Ultra-Light Startup to $20 Million in Revenue: WatchUWant CEO OJ Whatley (Part 5)

Sramana Mitra: You said in 2006 you were doing $6 million? OJ Whatley: Yes, $6 million – $500,000 in receipts per month. Sramana Mitra: What was the inventory situation at that point? OJ Whatley: I probably had closer to 50 to 80. Sramana Mitra: That’s still out of your home?

Ultra-Light Startup to $20 Million in Revenue: WatchUWant CEO OJ Whatley (Part 4)

Sramana Mitra: It sounds like your business was entirely Panerai until what year? OJ Whatley: Until about 2003. Sramana Mitra: What did you do after 2003? OJ Whatley: Again, I’ve always loved watches. Panerai has captured my heart. In fact to this day, my license plate is Panerai. I fell in love with Panerai like

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Ultra-Light Startup to $20 Million in Revenue: WatchUWant CEO OJ Whatley (Part 3)

Sramana Mitra: Talk a bit more about some of the granular details of specific elements? OJ Whatley: In 2000, I walked into a watch store and I happened to pick up these hardcover books on the history of Panerai. They were like coffee table books. I went on eBay and found about eight of these

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Ultra-Light Startup to $20 Million in Revenue: WatchUWant CEO OJ Whatley (Part 2)

Sramana Mitra: Why watches? OJ Whatley: I’ve always loved watches. Even going back to my days as a 10-year-old, I was always enamored of watches. Sramana Mitra: It’s a passion. OJ Whatley: Yes. The price points were $10 to $300. I was always obsessed with watches and I’ve been wearing a watch since I was

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Ultra-Light Startup to $20 Million in Revenue: WatchUWant CEO OJ Whatley (Part 1)

If you haven’t already, please study our Bootstrapping Course and Investor Introductions page. OJ Whatley did $6 million in revenue in 2006 from his home, with ‘me, myself, and I.’ Further elaborating on the ultra-light startup trend, we bring you his story of approaching $20 million with 20 employees. Sramana Mitra: Let’s start at the beginning of your story.

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Seed Capital From Angel Investors: Dave McClure, Founder, 500 Startups (Part 5)

By guest authors Irina Patterson and Candice Arnold Irina: Do you hold any events for entrepreneurs? Dave: Actually, I put on a decent-sized 300- to 500-person conference on a quarterly basis. I also run a lot of user groups and events, meetings, and dinners. We’re running one called Warm Gun, a conference about design and

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