Today we’d like to introduce you to Steve Messa.
Steve, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
InfluenceLogic got its start as a different company, VidFall, because the two founders (myself and Joel Robinson) partnered with a VC firm in Manchester, NH (Wasabi Ventures) that wanted to take a chance on incubating a company from the ground up with us.
VidFall began in 2014 as a live video platform where brands and social media influencers could connect for live-stream commerce events. After two years growing VidFall, we realized that the larger opportunity for us was not creating the video platform (creating a platform is a very large task, and we didn’t have tremendous resources nor the expertise), but rather in the larger trend of social media influencers and connecting them with brands.
It was during this time, about June 2016, where we made the pivot to InfluenceLogic and created a software platform that acted as a talent scouting tool to identify social media influencers before they became massive starts. Brands would use our software to identify and recruit influencers into their marketing programs for sponsorship and advertising purposes.
At the beginning of 2017, after growing InfluenceLogic to 20 enterprise customers (one of which being LBRY – a popular Boston-based blockchain company), we began to realize that the smarter business move for us was to stop selling InfluenceLogic as a software platform and focus on using the technology ourselves to build influencer networks. This is where our current business model came from – We power two of the largest influencer networks in the health and cryptocurrency spaces.
CreatorHealth: More than 500 social media influencers have participated in our network, partnering with brands for massive marketing campaigns, like BetterHelp (the largest online counseling platform), and other brands that are making a positive health impact on the world.
HODL Network: With more than 150 social media influencers, journalists, and fund managers in the space, HODL Network is the most influential network in the space. Our network includes exclusive curriculum to get members up to speed, breaking news in the space, and deal flow for business opportunities. We are very fortunate to have the first-mover advantage in this space and a significant head start due to our pre-existing experience and technology.
One of our saving graces as a company was our decision not to do a traditional fundraising round, but rather grow our business based on cash flow. This forced us to identify real market trends and create real value for customers. We believe firmly that when you focus on creating value, you cannot lose. Many startups make the mistake of building a business before identifying and creating value in the market.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
This has been a journey of ups and downs, without a doubt. I look back at when we started this company almost four years ago and think, “wow, look at how far away we were from where we needed to go.” But, the truth is that I will look back in another four years and think the same exact thing. This is why ‘loving the journey’ is so important.
The fact of the matter is, this game is all about the journey. And the journey includes brutal challenges, like your investors saying things like “you need to figure this out or we’re going to put this dog down” in order to get your nerves up so you figure something out, which happened to us right after our hard pivot from VidFall to InfluenceLogic. But the reality is that those challenges shape and mold character, business acumen, and ultimately enable founders and a company to ascend to the next level.
Joel and I would kayak at Lake Massabesic before moving to Phoenix, and say to ourselves “the answer is out there… there is a way for us to do this.” And we’d always push forward.
Our biggest mistakes were focusing on the wrong models for too long, like the VidFall model. We should have learned more quickly, and wasted less money. One reason we did learn slowly is because we did not invest heavily into paid marketing, which slowed our growth and slowed our learning. This is one of the struggles with bootstrapping – Even though we were incubated by Wasabi Ventures, we did not have funds to do paid marketing. When we began driving some revenue, we invested in paid marketing, and then realized our current model would never scale. In turn, prompting the pivot.
Joel and I have always stayed positive, humble, and passionate. Those three elements are key to weathering any storm.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
We operate two influencer networks: CreatorHealth in the health space. And HODL Network in the cryptocurrency space. Our goal is to create win-win relationships between all stakeholders in the networks, enabling everyone to learn, grow, monetize, and give back to the community in a positive way.
I am most proud of bootstrapping to a company with 8 people. We created this. We had help along the way, without a doubt, but this company was built from the ground up, in a space, we’re so passionate about, with a solid foundation built on market value. This same factor also sets ourselves apart from others. It’s easy to buy your way into success, but to create it from the ground up without piles of cash, I believe is especially awesome.
What were you like growing up?
At heart, I am a creator. I trace my path as a creator back to when I was 7 years old and began playing the drums. My experience as a drummer taught me what it takes to be a leader, to set a tempo and follow it with conviction, to lead groups and teams into darkness in order to ultimately find the light.
The skills I’ve attained by building bands, producing music, growing companies, and serving non-profit organizations has given me an ability to create and orchestrate the visions I hold inside my mind quickly and accurately. Over the last two decades, I have learned first-hand that when approaching projects with passion, humility and a positive heart, there are no limits to what we can create.
Over time, I’ve grown to become more outgoing. I’ve taken (and still am taking) improv classes to sharpen my wit and become comfortable speaking in front of crowds, and in the last year, I’ve become MUCH more interested in ‘service to others,’ shifting some of my attention to a passion / philanthropic project of mine – Creator.org. Creator.org is an organization dedicated to helping people find their passion and turn it into a career through entrepreneurship. This will become more of a focus in the coming years as InfluenceLogic enters a more stable position where I can begin to shift my time.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.influencelogic.com www.hodlnetwork.com www.creatorhealth.com
- Email: steve@influencelogic.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stevemessa/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/influencelogic/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/stevemessa
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevemessa/
Image Credit:
Trinh Pham – https://www.youtube.com/user/trinhtrontrinh
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