Whether you call them leaplings, leapers, or leap babies, they’re pretty hard to find – those elusive creatures born on February 29th. Our own Argyler, Claire, is one such lucky gal. For her big number 7, we met up and asked her four questions about her day of birth.
- What’s the best part about being a leap baby? It’s an instant ice-breaker when I first meet people. Also, it gives me a pretty amazing excuse to celebrate in an over-the-top kind of way every four years.
- What’s the best present you’ve ever received for your birthday? My last birthday, when I turned six, a bunch of my best friends and I went to Vegas! I’d tell you more… but you know the rules. Then, my dad came out when all my friends left, and we did our father-daughter thing, hiking and exploring, but best of all going skydiving! That’s right, they let a 50+ year-old and a six-year-old jump out of a plane. The whole week was worth not having another birthday until…. now!
- Does your birthday even appear on Facebook? How does that work? Facebook came to my college the spring of my Sophomore year, so it wasn’t until the following year when I was turning 21 (aka no bday) that I noticed that my birthday was listed as “upcoming”. But it wasn’t on February 28th or on March 1st in the “Today’s Birthdays” box. Needless to say, this was not going to fly. I emailed Facebook, and they were such a small operation back then that an actual person replied to my message that they hadn’t considered leap babies on non-leap years yet, and so would change the birthday box to include us in years to come! So, I can’t be completely sure that I was the one to change Facebook’s leap day policy…but I’m not going to stop saying it until they send me a cease and desist letter.
- You’ve done so much for a six year-old. What will you do now that you’re seven? Seven’s the big leagues. I’m going to learn how to write in cursive. I’m hoping to take the training wheels off my bike… really though, my birthday is a great marker in my life. When I turned four (16) in high school my girl friends and I went on a beach weekend. Five (20) was in college, and I went to my favorite cousin’s wedding and a sorority cocktail party. Six (24) was in Washington, DC and I took that infamous trip to Vegas. Now I’m seven (28) and I’m living in Raleigh, NC taking a surprise trip to ____ with my mom (she’s only told me to pack a swimsuit!). So, when I turn eight (32!!) a LOT could have changed in my life, so seven’s going to be a big year(s) for me! I’m determined to make it lucky number seven… and I’m seriously going to practice my cursive.
Do you know any leap babies or leaplings? If so, wish them Happy Birthday from the Argylers!
Yesterday marked Argyle’s 2nd birthday and before our celebration, I asked our Founders, Adam and Eric, to reflect on the past year.
How is Argyle different at year 2 as compared to year 1?
Eric: There are a thousand differences. The contrast between our 1st and 2nd birthday reflects a few of them:
Our 1st birthday was full of uncertainty. We had raised a $325k seed round a couple months prior and Mike and Josh just joined the team. We were in the midst of a massive product cycle and we weren’t sure if we’d be able pull it off. We had very few customers and we were very worried about our ability to deliver on the pitch we made to our investors. Everyone was stressed to the breaking point, so our 1st birthday party kinda sucked.
Our 2nd birthday is much less stressful! We’ve got a great product, hundreds of happy customers, an amazing team, and plenty of cash in the bank. I’m still stressed to the breaking point, but I’ll probably manage to have a good time tonight!
Adam: Yeah, we’re definitely more focused and that’s a huge win. Focus lets us work harder, faster, and smarter and cut out a lot of extra crap that we just don’t need.
What’s been your biggest win in the past year?
Eric: Recruiting and it isn’t event close. We’ve grown our team from 4 full-time in Dec 2010 to 20 full-time in Dec 2011. There is no way we would have gotten as far as we have – and certainly no way we’ll get where we’re going – without the efforts of our passionate, productive team. I’m inspired every day by the talented people that I get to work with.
Adam: It’s not easy to grow a team and especially not as quickly as we have. Having the right people on the team is crucial to us moving forward.
Where will Argyle be 2 years from today?
Eric: We’ll be in Downtown Durham executing our purpose: building powerful, beautiful products that empower online marketers to drive meaningful outcomes for their organizations. But we’ll be doing it bigger, faster, stronger, etc.
Adam: Hopefully, we’re still kicking ass and taking names!
Eric: Absolutely, and we will also drive to work in flying cars and eat entire meals in pill form.
What surprised you about this past year?
Adam: There have been a lot of surprises, so it’s hard to say which has been the biggest. It’s probably how big we’ve become in the market. We actually have a pretty strong presence and it can be a bit surprising considering how young and small we are. I guess it shouldn’t be a surprise considering the energy, excitement, and intelligence that we have in here.
Eric: For me, it’s how quickly it happened. Seems like yesterday that Adam and I were arguing with Josh about whether we should have a vertical or horizontal navigation. (Josh finally won the argument by slapping the table and shouting “NO!”.) Turns out that the old parenting yarn is true – the days are long and the years are short.
Today’s Adam & Eric are transported to this date last year. What would you tell 1-year-younger Adam & Eric?
Adam: Since we are both new fathers I would tell us to get as much sleep as we can but also to relax a bit and enjoy the ride more.
Eric: “Ignore the crap. Get close to the customer and build the product that solves their problems.” Also, I would tell myself last year, “Don’t schedule the Christmas party in the midst of a massive product cycle.”
What are the best & worst parts of being a founder?
The Best
Adam: Best part is piecing together a phenomenal team watching them grow far beyond what you asked them to do what you thought they could do.
Eric: The team! The team! The team!
The Worst
Adam: The worst part is probably the lack of sleep and worry about whether your choices have been the smartest and best for the company & team.
Eric: The hair loss.
Burgers, fried pickles, and boiled peanuts can only mean one thing – we’ve reached the end of another quarter.
Cheers from Downtown Durham’s Bull City Burgers from the rabid wolverines!
Several of our start-up friends in Raleigh/Durham NC conspired to make today “NC IDEA and IDEA Fund Partners Appreciation Day”. Both organizations have played a key roles in the Argyle Social story to date, so we’re very happy to join the chorus.
Argyle is one of a handful of companies that received a grant from NC IDEA and then an equity investment from IDEA Fund Partners. Both the grant and the seed financing closed during the very early days of our company – back when Adam and I weren’t exactly sure what we were building…or how we would build it.
During these fluid early days, it is important that young companies find partners that believe in the vision and that also have the smarts and experience to help keep the company on track and accountable. The NC IDEA / IDEA Fund guys have been just that and more for Argyle.
We would not have made it this far without the support, guidance, grilling, etc. we’ve received from David, John, and Lister. And we certainly won’t achieve our very ambitious goals without them. Thanks for your support, guys.
If you’re building a start-up in North Carolina, then applying for an NC IDEA grant should be on your near-term to-do list.
Here are “thank you” posts from other NC-based start-ups that have received funding from NC IDEA and/or IDEA Fund Partners:
Today is a proud day for Argyle – our very own Danny Olinsky won the 2nd Annual Triangle Ping Pong Tournament.
Our friends at Statsheet and Netsertive hosted the event. 30+ people played in the tournament representing several start-up companies in the area, plus a few local investors. Lots of great networking, hanging out, and NCAA basketball in between matches.
Danny returning the heat from Appia’s Slawek Pruchnik in the final match.
Danny accepting the championship trophy from event host Robbie Allen, CEO of Statsheet.