Paul Lemley invited me to Stone Creek Coffee in Walkers Point, his remote office of choice especially on a hot summer day. Paul marked out his passion for storytelling in Dubuque, Iowa, setting up Dubuque’s first TEDx event and working alongside a non-profit first to augment their marketing capabilities. Paul began pitching Hivecast in the summer of 2016 to old employers, friends and family, and found a forward momentum that has led him to a four person partnership and the upcoming launch of his first app.
About Hivecast
Hivecast’s inspiration came from the Lumiere Brother’s cinemagraph, the first recording and projecting, production and distribution film technology. Paul believed if he could take their spirit of innovation and apply it to social video sharing, online storytelling would greatly improve.
“We want to enhance live streaming to get people to show their point of view and contribute to performances and events.”
With Hivecast, one person can host 3 people to livesteam at an event. That host acts as the producer between those livestreams, transitioning perspectives and selecting a single audio stream. Since there’s a broad spectrum of live video, Paul wanted to bring crowd sourced livestreaming toa video production company standard of quality and storytelling.
On Challenges:
“In the midwest you need to see a return in a short period of time,” Paul explains that there’s a small number of potential investors in the Midwest. As a result, developing an idea into a viable product and business model was necessary to gain traction for Hivecast.
Paul also had to learn that finding talent was all about perfecting a pitch for both the business and for himself.
On Staying in Milwaukee:
Paul puts it simply as why he’s staying in MKE: its home, its cheaper, and building in the Midwest has all the same tech and resources as the coasts. Since his team already works remotely- with a designer in Minneapolis, MN, and a developer in Grand Rapids, MI, Paul believes working separately prevents a groupthink mentality and keeps the team’s incoming ideas fresh.
Simply put, Hivecast has no desire to set up anywhere else.
On Advice for Startups:
As a firm believer that ideas shouldn’t be developed in secret, Paul advises entrepreneurs to put their idea on blast. “Tell as many people around you, shoot holes in your idea, generate buzz around it, and get your connections to introduce you to all the right people… It takes a lot of grit and investment to get going, but being candid with yourself [and your skills] is what gets you closer to your goals. All the rest is bullshiMany thanks to Paul and the rest of the team at Hivecast for this opportunity to learn more about their mission and help inspire the rest of the Milwaukee Startup community with their story. You can sign up for as a beta tester or learn more about Hivecast at their website Hivecast.co.
Startup Spotlight is a summer series and collaboration between Pomelo Productions and Startup Milwaukee.
Author Alycia Griesi is the Lead Graphic Designer and Content Creator for Pomelo Productions. Alycia works remotely in Salem, Wisconsin, and spends most of her free time baking, biking, and playing with her dog Vinnie. For article inquiries, email alycia@pomeloproductions.com.