Justin Kan straps a camera to his head.
To broadcast his life on the internet 24/7.
That startup turned into Twitch which sold to Amazon for almost $1 billion.
Here's the story🧵
To broadcast his life on the internet 24/7.
That startup turned into Twitch which sold to Amazon for almost $1 billion.
Here's the story🧵
1/ Emmett Shear and Justin Kan graduate from Yale in 2005 and launch their first business:
Kiko Calendar
A calendar for Gmail before Google Calendar.
Kiko Calendar
A calendar for Gmail before Google Calendar.
2/ "We didn't know what we were doing."
- Emmett
But they keep building Kiko and eventually sell it on eBay for $258,100.
Yes, they sold a business on eBay.
- Emmett
But they keep building Kiko and eventually sell it on eBay for $258,100.
Yes, they sold a business on eBay.
3/ Emmett and Justin's next big idea is JustinTV.
Justin would broadcast his life 24/7 on the internet.
They convince an old friend from Yale to join: Michael Seibel.
Next, they recruit MIT Junior Kyle Vogt.
Vogt drops out to join the team.
Justin would broadcast his life 24/7 on the internet.
They convince an old friend from Yale to join: Michael Seibel.
Next, they recruit MIT Junior Kyle Vogt.
Vogt drops out to join the team.
4/ JustinTV launches in 2007.
The first version is a single page website streaming Justin's life.
By mid 2010, JustinTV peaked at 10,000 users.
But by August 2010, they were burning $250K per month.
The first version is a single page website streaming Justin's life.
By mid 2010, JustinTV peaked at 10,000 users.
But by August 2010, they were burning $250K per month.
5/ They needed money and they needed it now.
At the current rate, they were 2 months til bankruptcy.
At the current rate, they were 2 months til bankruptcy.
6/ So Justin, Michael, Emmett and Kyle start a monthly brainstorming session:
The Goal: Make Money
On a whiteboard, they created 2 columns.
Column A: Ways to make money
Column B: Ways to spend less money
Every month they brain dumped ideas.
The Goal: Make Money
On a whiteboard, they created 2 columns.
Column A: Ways to make money
Column B: Ways to spend less money
Every month they brain dumped ideas.
7/ They sorted ideas by highest potential.
Then spent the next month executing them.
4 months later, they were doing $1M in profit.
Then spent the next month executing them.
4 months later, they were doing $1M in profit.
8/ But growth slowed and the team realized something:
It was time to pivot or die.
It was time to pivot or die.
9/ After months of debate, the founding team was split on 2 new ideas:
• SocialCam = TikTok before TikTok
• Streaming for Gamers
Seibel wanted to do SocialCam.
Emmett wanted to focus on gamers.
• SocialCam = TikTok before TikTok
• Streaming for Gamers
Seibel wanted to do SocialCam.
Emmett wanted to focus on gamers.
10/ So they decide to test both.
Seibel spins off with a 4 person team to run SocialCam.
Emmett pivots JustinTV to focus 100% on gamers.
Seibel spins off with a 4 person team to run SocialCam.
Emmett pivots JustinTV to focus 100% on gamers.
11/ Ok, but how would Emmett know if the project worked?
He used a clear metric and set a measurable deadline:
If they didn't grow 25% per month for 6 months, they would kill the project.
He used a clear metric and set a measurable deadline:
If they didn't grow 25% per month for 6 months, they would kill the project.
12/ In June 2011, they hit the goal and pivoted to become Twitch.
That year they hit 3.2 million monthly visitors.
In 2012, they hit 20 million monthly visitors.
In 2013, they hit 45 million monthly visitors.
In 2014, Twitch sold to Amazon for $970 million.
That year they hit 3.2 million monthly visitors.
In 2012, they hit 20 million monthly visitors.
In 2013, they hit 45 million monthly visitors.
In 2014, Twitch sold to Amazon for $970 million.
13/ SocialCam ended up selling for $60 million in 2012.
14/ Lessons:
1) Set clear, measurable goals to test an idea
2) Don't underestimate a great team with a bad first idea.
It might just end up as the next billion dollar startup.
1) Set clear, measurable goals to test an idea
2) Don't underestimate a great team with a bad first idea.
It might just end up as the next billion dollar startup.
15/ What the founding 4 are doing now:
• @justinkan: Creator and investor at Goat Capital
• @eshear: CEO of Twitch
• @mwseibel: CEO of YCombinator
• @kvogt: co-founder + CTO of Cruise, $30B self-driving car startup
• @justinkan: Creator and investor at Goat Capital
• @eshear: CEO of Twitch
• @mwseibel: CEO of YCombinator
• @kvogt: co-founder + CTO of Cruise, $30B self-driving car startup
16/ Retweet the 1st tweet to share how a "bad" 1st idea can turn into a billion dollar exit:
https://twitter.com/chrishlad/status/1412553652653395972?s=20
Toss in your email here to let me spend 68.8 hours digging up the coolest stuff on the internet: chrishlad.com
I also interviewed Michael and Emmett this past year.
You can check out the recordings here:
elispeakerseries.buzzsprout.com
You can check out the recordings here:
elispeakerseries.buzzsprout.com
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