Breathing In with Ryan Williams

Bernie Su: Creating The Lizzie Bennet Diaries

Bernie Su chatted with Ryan about writing, filmmaking and entrepreneurship. Bernie details the journey of adapting Pride and Prejudice, and creating The Lizzie Bennet Diaries for the online world. Bernie and Hank Green of the Vlog Brothers are the creators of The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, and Bernie shares the story of how they adapted Jane Austin's famous book, for the modern digital day. His interactive series went onto win a PrimeTime Emmy and was the first ever YouTube Channel to receive such an amazing distinction.

http://www.influencereconomy.com/

He also explains what it was like launching their extremely successful Kickstarter campaign for the DVD distribution, and the follow-up online series: Emma Approved. Bernie and his team at Pemberly Digital currently working with PBS Digital on Frankenstein MD, a modern adaptation of Frankenstein for the digital age.

Ryan asked Bernie to be on the show to talk about building properties like Lizzie Bennet on multiple platforms and taking risks as a creator. The Lizzie Bennet Diaries started as a web series, then became a DVD, and is currently a book “The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet.” Bernie shares his refreshing perspective that is guided by the philosophy: "If you want to win big, you have to bet big."

• Bernie Su on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Berniesu
• Bernie Su on Instagram: http://instagram.com/Berniesu
• The Lizzie Bennet Diaries: https://www.youtube.com/user/LizzieBennet
• Frankenstein MD: http://www.frankensteinmd.com
• Ryan Williams on Twitter: http://twitter.com/ryanjwill

Bernie Su: Creating The Lizzie Bennet Diaries

Bernie Su chatted with Ryan about writing, filmmaking and entrepreneurship. Bernie details the journey of adapting Pride and Prejudice, and creating The Lizzie Bennet Diaries for the online world.   Bernie and Hank Green of the Vlog Brothers are the creators of The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, and Bernie shares the story of how they adapted Jane Austin's famous book, for the modern digital day. His interactive series went onto win a PrimeTime Emmy and was the first ever YouTube Channel to receive such an amazing distinction.

http://www.influencereconomy.com/

He also explains what it was like launching their extremely successful Kickstarter campaign for the DVD distribution, and the follow-up online series:  Emma Approved. Bernie and his team at Pemberly Digital currently working with PBS Digital on Frankenstein MD, a modern adaptation of Frankenstein for the digital age.

Ryan asked Bernie to be on the show to talk about building properties like Lizzie Bennet on multiple platforms and taking risks as a creator. The Lizzie Bennet Diaries started as a web series, then became a DVD, and is currently a book “The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet.” Bernie shares his refreshing perspective that is guided by the philosophy: "If you want to win big, you have to bet big."

Harrison Barnes of the Golden State Warriors is one of the more tech savvy athletes in the NBA, and sports. Harrison tells Ryan about how he embraced the technology community upon getting drafted by the NBA’s Warriors as the 7th Pick of the 2012 NBA Draft. When he moved to the San Francisco Bay area, Harrison met with executives at Facebook, Google and Yahoo!, wanting to learn as much as possible about the tech community.

Harrison grew-up in Ames, IA. and Ryan grew-up in Des Moines, IA. They had a lot to discuss about The Hawkeye State. Harrison details his journey from Ames, IA to University of North Carolina to the Warriors, and how he interacts with those fan communities online. Harrison is a forward-thinking and modern athlete who embraces technology and with the swipe of his fingers, he can reach his fans across the globe.

http://www.influencereconomy.com

Harrison also recounts stories about how he chats with his fans via social media and describes his P.O. Box, where fans can send him items to be autographed. Harrison and Ryan also talk hypothetically what would it be like if Michael Jordan had Twitter back in the day, and how much a Tweet from Jordan would mean to a fan.

In this episode you’ll learn:

• What it’s like playing for the Golden St. Warriors
• How athletes are interacting with fans over technology
• How NBA players like Harrison Barnes embrace the entrepreneurial tech community
• How Michael Jordan may use Twitter
• How to reach fans as an athlete
• How to creatively interact with your fans online.

Follow Harrison and the Warriors:

• Harrison Barnes on Twitter: https://twitter.com/hbarnes
• Harrison Barnes on Instagram: http://instagram.com/hbarnes
• The Golden Sate Warriors on Twitter: https://twitter.com/warriors
• The Golden State Warriors on Instagram: http://instagram.com/warriors/
• Ryan Williams on Twitter: http://twitter.com/ryanjwill

Harrison Barnes of the Golden State Warriors is one of the more tech savvy athletes in the NBA, and sports.  Harrison tells Ryan about how he embraced the technology community upon getting drafted by the NBA’s Warriors as the 7th Pick of the 2012 NBA Draft.  When he moved to the San Francisco Bay area, Harrison met with executives at Facebook, Google and Yahoo!, wanting to learn as much as possible about the tech community. 

Harrison grew-up in Ames, IA. and Ryan grew-up in Des Moines, IA.  They had a lot to discuss about The Hawkeye State.  Harrison details his journey from Ames, IA to University of North Carolina to the Warriors, and how he interacts with those fan communities online.  Harrison is a forward-thinking and modern athlete who embraces technology and with the swipe of his fingers, he can reach his fans across the globe. 

http://www.influencereconomy.com

Harrison also recounts stories about how he chats with his fans via social media and describes his P.O. Box, where fans can send him items to be autographed. Harrison and Ryan also talk hypothetically what would it be like if Michael Jordan had Twitter back in the day, and how much a Tweet from Jordan would mean to a fan. 

In this episode you’ll learn:

Follow Harrison and the Warriors:

Ty Hildenbrandt: The Solid Verbal, College Football & Podcasting

Ty Hildenbrandt, host of the college football podcast The Solid Verbal, chats with Ryan on the show. The Solid Verbal is an independent, bi-weekly college football podcast hosted by Ty Hildenbrandt and Dan Rubenstein. Ty joined Ryan remotely from his studio in in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The show is a 7 year old podcast, and pioneering in the podcasting world. It’s one of the most popular independently produced podcast on the web.

Ryan and Ty spend the first few minutes re-living Ty and and Dan’s infamous conversation with football coach Houston Nutt. Ty also describes the process of hosting a bi-weekly show, and getting through the "tire fire" of college football Saturdays, to produce their shows.

Ty details how The Solid Verbal broke into the sports media world, gaining the respect from journalists to fan sites to fans. He also dives into how the show was previously was part of Bill Simmons' Grantland Network.

Ty and Dan have developed a strong online community and also have a phone number for fans to call during the games on Saturdays. Ryan left a call on the hotline this weekend, when he was in Nashville for the Vanderbilt/Ole Miss game. They also talk about Derek Mason + Vanderbilt football at the end.

In this episode you'll learn:

· How the Solid Verbal launched

· How to create and produce your own podcast

· How to pursue a passion project while keeping your day job

· How Solid Verbal partnered with Bill Simmons’ Grantland network

· How to grow a tone of voice for your podcast

· How to start slow and grow your audience

· How to involve your community into your show

• Solid Verbal website: http://www.solidverbal.com/
• iTunes: bit.ly/18ss0mf
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/solidverbal
• Ty on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TyHildenbrandt
• Dan on Twitter: https://twitter.com/DanRubenstein
• Reverb hotline: 408-VERBAL1

Ty Hildenbrandt: The Solid Verbal, College Football & Podcasting

Ty Hildenbrandt, host of the college football podcast The Solid Verbal, chats with Ryan on the show.  The Solid Verbal is an independent, bi-weekly college football podcast hosted by Ty Hildenbrandt and Dan Rubenstein. Ty joined Ryan remotely from his studio in in Allentown, Pennsylvania.  The show is a 7 year old podcast, and pioneering in the podcasting world.  It’s one of the most popular independently produced podcast on the web. 

Ryan and Ty spend the first few minutes re-living Ty and and Dan’s infamous conversation with football coach Houston Nutt.  Ty also describes the process of hosting a bi-weekly show, and getting through the "tire fire" of college football Saturdays, to produce their shows.

Ty details how The Solid Verbal broke into the sports media world, gaining the respect from journalists to fan sites to fans.  He also dives into how the show was previously was part of Bill Simmons' Grantland Network.

Ty and Dan have developed a strong online community and also have a phone number for fans to call during the games on Saturdays.  Ryan left a call on the hotline this weekend, when he was in Nashville for the Vanderbilt/Ole Miss game.  They also talk about Derek Mason + Vanderbilt football at the end.

In this episode you'll learn:

·      How the Solid Verbal launched

·      How to create and produce your own podcast

·      How to pursue a passion project while keeping your day job

·      How Solid Verbal partnered with Bill Simmons’ Grantland network

·      How to grow a tone of voice for your podcast

·      How to start slow and grow your audience

·      How to involve your community into your show    

• The inspiration behind the photo-sharing start-up Cluster
• How working at Vanderbilt's Rites of Spring, helped Brenden's career
• How creating fun passion projects can turn into full-time jobs
• How to have meaningful conversations while networking
• How important mentoring is in the start-up community
• How to add value to your network and friends
• How Brenden is re-thinking how we share photos and interact with our friends online
• Much more.....

Hunter Walk: VC Investing, YouTube and The Bottom Up Economy (Partner @ Homebrew VC)

Ryan chatted with Hunter Walk, Partner at Homebrew Venture Capital, during Ryans’ recent trip to San Francisco. Homebrew is a seed stage investment firm, that focuses on the “Bottom-Up Economy.” Hunter calls his company a start-up, and instead of "writing code," he is "writing checks" to help founders build companies.

Hunter previously lead consumer product management at YouTube (Google). Hunter and Ryan discussed what it was like working at YouTube very early on in the company's history. They each talk about their love for platforms “that bet on people. And that give people the tools to create where their efforts can turn into dollars.”

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When reflecting on his time at YouTube, Hunter said with YouTube: “You can build a TV-sized audience without having to ask for approval from anybody wearing a suit. There are no gatekeepers. It doesn’t mean that everyone succeeds to the same success, for there’s near equal access for everybody.”

Ryan also asked Hunter about his blog, and how that effects deal flow (Thanks for the listener Edward for that question). Hunter says blogging does help his investment business, although he doesn't know to what extent. He also believes in paying it forward and that it's important to be accessible to entrepreneurs via the blog/Twitter.

Finally Hunter talked specifically what types of investments he likes to make. Hunter details how his investment philosophy was shaped by working on Google Adsense and while at YouTube. Getting down into a few of his investments, Hunter dives into his portfolio companies: Shyp and TheSkimm. He discusses why he bet on them and what types of companies he is looking for.

Hunter and Homebrew's info:

Homebrew’s website: www.homebrew.com

Hunter’s blog: www.hunterwalk.com

Hunter on Twitter: www.twitter.com/hunterwalk

Hombrew on Twitter: https://twitter.com/homebrew

Homebrew’s investments discussed:

The Skimm: Daily email newsletter that gives you what you need to know to start your day: http://www.theskimm.com

Shyp: Enabling users to simplify the process of shipping items basically anywhere in the world. http://www.shyp.com

Hunter Walk:   VC Investing, YouTube and The Bottom Up Economy (Partner @ Homebrew VC)

Ryan chatted with Hunter Walk, Partner at Homebrew Venture Capital, during Ryans’ recent trip to San Francisco.  Homebrew is a seed stage investment firm, that focuses on the “Bottom-Up Economy.”  Hunter calls his company a start-up, and instead of "writing code," he is "writing checks" to help founders build companies.

Hunter previously lead consumer product management at YouTube (Google).  Hunter and Ryan discussed what it was like working at YouTube very early on in the company's history.   They each talk about their love for platforms “that bet on people.  And that give people the tools to create where their efforts can turn into dollars.” 

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When reflecting on his time at YouTube, Hunter said with YouTube:  “You can build a TV-sized audience without having to ask for approval from anybody wearing a suit.  There are no gatekeepers.  It doesn’t mean that everyone succeeds to the same success, for there’s near equal access for everybody.”

Ryan also asked Hunter about his blog, and how that effects deal flow (Thanks for the listener Edward for that question).  Hunter says blogging does help his investment business, although he doesn't know to what extent. He also believes in paying it forward and that it's important to be accessible to entrepreneurs via the blog/Twitter.  

Finally Hunter talked specifically what types of investments he likes to make. Hunter details how his investment philosophy was shaped by working on Google Adsense and while at YouTube.  Getting down into a few of his investments, Hunter dives into his portfolio companies:   Shyp and TheSkimm.  He discusses why he bet on them and what types of companies he is looking for. 

Hunter and Homebrew's info:

Homebrew’s website:  www.homebrew.com

Hunter’s blog:  www.hunterwalk.com

Hunter on Twitter:  www.twitter.com/hunterwalk

Hombrew on Twitter:  https://twitter.com/homebrew

Homebrew’s investments discussed:

The Skimm:  Daily email newsletter that gives you what you need to know to start your day:  http://www.theskimm.com

Shyp:  Enabling users to simplify the process of shipping items basically anywhere in the world.  http://www.shyp.com