Leo Resig
CEO & Co-Founder
Atmosphere TV
GET TO KNOW LEO...
Hometown:
Fort Wayne, IN | Currently resides in Austin, TX
Alma Mater:
Indiana University Bloomington
Motto:
Take the shot, but take it easy.
Hobbies:
I love time with my family, dining out, walking, skiing too fast, golf, tennis, wine tasting, and collecting art. I'm a wannabe street artist but don't want my wife to explain to my kids why Daddy is in jail.
Q: What was your very first job?
A: I was a caddy at the Fort Wayne Country Club when I was 13. I would work five hours in the hot sun with a heavy leather bag and get paid $12 with tip! My parents wanted to instill a work ethic in me at a young age and respect the value of a dollar.
Q: What is the history of Atmosphere TV — how did you get started and what problem were you trying to solve?
A: Atmosphere TV started with a proof-of-concept channel called CHIVE TV, which consists of all the best, freshest viral and lifestyle videos on the Internet. We felt that TV for businesses was broken and all the content was made to be enjoyed with audio, yet the TVs in all businesses are on mute. Plus, not everyone wants to watch polarizing news and only 50% of America identifies themselves as a true sports fan — yet that’s all there was playing in bars, restaurants, gyms, and retail businesses everywhere. Atmosphere is free, better, simple, and we are eating Big Cable’s lunch.
Q: What have been your favorite and least favorite parts of the fundraising process? Any lessons or unique memories to share?
A: I love fundraising and telling the story of where we’ve been and where we’re going. Thinking years into the future is always something that has come natural to me. I feel so fortunate to be able to execute on my ideas and have an army of people who believe in what we’re doing. The worst and best part about fundraising is getting hundreds of rejections. It toughens you up but makes the victories so much sweeter when you find a VC, like S3, who gets it and wants to partner.
Q: What are the greatest life lessons you’ve learned so far as an entrepreneur?
A: You can go fast alone and far with others. Having the right people on the bus is key, and keeping them happy while they are along for the ride is so important.
Q: What do you think is the most important thing to consider when building an executive team?
A: How well they get along. Not everyone will agree with everything along the way, but if you can get an exec team that gels and shares in the highs and lows together, it makes for a really fun journey.
Q: What is the best advice you have received that you would like to share with others?
A: Know when to take the shot, but take it easy. If you don’t take care of your physical and mental health, shit will fall apart internally and externally.
Q: What is your favorite thing about doing business in Texas?
A: I love the people. You can be not-so-great at your job and be a great human and you won’t get fired. Haha! I think being kind and considerate is overlooked sometimes in business because there is a lot of pressure on people these days. Being nice will take you places.
Q: What was the most beneficial support you’ve received from S3?
A: The darkest days during COVID were not fun for anyone. S3 was incredibly supportive through that time. I didn’t feel the pressure from them to perform, as we were all in survival mode.
Q: What has been your most satisfying moment in your business journey so far?
A: We just eclipsed 20K venues a month ago, and that has been a goal since we started this business. It took us three years to get to 3,000 venues, and now we get over 3,000 new customers per month! We had ambitious goals to build a high-powered salesforce. The machine is built, and it works really well.
Q: If you were to write a book about yourself, how would you name it?
A: Internet Confidential
Q: What is the first thing you do when you wake up in the morning?
A: I say ‘thank you’ when my feet hit the floor every day. Followed by Wim Hof breathing. Followed by coffee.
Headquartered in Austin, Atmosphere TV is the leading streaming TV platform for businesses, offering more than 64 original and partner TV channels. The platform, which was named on Fast Company's 2022 Most Innovative Companies list, has been built from the ground up with proprietary content, technology, and data to deliver unparalleled experiences for businesses and advertisers. The business was incubated within Chive Media Group (theCHIVE) and spun out in 2019.
“You can go fast alone and far with others. Having the right people on the bus is key.”