From The Guys at Animoto

Two years ago, we sat at a little wooden, wobbly table at the back corner of a little hole-in-the-wall bar in the East Village and, with the aid of a couple 350ml bottles of cheap Gekkeikan sake, scribbled up ideas for this video technology on a bunch of used napkins. It was then that we decided to set out to make it happen. Good thing we didn’t have the foresight, wisdom, or general sanity to know how much work it would actually take. If we had, Animoto would probably had just become a mere memory of long-lost ambition fueled solely by alcohol and academic nerdom. Thanks Gekkeikan for giving us just the correct dosage of false confidence needed to get started with this venture! They don’t call it liquid courage for nothing.

Two years later it seems you, our users, have vindicated our ridiculous judgment to quit our jobs in order to pursue this startup. We’ve been running with our heads down so hard and so fast for so long that now, when we take a moment to look up, blink really hard, and rub our eyes… we find it totally surreal to see that, yeah, people are actually using this thing. And around the clock in 150+ countries, no less! The thought that this whole endeavor started off as mere chicken scratch on bar napkins is a pretty crazy one. If only we still had those napkins, I’m pretty sure we could eBay them for at least $10 one day when we’re famous. [Thanks in advance, Dad. You're so the best.]

Since launching our site four months ago, you’ve literally bombarded us with thousands of emails. Originally, we thought we had a pretty sweet music video maker for bands and artists. We’ve since written with people producing videos in more ways than we could have ever imagined… snowboarders touting their latest insanities, Facebook-fanatics crafting their latest “who-am-I” video profiles, football teams reliving their big Friday night win, animal-lovers that can’t stop sending us videos of their pets, online daters trying to score just one date with a normal person, DJ’s recreating that last night of Burning Man, models and actors working on their portfolio submissions, jazz quartets experimenting with live performance visuals, bikers bragging about the latest mountain they’ve conquered with evidence of bruises and blood, nature photographers showcasing their latest spread, real estate brokers looking to out-do their nemesis, third-grade students surprising their teachers with their class presentations, illustrators discovering how to inject their art with even more life, conference speakers needing to kick-start their sleepy audiences, party organizers promoting the next hot bar scene, car enthusiasts boasting their new rims, bridezillas perfecting their set of wedding videos, aspiring film writers producing clever comedy shorts, memorabilia collectors showing off their collections, new parents proudly announcing the arrival of their new one, New Age psychologists giving their clients new ways to visualize important memories, and even families keeping in touch with their sons and daughters serving in Iraq. Common to all of these is a shared stories, a glimpse into one’s life, a taste of one’s creativity, and a soundtrack evoking that perfect feeling.

It’s because of these emails that we continue to love what we’re doing, despite the loss of sleep (not to mention a social life) in order to provide this service for you guys. We thank you for all your words of support, encouragement, and reminders of what makes this startup life all so cool.

We’re really looking forward to the new year with all of you. In all honesty, we feel like we’re just getting started. We have more surprises in the works, our team here is growing, and the list of things we want to do is only getting longer.

So… onto to 2008!
Another 350ml bottle of liquid courage, please.
Actually, make that 700ml…

~ by producer guy jason on January 1st, 2008.