TIOTI – Social Networking meets TV shows online
My first startup has always been a talent magnet. When we first opened our UK office in 2001, I ran across a particularly talented freelance designer who would later go on to be a creative director at Razorfish UK.
We stayed in touch, and he ran an idea by me in late 2005. What if a bit torrent TV download/streaming site got mashed-up with social networking? Find shows you like, share them with friends and discover new stuff from people like you. Good idea.
I took a hiatus from ipi.net to work full-time on TIOTI from early 2006 until late-2007. During that time, I brought together the legal, partner and technical content to get across the finish line with a round of angel investment led by an extremely talented and successful gropu in the UK. Series A funding followed a few months later.
Ultimately, my “yin” and my co-founder’s “yang” were a bad fit. I wanted to create revenue from partnerships and focus on the social side. Fans seemed to agree.
My co-founder wanted to stay “pre-revenue” to avoid the possibility of underwhelming revenue that could kill follow-on investment valuations. He also wanted to focus on pushing international content toward a unified release date. In other words, let international users download content from the US even if not strictly “allowed” under various terms of use.
I left TIOTI in early-2008. The company was later acquired.