The start of a Startup

I am extremely proud to say that we successfully launched an online video based photography school – Lunchbox! You have no idea what kind of emotions arise when I read that sentence or say it out loud.

The exhilaration, the hard work, the what-if’s, the expectations, the surprises, the assumptions, the potential, the late nights, big plans and reality is like no roller coaster ride in the world could offer.

We have been working on Lunchbox for more than 12 months actively with the idea being around for more than two years (in fact, more than 10 years if you ask my wife). To this day, i am still the only person on the team who has met all the other 12 people who made Lunchbox possible, face-to-face. This has been a great experiment in working remotely and it has been extremely liberating to build a company in this way.

One of the toughest things in this whole process has been to accept the brutal reality that Lunchbox will never be perfect. It will always be growing, changing, testing and evolving. Right now, just more than  24 hours after launch, we have enough ideas and plans to keep our designers, developers and animators busy for another 12 months. And we plan to! The implication of the above reality is that we had to be happy to show something to the world that I know is not the reality of our ultimate dream. It is merely the first step…

Why is this so scary? It is a weird kind of vulnerable that is very hard to explain. I think it is the kind of vulnerable and exposed feeling that only creatives, entrepreneurs, artists or any kind of person who has the balls to start something new and show it to the world can know! And that feeling is strangely exhilarating as it is scary!

One of the most valuable experiences I take from this crazy awesome roller coaster journey I am on, is the incredible people I have the privilege to work with! They are an inspirational batch of creative entrepreneurs who are willing to share in a dream and do what it takes to make it happen. Every one of you inspire me 😉

Please read these blog posts written about Lunchbox by other members of the team:

Receiving the first dollar – Adii Pienaar

Lunchbox is alive – Christine Meintjes

Bite-sized Photography Lessons – Andrew Schar