Today we’d like to introduce you to Mark Ethier.
Mark, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I started iZotope with some friends as an undergraduate at MIT. I was pursuing two degrees, one in computer science and one in music, and starting iZotope was a way to combine both of my passions. I had done an internship at a Boston-based music software company called Cakewalk, and that experience opened my eyes to the vast market of recording and audio production and led me to meet some of my co-founders.
As undergrads in 2001, we created a free software product called Vinyl, which made your music sound like it was being played on a record player. Tens of thousands of people downloaded and loved Vinyl, which gave us the confidence to start the company after we graduated.
That summer, we lived on the cheapest food we could find and released our first product for sale—partially because we needed the money for food and rent! The new product for audio mastering, called Ozone, was born out of our own journey to learn about how to record an album. We were trying to combine our needs as musicians with the advanced technology we studied at MIT. Luckily, the release made us enough money that we could pay rent and keep going.
At first, we targeted the new market of hobbyist musicians who were recording at home. At that time, personal computers were just fast enough to enable an affordable home studio, but the traditional tools were built for professional recording engineers. Over time, music professionals started using our tools. In 2006, we launched a tool for audio repair and cleanup called RX, which helped establish us as a standard in professional film, TV, radio and podcast production.
In 2013, we were honored with a Technical Emmy for RX for changing the way that TV was produced. Today, our products are a standard in professional and hobbyist studios around the world and are used on everything from Game of Thrones to the podcast Serial to the hit song, “Despacito.”
Through it all, we’ve stayed true to the original approach of combining the needs of artists with the latest advanced technology available.
Has it been a smooth road?
Starting and growing a company is an endless series of obstacles and challenges. One of my theories is that successful businesses are born from the founders’ resilience to failure and willingness to learn and develop. In our early years, we launched a set of failed photo editing and sharing products. We’ve had close calls where we needed something to succeed to make payroll. We’ve had products that launch months and even years late. We’ve experienced all manner of growing pains as we’ve gone from a few people in a dorm room to over 100 people in Kendall Square. In every case, we regrouped, learned from our mistakes, tried again, and got lucky a lot.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with iZotope – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
iZotope creates software and hardware for audio production and performance including repair, editing, mixing, mastering, and creative effects and instruments. Our specialty is in the manipulation of sound ranging from practical tools for removing background noise from a video shoot to creative tools for producing a new vocal sound for a hit song.
We’re best known for creating new classes of audio processing with intuitive user interfaces and immersive visualizations. As a company, we work to bring the latest in technology to the audio industry. One example is using machine learning to drive assistive audio production.
I’m most proud of the impact we’ve had on media production and the art we’ve helped inspire. Through our education, we’ve also enabled people to create work they never would have thought possible.
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
Growing up, I had a lot of interests and was pretty curious, always asking questions. I was a pianist, composer, and played soccer on MIT’s varsity team. I loved technology, and even ran for election at eighteen, serving as a Town Meeting Member in Shrewsbury. My mom would say that I spent most of my childhood disassembling things around the house, so I hope that in starting iZotope, I’ve been able to make up for it by putting a whole bunch of new things together!
Contact Info:
- Address: 60 Hampshire St
- Website: www.izotope.com
- Phone: 6175777799
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/izotopeinc/
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/izotopeinc/
- Twitter: twitter.com/iZotopeInc
Image Credit:
Caroline Alden
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