No story starts out sounding much stranger than it does for this group. Having connected on Facebook they left all of their friends and family behind to live in a house together, many miles from home. Together they hope to launch the next go-to brand in social media marketing reports The Orange County Register.
It all began when Bradley Will, a 25-year-old social-media coach from Chicago, sent a Facebook message to Russell Yermal, a 23-year-old Texan involved in the same thing. “I think you do great work,” the message said. “Let’s talk.”
Then Record, of Santa Cruz, had Will and another Facebook friend, Gabe Strom, on a client conference call to talk about blogging.
Another contact, Arthur Tubman, 25, of Staten Island., N.Y., had been coached by Strom, 27, of Chicago.
And the web continued to grow.
Each was involved in social-media marketing individually but thought joining forces would be better than competing. A string of Skype conference calls ensued, followed by their first face-to-face meeting on New Year’s 2010.
In April, they decided to move to San Clemente to start Social Spin, which offers social-media training tools and free blogs for businesses.
Team member Kyle Garrett, 23, of Santa Cruz had never met most of the others in person until move-in day.
The group’s house is a 7,000-square-foot rental with an ocean view. But don’t let the digs fool you, the entrepreneurs say. They don’t receive regular paychecks, and their food of choice is Top Ramen. Part of the company’s revenue helps pay the rent.
So far, the company has gathered about $150,000 in investments and is looking for more.
Logo from Social Spin