How One Entrepreneur Is Connecting Celebrities With Their Fans

After graduating from the famed Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, Steve Ellis spent the next decade trying to make it in the music business, while tending bar on the side. According to Ellis, he was one of the lowest earning Wharton grads in the school’s history. He persevered, though, and founded Pump Audio, as a means of distributing his own music online. The site eventually became the de facto online destination for independent artists looking to license their music, and in 2007, Ellis sold Pump Audio to Getty Images for a reported $42 million.

Back as a second-time entrepreneur, Ellis’ latest venture is creating a marketplace for celebrity content where none previously existed. At WhoSay, Ellis is building a platform that simplifies the direct-to-fan relationship, creating greater engagement for the celebrities and influencers who use it.

You can watch the video on Venture Studio.

Why Startups Need to Talk to Their Customers

Based on lean startup methodology, Lean Startup Machine is a weekend-long startup competition, as well as a workshop for educating entrepreneurs on lean startup best practices. Founded by NYU business school drop out Trevor Owens, Lean Startup Machine plays host to a list of tech royalty, who come in to advise participants and teach teams how to understand their customers, quickly build, validate or invalidate their initial assumptions and then persevere or pivot, based on that feedback.

Check out our interview to learn how Lean Startup Machine has helped participants figure out if their ideas are valid and pivot if they’re not. Owens elaborates on why he feels that sometimes the best way to give entrepreneurs a dose of reality is to kick them out of the building and what he looks for when reviewing applications for his program (hint: demonstrate that you’re truly dedicated to being an entrepreneur).

You can watch the video on Venture Studio.

Thanks to Mike Brown, Jr. for hosting our shoot at AOL Ventures.