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Meet Veronika Steinhoff of Ok Joe in Hollywood Hills

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Veronika Steinhoff.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I always knew I wanted to do something creative but for some reason, I kept taking the different route out. I went to school for math but graduated with a business degree only to find myself unhappy and jumping from job to job. Desperate for a future, I started working for a named fashion brand with a promise to move up and be successful.

Only problem was, I found myself using anyway to escape and I was miserable. On one of the many days, I would brainstorm with my dad, we talked about making an app. It was going to be based on an already popular game on the App Store so the market was there.

My heart jumped, there it was, the magic thing I was made to do. We spent hours coming up with the ins and outs and knowing nothing about graphic design I had my work cut out for me. Testing the game was the best part too and since it was a parody of Flappy Bird, it was pretty addicting. We had also based the game on my good friend I met in comedy class a couple years prior. He has an influence on social media, so the marketing was pretty much-taken care of as well as a fan base that could appreciate the jokes in the game.

We released the app, King Bachy Bird, about three to four months later and my thirst was growing for more. It was a wild feeling to see something that you’ve thought of go from just ideas to something animated. I still think it’s hilarious to play and it was so rewarding to see kids post videos of them getting frustrated or winning and freaking out. I really couldn’t describe the feeling, I just knew I wanted to entertain for the rest of my life.

My dad, unfortunately, became too busy to pursue more apps so I moved to Wisconsin where my uncle lived at the time and decided to start from scratch. We started a company and named it Ok Joe, a domain actually my uncle already had for ten years. We took the app over from my dad’s company and officially made it part of Ok Joe. After selling my grandparents house (which was why he was in Wisconsin, to begin with), we drove all the way back to California with only an idea in hand. We wanted to make another app, this time based on what my friend wanted. He was using multiple apps at once just to edit and stylize his photos, so we wanted to create an all-in-one app that was also equipped to fabricate photobombs.

Basically, if your friend wasn’t originally in the photo, our app could easily slip them in unnoticed. It took us about two years to complete the app, Bachify, where my uncle was programming and I was responsible for all of the mock-ups and design. It was incredible to see my uncle code and what he’s capable of, I found myself continually grateful to even be in that situation to work with someone so skilled.

We knew we never wanted to limit Ok Joe to just apps, and given how ambitious the name is, we really could do anything. Naturally, my eyes were set on the one thing that made me happy above all else, comedy. I dreamed of a day where these two worlds would collide, so I transformed a piece of Ok Joe to be just that, Ok Joe Productions. I thought what better way than to start with something I would be passionate about, something of mine. Last November I started to work on The Love Doctors, a web series about two narcissistic Love Doctors who give horrible advice. We have Season One complete with Season Two already on the way.

My journey is still very young but I’m excited for what’s ahead, and making the decision to give up the norm to fight for my own dreams was the best thing I could have ever done. Someone once told me, “you spend your life fighting for your dreams or someone else’s, but either way, you spend your life fighting, so choose your battles wisely.”

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Of course not! But I’ve found nothing worth it is. My biggest struggle by far was money.

Making sure I had enough money to live and still have enough to cover production costs was always a tricky battle. Another obstacle was honestly the motivation to keep going. You are your biggest critic and I found that when working on one project over and over again, I would get too close and sometimes doubt if it was even worth it.

There are, however, these beautiful moments that would arise when I would solve a problem or discover something new and become excited all over again. These are the moments I chase to remind me why it’s absolutely necessary to keep going.

Please tell us about Ok Joe LLC..
Ok, Joe is best represented as a production company. We started with apps but now we are moving forward on producing media content. We’re best known for our app, Bachify, because of the popularity of my friend it was based on as well as making it on the top charts in the App Store.

To be honest, I am most proud of our execution. We set out a goal and accomplished it which in turn gave me the confidence to take on more projects. It may sound like something simple, and obviously, a company wouldn’t be a company if they didn’t finish what they started, but it was still something huge for me. I found it was a struggle I faced throughout my life so to actually conquer it and persevere really changed my whole outlook.

We’re in the business of having fun and I think that’s what sets us apart. We don’t choose projects to make money, we chose the projects we have fun making and the ones we think will make people happy. I always felt that if I could create something that would make someone’s day or even just the hour, it would be worth it. I know what a healthy distraction can really do on a stressful day and I want nothing more than to give that to others.

Probably why comedy as a whole brings me so much joy, you get to actually laugh for a living. Besides all else, I want to build a company that people would love to come work for. I heard a rumor Pixar has a Zen room to take naps and brainstorm and you better believe that’s something I cannot wait to have in our future empire.

If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
I would only change one thing, I would start earlier. If I could really go back in time or at least talk to my younger self I would tell her to get the hell moving as early as possible.

Sometimes I daydream about how far I would be if I started this journey at fifteen, oh the possibilities!

Pricing:

  • Bachify $1.99 on the App Store
  • EmoKey Joe is $0.99 on the App Store

Contact Info:

Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.

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