Jon Lawrence

Jon Lawrence

Start with ideas, create products that move to market. Indie Films (2x), TV programming (300+ hours), tech (1x!).

Website: http://www.mpgstudios.com
Los Angeles, California, United States
Member since August 11, 2007
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Find me on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jonmlawrence or Quora: http://www.quora.com/Jon-Lawrence Quote_down
  • About
I am a(n):

Entrepreneur

Companies I've founded or co-founded:
GxStream, Titan Motion Picture Group, Vino Veritas
If you're an entrepreneur or corporate innovator, why?

I'm compelled to build things that create more value than they capture.

My favorite startups:

Cheezburger Networks (not a startup anymore), Crosscamp.us

What's most frustrating and rewarding about entrepreneurship/innovation?

Most frustrating: When you finally act on a recognized mistake and you know you could have/should have acted earlier.

Most rewarding: Building something that connects with it's audience or user community. (same thing, really).

What's the No. 1 mistake entrepreneurs/innovators make?

Thinking that *your* path will be shorter/faster/easier than all the stories of difficulty we've all heard. It won't. Be prepared.

What are the top three lessons you've learned as an entrepreneur?

1. It always takes longer than you think it should or will.
2. Get outstanding legal counsel for the company.
3. Ask. You never know what someone is going to say or do for you unless you ASK. If you don't have the guts to ask, don't be an entrepreneur.

Full bio

This is my 3rd startup as founder, with one prior media startup, Titan Motion Picture Group, successfully delivering a positive return to investors in a really tough market: independent feature filmmaking.  My second startup, however, successfully delivered some valuable lessons. 

I'm obsessed with creating more constructive connections between anyone creating and sharing media, and those who watch and engage with that media; and this passion lies at the heart of the technology we're building at GxStream.