There is some misinformation floating around the Twittersphere about ShootQ and I want to publicly state the facts so there are no rumors. Life's too short for counterproductive speculation.
BackgroundShootQ was started by the owners (Andrew, Rachel, Mark) of LaCour, a wedding photography studio based in Atlanta, GA. In 2006, LaCour shot 53 weddings and grossed approximately $388,000.
The partners of LaCour launched ShootQ to the photo industry in 2007. We hired our first employee (a developer) in summer 2007. The company has grown to 10 team members.
The excitement of developing ShootQ and some personal events, caused us to shift our full-time efforts to ShootQ. We've worked to maintain LaCour and we continue to shoot weddings, but have put LaCour's growth plans on hold until we reach some goals for ShootQ. In 2010, LaCour has 12 weddings booked, most are approximately $11,000 Collections. We have a few that are $8-9k, and a few that are upwards of $20,000.
LaCour's brand value is grounded in discretion. Our years of experience in journalism translate to storytelling skills in wedding photography. We craft a portfolio of images that tells the authentic story of a couple's wedding day.
ShootQ Owners, Partners and Employees:
ShootQ is a privately-held LLC.
Its owners are:
• Andrew Niesen, CEO
• Rachel LaCour Niesen, CMO
• Mark Adams, COTR
In the near future, equity/options will be shared with our CXOs and employees.
The following people are full-time employees (in addition to the three above):
• Jonathan LaCour, CTO
• Ryan Petrello, Lead Developer
• Adam Linke, CSO
• Katie Van Buren, Community Concierge
• Maureen Sullivan, Sales Associate
• Justin Lund, COCS
• Travis Schreer, Customer Service and Training Resources Specialist
Contractors
ShootQ regularly pays the following people for outside services:
• Tennille Christensen, Tech Law Garden, our retained legal counsel.
• Dan Wykoff, Controller. Manages ShootQ finances.
Key Volunteers
The following people have generously given their time to the ShootQ community because they love ShootQ and our community of photographers. They receive NO pay or compensation, other than an occasional meal or glass of wine :)
• Katie Humphreys
• Airika Pope
• Christine Tremoulet
• Mike Larson
• Liana Lehman
• Laura Novak
• Will Jacks
• Jen & Steve Bebb
• Luke Edmonson
Marketplace
Because many photographers don't have good workflows, questionnaires, contracts, or email templates, we contacted professional photographers who've figured this stuff out and asked them if they want to offer their products via the ShootQ Marketplace for our community. The following people receive a 50% commission of what we collect on their products in the marketplace:
• Sara France
• Davina Fear
• John Mireles
• Katie Van Buren
• Jeff & Erin Youngren
• Dane Sanders
Strategic Partners:
ShootQ's mission statement is to empower photographers to be profitable and purposeful. We selected strategic partners who help us provide a more complete set of tools for us to fulfill our mission. These individuals are not owners of ShootQ.
• Photography Merchant Solutions: We negotiated the best rates that we can find in the industry for credit card processing. ShootQ receives a small commission for referring customers to PMS.
• LiveBooks: LiveBooks, a website company, participates in cross-marketing and promotional campaigns with ShootQ. Occasionally, we will co-sponsor an event with LiveBooks (like the bowling night at Imaging 2010) and pay LiveBooks to reimburse them for expenses. No other money changes hands.
• Dane Sanders: Dane taught leadership and career development at Westmont in Santa Barbara, Calif. Following his teaching career, Dane began a wedding photography business. While he still shoots, Dane has emerged as an industry thought leader. He helps emerging photographers understand how to hone in on their personal vision and avoid the common pitfalls that beginners experience. Because his message is so closely aligned with ShootQ's mission statement, ShootQ supports Dane in the following ways: ShootQ sponsors his FastTrack roadshow for $500 per show to cover meal expenses for students. He discloses clearly at his workshop that ShootQ buys lunch. ShootQ also underwrites the "Ask Dane" webcast for $500 per month. This is disclosed during every webcast. Finally, ShootQ bought 500 of Dane's previous edition books for $2500 and gave them away in a Twitter promotion.
• ShootDotEdit: We participate in cross-marketing initiatives with Shoot-dot-Edit. No money changes hands.
• Pictage: ShootQ and Pictage participate in cross-marketing initiatives. We have sponsored and exhibited at PartnerCon and have co-sponsored parties with Pictage, such as Studio 54 at WPPI.
• Mad Mimi: We're good friends with the folks at Mad Mimi. Their story is a lot like ours. We refer customers to them; they have an affiliate program in which we participate and receive a commission for referring customers.
Workshop Sponsorships
ShootQ sponsors workshops after we've vetted the people giving the workshop and made sure that they have integrity, that they are qualified to teach. If the ShootQ logo appears on a workshop, we have likely supported the workshop by contributing monies to defray expenses, such as lunch, lodging, equipment etc.
ZoomInfo.com
Zoominfo is a website that uses robots to crawl public websites, collect keywords and compile dossiers on companies. Because their information is collected and processed by computers, its accuracy is questionable.
ShootQ's ZoomInfo profile site lists Dane Sanders and Ryan Kenney (of Photography Merchant Systems) as "partners" in ShootQ, suggesting they are equity stakeholders. This is false; the correct information is listed above. We have contacted ZoomInfo to correct this error.
Financial Position
ShootQ is a bootstrapped company, meaning that we have only used our own financial resources to start, develop and grow ShootQ. We invested nearly all of LaCour's 2008 and 2009 profits into ShootQ's growth.
As of the end of the first quarter 2010, ShootQ's monthly revenue is covering its operating costs, paying all 10 employees, and leaving a modest surplus. Everyone is being paid except the CEO, Andrew Niesen.
ShootQ is in a healthy financial position and has access to adequate funds to continue growing and operating.
And, the CEO happily drives a 2003 diesel VW Jetta, which he shares with his wife. :) Someday he may be compensated for all of these 80-hour work weeks. But instead of buying a flashy car, he'll buy an apartment in Berlin, rent a cool car and drive on the Autobahn!
