou,what'sonemustreadbookthatyourecommendtotheaudience?

Brad: TheonethatI'veused...TheonethatIrecommend,andwillevenbuyforpeopleiscalledTheAdvantagebyPatrickLencioni.He'stheonethatwrote,whatsevendysfunctionsofateam,andsomeofthoseotherbooks,butIthinkTheAdvantagereallywrapsalotofthesemessages.ThemessagethatIlovethemostinit,thatweuseitalmostasbibleatourcompanyisthatcompaniesthatstandthetestoftimearen'tjustsmartwiththerightstrategy,they'reallalsohealthy.That'sthecultureandthevalues,andthediversity.That'ssomethingthatwe'velivedbyatAnimotos.Wedon'tjustwannatobethesmartest,wealsowannabethehealthiestcompanytoreallystandthetestoftimethroughnaturalebbsandflowsthathappenwithanybusiness.IthinkTheAdvantagereallyoutlinesthatreallywell,andgivesalotofhelpfultoolsjusttoevenhowtorunanexecutiveteameffectivelythatIusealotofthem.

Eric: Great,wellthat'stwothingsIneedtolookintonow.Sowe'lladdthePelaton,andwe'lladdTheAdvantageintotheshownotes.Brad,thishasbeenawesome.What'sthebestwayforpeopletofindyouonline?

Brad: Yeah,BradJeffersononTwitteriseasy.I'malsoonFacebook,andthenyoucanalwayssendanotetomeatAnimoto.Brad@Animoto.com.

Eric: Awesome.Brad,thankssomuchfordoingthis.

Brad: ThanksEric.

Speaker2: ThanksforlisteningtothisepisodeofGrowthEverywhere.Ifyoulovedwhatyouheard,besuretoheadbacktoGrowthEverywhere.comfortoday'sshownotes,andatonofadditionalresources.Butbeforeyougo,hitthesubscribebuttontoavoidmissingoutonnextweek'svaluepackedinterview.Enjoytherestofyourweek,andremembertotake

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action,andcontinuegrowing.

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