The Logan Bartlett Show

EP 114: Emery Wells (CEO, Frame.io) on Selling to Adobe for $1.3B, Working with SNL and High Pain Tolerance

Aug 16, 2024

Emery Wells, co-founder and CEO of Frame.io, details his incredible journey from NYC bartender to startup founder, culminating in a $1.3 billion sale to Adobe. He shares insights from his work with SNL that ignited his entrepreneurial spirit. Discussing the importance of design and a unique company culture, he rejects the lean startup model and emphasizes maintaining high standards. Emery also navigates the intense processes of fundraising and acquisitions, along with the impact of AI on creativity—highlighting lessons learned along the way.

01:41:57

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Episode guests

Emery Wells

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Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Emery Wells transitioned from being a NYC bartender to co-founding Frame.io, driven by insights gained from working in video production with SNL.

He critiques the lean startup concept, advocating for a vision-driven approach rather than strict adherence to popular methodologies in product development.

A cultural crisis at Frame.io prompted Emery to reassess and redefine the company's core values, emphasizing the importance of shared beliefs within the team.

Emery's obsession with design and quality execution established a product-centric culture at Frame.io, ultimately enhancing user experience and customer alignment.

Deep dives

From Bartender to CEO: The Founding Journey of Frame.io

Emery Wells shares his transition from a bartender in New York to the co-founder and CEO of Frame.io, a video review and collaboration platform. He initially moved to pursue filmmaking but quickly recognized the challenges in the video production industry while running a post-production company that worked with clients like SNL. This experience exposed him to a significant pain point that inspired the creation of Frame.io, which aimed to streamline the video review process. Emery highlights how necessity drove the innovation behind Frame.io, as it addressed the inefficiencies he encountered firsthand.

Leverage Innovation for Visibility

01:24

Intro

2min

From Media Tool to Essential Asset

10min

From Visual Effects to Software Entrepreneurship

2min

The Right Timing for a Revolutionary Video Workflow Platform

2min

The CEO's Role: Balancing Detail and Vision

13min

Navigating Cultural Challenges

16min

Navigating Design and Execution in Product Development

9min

Building a B2B Brand in the Software Space

22min

Navigating the Acquisition Journey

18min

10.

The Power of Board Partnerships

8min

Emery Wells is the co-founder and CEO of Frame.io, which he sold to Adobe in 2021 for nearly $1.3 billion. In our conversation, Emery shares his journey from NYC bartender to startup founder, including his agency work with Saturday Night Live that highlighted the pain points that led to Frame.io. We dive deep into his rejection of the lean startup concept, how he gets his team to obsess over design details, and the cultural reset at Frame.io that set the stage for its success.

(00:00) Intro

(01:34) Emery's Journey to Founding Frame.io

(03:23) SNL Digital Shorts and Post-Production Insights

(08:30) From Bartender to Entrepreneur

(11:45) Building Frame.io: Challenges and Philosophy

(23:14) Leadership and Decision-Making in Startups

(28:40) Cultural Crisis and Turning Points

(30:10) Understanding Company Culture

(32:57) The Big Reset: Leadership Changes

(34:16) Defining and Implementing Values

(38:09) Hiring for Cultural Fit

(39:18) The Importance of Design

(46:06) Framework for Quality Execution

(54:23) Building a B2B Brand

(58:17) Effective Launch Strategies

(01:05:36) Fundraising Lessons

(01:08:30) The Art of Storytelling in Presentations

(01:09:19) Meeting Key Industry Figures

(01:10:06) The Acquisition Dance with Aaron Levy

(01:16:04) Adobe's Acquisition Interest

(01:18:12) Navigating the Acquisition Process

(01:27:04) Lessons from Adobe's Culture

(01:29:59) The Impact of AI on Creativity

(01:34:16) Advice on Board Selection and Dynamics

(01:41:40) Final Thoughts and Reflections

Executive Producer: Rashad Assir

Producer: Leah Clapper

Mixing and editing: Justin Hrabovsky

Check out Unsupervised Learning, Redpoint's AI Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@UCUl-s_Vp-Kkk_XVyDylNwLA

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About the Show

Logan Bartlett is a Software Investor at Redpoint Ventures - a Silicon Valley-based VC with $6B AUM and investments in Snowflake, DraftKings, Twilio, and Netflix. In each episode of The Logan Bartlett Show, we sit down with the people behind today’s most important startups and extract the tactics, lessons, and frameworks they’ve learned the hard way. Conversations span hiring to GTM, product, growth, fundraising and everything in between - collectively forming the ultimate playbook to make you a better CEO, investor or board member.

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The Logan Bartlett Show

EP 114: Emery Wells (CEO, Frame.io) on Selling to Adobe for $1.3B, Working with SNL and High Pain Tolerance

Episode guests

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Deep dives

From Bartender to CEO: The Founding Journey of Frame.io

Rejecting Conventional Wisdom: Lean Startup Methodology

The Importance of Culture and Its Impact on Frame.io

Building Design-Centric Products

Navigating the Challenges of Scaling Up

Acquisition by Adobe: A Strategic Move

Looking Ahead: The Future of AI in Creative Industries

Leverage Innovation for Visibility

Remember Everything You Learn from Podcasts