SPECIAL REPORT: Addison McCaleb

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What led you to start your own business?

Seeing the world of digital distribution changing rapidly with the introduction of Amazon Prime, YouTube Movies, and more, I saw a need for someone to pull all of that content together into one place and provide a unique discovery experience for entertainment.

ADDISON McCALEB, 27

MediaHound, an entertainment technology company in El Segundo

Employees: 14

Financials: Series A: $5 million

Where did you get the startup money?

Our seed funding came together the old-fashioned way – lots of face-to-face meetings, sharing our story and opportunity, and connecting with investors who believed in not just the product, but more importantly the team.

What’s been the biggest challenge so far?

To steal a film term, sometimes you have to kill your baby. The market shifts or a product doesn’t resonate like you thought it would and you need to make adjustments that can be painful.

What’s the most important lesson you’ve learned?

Focus on the present but plan for the future. As an entrepreneur, you set lofty goals for yourself and your company, but there are only so many hours in any given day. You need to take the time to plan and check in on your larger goals so that you don’t look up and find you’ve veered off course.

How many hours a day do you put in?

It depends how many hours I am awake that day.

Has your youth led to any awkward situations, such as when you supervise employees who are older than you?

I feel we’ve developed a great culture where everyone has a seat at the table and opinions and strengths are respected. Respect comes from staying humble, working hard, and respecting others.

Would you start another company?

I was warned when I started MediaHound that I’d be bitten by the entrepreneurial bug and it would follow me the rest of my life. So the short answer is yes.

Could you ever work for someone else?

In a lot of ways, I already do – our team, our investors, our customers, they are all people I work for in varying degrees.

What do you do to unwind?

As a company, we’ll go out to the movies (bet you saw that coming). I have a great community of friends here I’ll hang out with in down time, or just sit at home and watch some HGTV with my wife and our dog Slink. If I need some solo time, I’ll play the piano, which is a great creative outlet for me.

— Sandro Monetti

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