It's been a real rollercoaster of a year @primersupply

Quick thread

In November of 2019 @heyadam and I were fresh off of our experiment launching Primer as an AR-enabled D2C paint brand. Consumers liked the visualization experience, but we hadn't sold a single gallon of paint. We were panicked and had to figure out a new path. (1/15)

We wondered if our tech might be useful to established brands and began cold outreach. I emailed a pitch to the President of @FarrowandBallUS and got a positive response back in 20 minutes. ~50% of the brands we engaged with became launch partners. (2/15)

Sensing we were on to something, we sprinted through the holidays to hire our first full-time engineer (I @imjameshall!), rebuild our app as a platform, sign contracts, and prepare to launch Primer 2.0. We planned a big public launch event for March 12th. (3/15)

By March 10th, this Coronavirus thing was starting to look scary. Out of an abundance of caution, we made the decision to push back the launch event a few weeks. Then on March 19th @GavinNewsom issued the shelter in place order. (4/15)

We would never hold that launch event and Adam and I wouldn't see each other in person again for more than six months. We were in limbo: un-launched and unsure of what to do.

With the world upside down, why would anyone care about our app? (5/15)

Turns out COVID-19 was the single biggest accelerant in the digital transformation of the décor industry. Ever. People were stuck at home, looking at walls they'd been meaning to do something about. With nothing else to do, they were rolling up their sleeves. (6/15)

Our little app was essential in this new world. Brands who were used to doing business through stores and showrooms and handshakes had to find a new way. (7/15)

Our platform provided a way for brand partners to showcase their products right in the comfort of their customers' homes and solve real customer pain points around seeing decor in context. (8/15)

We launched on April 12 with coverage in Business of Home, ADPro, Apartment Therapy, LONNY, Design Sponge, Print, and House Beautiful among others. (9/15)

Since then our team has more than doubled, partners have more than tripled, we launched 6 major app and platform updates, built recurring revenue, and enabled instant AR previews without an app. Apple has been crazy supportive, repeatedly featuring us in the app store. (10/15)

@heyadam and I had no idea what was in store for us when we started down this path last November. It's been a rollercoaster, but I'm exceptionally proud of what we've built and accomplished in the past 12 months. (11/15)

In 2021, I'm looking forward to expanding on the growth we've realized this year; to begin unlocking more value for decor fans and our amazing partners; but most of all to a vaccine and a return to some sense of normalcy. (12/15)

I'm also excited to get our team together – in person – for the first time ever. Here's to goals!

Turns out I only had 13 tweets. I'll use these last two to make strong political statements. Here's the first…

And the second…