The two things I wish we’d done sooner at Scripted

Regret #1: We should have experimented with monthly subscriptions sooner Just mentioning this concept rolled eyes and raised eyebrows on my team. Everyone was either a nay or an abstention on this one. I couldn’t get a single ally. It was a touchy subject because the implications were huge. Everyone was right about that. When… Continue reading The two things I wish we’d done sooner at Scripted

The story behind our layoffs

It’s hard to write about layoffs. It’s admitting failure on multiple levels: failure to manage people and cash, failure to adapt, and failure to see the future. It actually happens a lot. Companies that have raised over $500M go through it. Even companies that are profitable have layoffs. And so do companies run by Tony… Continue reading The story behind our layoffs

On being the 3rd CEO of the startup I co-founded

Please allow me to re-introduce myself. Last July I became CEO of the company that I co-founded with Sunil Rajaraman and Zak Freer nine years earlier, in 2007. Originally, we were a web-based screenwriting software company called Scripped. After building it for three years while Zak had a full-time job and Sunil and I were… Continue reading On being the 3rd CEO of the startup I co-founded

I’m not shaving until my company is profitable

I’ve been working on Scripted for five years and it’s never been profitable. More like ten years if you count my pre-pivot company too. Even when we didn’t have employees, we still weren’t profitable. We actually didn’t lose a lot of money back then, but we didn’t make a lot either. Then we raised $18M… Continue reading I’m not shaving until my company is profitable