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How we convinced angels to invest in our porn startup

blog.paintbottle.com

1–10 of 24 posts

Re: How we convinced angels to invest in our porn startup

#5
Could you share some of the business details of running a porn site? I've always been curious, but there's not much reliable information. Something in this industry would probably be a smash hit business case.

- Supply chain: how do you source models? How do you negotiate fees? What is the average fee, and how do they charge?

- Are there inter-business politics? Like, will some models refuse to shoot scenes with other models?

- How do models work legally? Do you contract them or employ them if they've never done a shoot before?

- What are your profit margins like, and what are your breakeven numbers like?

- How often do you demand STI testing data? Are models worried about this?

- Are models your main source of COGS? What are your major expense items?

- What are the most challenging decisions you have to make on a daily basis?

- Is porn really a hyper-competitive market?

I've seen business cases from a ton of different industries, but adult entertainment has been completely secluded. Any information would be wonderful :)

Re: How we convinced angels to invest in our porn startup

#6

Could you share some of the business details of running a porn site? I've always been curious, but there's not much reliable information. Something in this industry would probably be a smash hit business case. - Supply chain: how do you source models? How do you negotiate fees? What is the average fee, and how do they charge? - Are there inter-business politics? Like, will some models refuse to shoot scenes with othe…

[deleted]

Re: How we convinced angels to invest in our porn startup

#7
Nothing to say about the article, but I loved the format of this:

> However, quite simply, porn is not inherently evil. (If you refute that, you’re engulfed by the Victorian-era hyperbole of the sinful and tasteless expressions of sexuality.)

You can rewrite it in the general form as:

> Assertion X. (If you disagree, you're clearly unreasonable.)

Making an assertion and then following it with a parenthetical over-simplification, and quick dismissal of, an opposing viewpoint. It lets you say what you want, take a quick jab at the opposition, and quickly scurry away.

If you're going to write that kind of a one-off statement you raise more questions about your own understanding of the issue than you answer and you may as well not write it. (And if you don't understand why, you're clearly an unpersuasive writer.)

Re: How we convinced angels to invest in our porn startup

#8

Could you share some of the business details of running a porn site? I've always been curious, but there's not much reliable information. Something in this industry would probably be a smash hit business case. - Supply chain: how do you source models? How do you negotiate fees? What is the average fee, and how do they charge? - Are there inter-business politics? Like, will some models refuse to shoot scenes with othe…

Interesting questions. I'll touch upon this in a future blog post.

For now, we've indirectly answered some of those points in an infographic we put together: http://paintbottle.com/press/infographic_production.jpg

Re: How we convinced angels to invest in our porn startup

#9
That was an impressively long justification for a perfectly legal business.

I'm curious, though - why start a business in an industry where you've had to spend time writing essays 'reasoning through your fears', instead of just doing something you're not conflicted about, and can get fully behind without any reservations, qualifiers, or arguments?

Re: How we convinced angels to invest in our porn startup

#10
post #9

That was an impressively long justification for a perfectly legal business. I'm curious, though - why start a business in an industry where you've had to spend time writing essays 'reasoning through your fears', instead of just doing something you're not conflicted about, and can get fully behind without any reservations, qualifiers, or arguments?

Jeff Bezos' regret minimization framework: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwG_qR6XmDQ

We genuinely wanted to fix the UX problems associated with porn.

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