Christof Wittig's guest appearances

Christof Wittig

SaaS Interviews with CEOs, Startups, Founders

The Out Entrepreneur | Bringing Our Whole Selves to Work | Conversations with Leading LGBTQ Bosses

Francine Love

Andy Blubaugh

Dara Barlin

Brad Graber

David Millbern

Wes Enos

Ellie Anne

Sandy Eichel

Vicky Garcia

Sonia Fay Stolfo

Nadia McCullough

Marcia Alvey

Remy Blumenfeld

Teresa Reyes Castillo

Liz Whitehead

OwlTail

Christof is the Founder and CEO at Hornet Networks, the world’s premiere gay social network. Founded in 2011 with the mission to provide gay men the opportunity for meaningful connections, Hornet has grown to 25 million total users, creating a community that comes together around shared experience and common interests. Christoff identifies as a serial software entrepreneur &amp; investor, he serves as the President of the LGBT Foundation, and he lives with his partner of 21 years, Juan, in San Francisco.

Christof is the Founder and CEO at Hornet Networks, the world’s premiere gay social network. Founded in 2011 with the mission to provide gay men the opportunity for meaningful connections, Hornet has grown to 25 million total users, creating a community that comes together around shared experience and common interests. Christoff identifies as a serial software entrepreneur &amp; investor, he serves as the President of the LGBT Foundation, and he lives with his partner of 21 years, Juan, in San Francisco.

083: Learn How to Grow Your Online Community to 25 Million Followers with Christof Wittig, Hornet Networks Founder + CEO 

Christof Wittig. He’s a serial, software entrepreneur and investor. Currently, he’s the founder and CEO of Hornet Networks, the world’s second largest gay social network and is a managing partner of Strive, based in San Francisco. He’s an investor and board member of various companies including Enish, Metago, KeepSafe, VirtaHealth, Black Medicine, Movie Pilot, Box Fish and App Annie. He has been active in the US, Germany, and throughout Asia. Famous Five:  Favorite Book? – Zero to One What CEO do you follow? –  Sami Inkinen Favorite online tool? — Capshare.com Do you get 8 hours of sleep?— Yes If you could let your 20-year old self, know one thing, what would it be? – Christof wished he told himself to be bold, that he didn’t need a degree, and to follow his dreams    Time Stamped Show Notes:  02:19 – Nathan introduces Christof to the show 03:09 – Strive and Hornet came at the same time to Christof   03:32 – Hornet started as a side project   03:50 – Christof exited Servo Software before Hornet 04:00 – Hornet is Christof’s first consumer business 04:10 – Servo Software was launched in 2004 05:02 – Christof sold Servo software in 2010 05:20 – Hornet’s capital came from that exit 05:48 – Christof is now 48 05:58 – Nathan had Sean Howell, Hornet’s co-founder in Episode 440 06:20 – Sean focused on marketing 06:50 – Sean and Christof are running it together 07:10 – Hornet had a subscription model and premium option 07:50 – Hornet’s revenue is 2/3 from subscription and 1/3 from ads 08:00 – Hornet’s future revenue model 08:28 – GHI 09:02 – Hornet raised their $8M in their Series A 10:05 – Hornet’s focus is the advertising revenue 10:46 – “Our focus is to get more engagement”   10:57 – Engagement is measured through sessions 11:12 – Peak days   11:30 – User base   11:41 – 3M monthly active and 1.5M daily active   12:09 – The key metrics to track the number of sessions 12:30 – Christof shares about Tinder 13:16 – Hornet sells CPM and provides premium exposure 14:00 – Hornet has a feed model to drive more organic traffic 14:34 – Hornet has the following features 15:20 – Hornet’s published price for CPM 15:56 – The number of advertisers currently working with Hornet 16:28 – Hornet uses TFP for their ads 17:10 – Hornet has the largest gay media newsroom in the USA   17:30 – The story feed makes the interaction in the gay community easier   18:05 – Christof shares where they spend the $8M 18:25 – Hornet also spends in marketing 18:39 – Christof wants users to understand that Hornet isn’t just about dating 19:00 – User growth 19:30 – Hornet takes the new concept of the gay app to the next level 20:14 – Hornet is about creating a new digital space for the gay community 21:35 – The Famous Five    3 Key Points:  They gay community needs a place where it’s not just about dating, but having interactions with the whole community. The focus isn’t always on the number of users, specially if you’re driving traffic well. A degree isn’t as important as just following your dreams.    Resources Mentioned:  Acuity Scheduling – Nathan uses Acuity to schedule his podcast interviews and appointments Drip – Nathan uses Drip’s email automation platform and visual campaign builder to build his sales funnel Toptal – Nathan found his development team using Toptal for his new business Send Later. He was able to keep 100% equity and didn’t have to hire a co-founder due to the quality of Toptal Host Gator – The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for the cheapest price possible. Audible – Nathan uses Audible when he’s driving from Austin to San Antonio (1.5-hour drive) to listen to audio books. The Top Inbox  – The site Nathan uses to schedule emails to be sent later, set reminders in inbox, track opens, and follow-up with email sequences Jamf – Jamf helped Nathan keep his Macbook Air 11” secure even when he left it in the airplane’s back seat pocket Freshbooks – Nathan doesn’t waste time so he uses Freshbooks to send out invoices and collect his money. Get your free month NOW Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives 

Christof Wittig. He’s a serial, software entrepreneur and investor. Currently, he’s the founder and CEO of Hornet Networks, the world’s second largest gay social network and is a managing partner of Strive, based in San Francisco. He’s an investor and board member of various companies including Enish, Metago, KeepSafe, VirtaHealth, Black Medicine, Movie Pilot, Box Fish and App Annie. He has been active in the US, Germany, and throughout Asia. Famous Five: <ul> <li>Favorite Book? – Zero to One</li> <li>What CEO do you follow? –  Sami Inkinen</li> <li>Favorite online tool? — <a href="http://Capshare.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Capshare.com</a></li> <li>Do you get 8 hours of sleep?— Yes</li> <li>If you could let your 20-year old self, know one thing, what would it be? – Christof wished he told himself to be bold, that he didn’t need a degree, and to follow his dreams</li> </ul> Time Stamped Show Notes: <ul> <li>02:19 – Nathan introduces Christof to the show</li> <li>03:09 – Strive and Hornet came at the same time to Christof</li> <li> <ul> <li>03:32 – Hornet started as a side project</li> </ul> </li> <li>03:50 – Christof exited Servo Software before Hornet</li> <li>04:00 – Hornet is Christof’s first consumer business</li> <li>04:10 – Servo Software was launched in 2004</li> <li>05:02 – Christof sold Servo software in 2010</li> <li>05:20 – Hornet’s capital came from that exit</li> <li>05:48 – Christof is now 48</li> <li>05:58 – Nathan had Sean Howell, Hornet’s co-founder in Episode 440</li> <li>06:20 – Sean focused on marketing</li> <li>06:50 – Sean and Christof are running it together</li> <li>07:10 – Hornet had a subscription model and premium option</li> <li>07:50 – Hornet’s revenue is 2/3 from subscription and 1/3 from ads</li> <li>08:00 – Hornet’s future revenue model</li> <li>08:28 – GHI</li> <li>09:02 – Hornet raised their $8M in their Series A</li> <li>10:05 – Hornet’s focus is the advertising revenue</li> <li>10:46 – “Our focus is to get more engagement”</li> <li> <ul> <li>10:57 – Engagement is measured through sessions</li> <li>11:12 – Peak days</li> </ul> </li> <li>11:30 – User base</li> <li> <ul> <li>11:41 – 3M monthly active and 1.5M daily active</li> </ul> </li> <li>12:09 – The key metrics to track the number of sessions</li> <li>12:30 – Christof shares about Tinder</li> <li>13:16 – Hornet sells CPM and provides premium exposure</li> <li>14:00 – Hornet has a feed model to drive more organic traffic</li> <li>14:34 – Hornet has the following features</li> <li>15:20 – Hornet’s published price for CPM</li> <li>15:56 – The number of advertisers currently working with Hornet</li> <li>16:28 – Hornet uses TFP for their ads</li> <li>17:10 – Hornet has the largest gay media newsroom in the USA</li> <li> <ul> <li>17:30 – The story feed makes the interaction in the gay community easier</li> </ul> </li> <li>18:05 – Christof shares where they spend the $8M</li> <li>18:25 – Hornet also spends in marketing</li> <li>18:39 – Christof wants users to understand that Hornet isn’t just about dating</li> <li>19:00 – User growth</li> <li>19:30 – Hornet takes the new concept of the gay app to the next level</li> <li>20:14 – Hornet is about creating a new digital space for the gay community</li> <li>21:35 – The Famous Five</li> </ul> 3 Key Points: <ul> <li>They gay community needs a place where it’s not just about dating, but having interactions with the whole community.</li> <li>The focus isn’t always on the number of users, specially if you’re driving traffic well.</li> <li>A degree isn’t as important as just following your dreams.</li> </ul> Resources Mentioned: <ul> <li>Acuity Scheduling – Nathan uses Acuity to schedule his podcast interviews and appointments</li> <li>Drip – Nathan uses Drip’s email automation platform and visual campaign builder to build his sales funnel</li> <li>Toptal – Nathan found his development team using Toptal for his new business Send Later. He was able to keep 100% equity and didn’t have to hire a co-founder due to the quality of Toptal</li> <li>Host Gator – The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for the cheapest price possible.</li> <li>Audible – Nathan uses Audible when he’s driving from Austin to San Antonio (1.5-hour drive) to listen to audio books.</li> <li>The Top Inbox  – The site Nathan uses to schedule emails to be sent later, set reminders in inbox, track opens, and follow-up with email sequences</li> <li>Jamf – Jamf helped Nathan keep his Macbook Air 11” secure even when he left it in the airplane’s back seat pocket</li> <li>Freshbooks – Nathan doesn’t waste time so he uses Freshbooks to send out invoices and collect his money. Get your free month NOW</li> <li>Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives</li> </ul>

EP 606: Hornet Raises $8M to Become Gay Content Hub, 17M Users, 3M MAU with CEO Christof Wittig