Four years ago The Piano Guys were still trying to get off the ground. They were selling pianos by day and making videos by night–and not getting where they wanted to be with either. The took a chance on their fans and found their fans were willing to give them what they needed to make the jump to focusing on the music and videos. The rest is history. The Piano Guys, by all apparent measures, is a successful business venture, delivering quality product that delights their customers and inspires loyalty.
Now here we are. Over fifty videos with 700 million views, four million YouTube subscribers, a million Facebook fans, and four albums with Sony. We’ve sold out shows in the U.S., Mexico, China, Germany, Canada, Singapore, Hungary, Austria, England, Scotland, France, Korea, Turkey, Russia, Brazil, and Japan. And best of all, our families haven’t starved! All because of our Founders. Had it not been for your support and faith in us, we would not be The Piano Guys today.
They decided to say thank you to those initial investors with this video:
Five years ago someone else gave my partners and I our start. Bill and I were both struggling to find suitable work. Reed was still employed, but at a place growing increasingly difficult to enjoy. That’s when Spencer entered the picture, willing to take a chance on the three of us and front the cash to start VIP Gamestore.
Four out of five businesses don’t make it five years. We’re proud (and to no small amount relieved) to be in that 20% of success stories. It was a nail-biter early on. We nearly ran out of Spencer’s money before we started making more than we were spending. It would be a year and a half before our patient investor began seeing a return on his investment. I hope by now he’s pleased with his long-term ROI.
Things have changed over that period, of course. I had to bow out of active involvement in order to take work in another state, but I still keep a hand in as much as I can from three hundred miles away. We were finally able to replace the DVD portion of our store which we really only had so that we wouldn’t look more pathetically understocked than we already did when we opened. Reed’s had a few more kids. Bill’s had a few leave the nest. We’ve probably all had some hair turn gray (or fall out–or both).
But VIP Gamestore continues to grow. And for that we have Spencer (and Lydia) to thank. There’s no saying (and we’d prefer not to try to imagine) where we’d be today without that show of faith (and buckets o’ cash).
I was talking to a local store owner the other night and he mentioned how difficult it can be sometimes to work with his primary investor. While I could understand his problem, and felt for him, it wasn’t from experience. Spencer has been amazingly calm and hands-off the entire time. We were biting our nails at times, but if he was at all nervous about where things were going he never let on.
VIP has been my only real business venture, but I’m not blind. I can see from observation that we’ve been fortunate to gather this particular group of partners. I’ve never had to feel uncomfortable about our business practices or philosophy. We do our best to do right by everyone–even our competitors–and at no time has any of us suggested we do otherwise. I like shopping at places like that, and I’m proud that I’m a partner in a place like that.
Five years (give or take a few days). We dreamed of making it that long, but the realization of that dream was by no means certain. Those first few months were exciting and frightening, frustrating and amazing. It was some of the most fun I’ve had in my working life. And regardless of where things go, VIP Gamestore will always be one of my proudest accomplishments.
I hope Spencer feels the same way. At the very least I hope he doesn’t view his contribution as “just money.” There’s no denying the money was critical. We couldn’t have started at all without it. But along with that money was a tremendous show of faith. He believed in us, in our plan and in our ability to carry it off. I don’t know if he realizes what that can mean to a couple of guys going through a rough patch in life.
His contribution was much more than money, and I hope he feels recompensed in much more than money. What he did has made a huge difference in the lives of three other families (and, in turn, in the lives of our customers, we’d like to think).
Thank you, Spencer. And thank you Bill and Reed for five amazing years. Here’s to many, many more!
On a side note, this is an interesting video about “What it’s like to run a video game store”. Though the examples are somewhat one-sided, and we may differ in opinions about the future outlook, this is a fairly accurate depiction of what it’s like:
I add my voice to the “Thank you” chorus. Spencer and Lydia are well and truly deserving of heartfelt thanks. It has made a HUGE difference in my life.