Check Out Sam Krichevsky’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sam Krichevsky.

Hi Sam, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I’m a first-generation American. My parents immigrated to the United States in 1977 from the former Soviet Union. I was born in New York City in 1982 and lived there until I was 11. Growing up, I only spoke Russian at home, and it wasn’t until my early years in grade school that I picked up English. When I was eleven, my family decided to move to Pittsburgh for my dad’s job. I loved the grittiness of Pittsburgh – that city taught me how to work hard from a young age. Starting at 16, I was working odd jobs and trying to make a living for myself.

Fast forward to when I was 28, I invested in a seed capital investment fund and business accelerator based out of Cleveland, Ohio called Launchhouse, where I also served as COO for three years. Our goal at Launchhouse was to bring a fresh perspective on entrepreneurship and investment to northeast Ohio, similar to what we were seeing happening in Silicon Valley with TechStars and Y Combinator at the time. We strived to be the entrepreneurial hub of northeast Ohio by providing a home base for aspiring entrepreneurs, amazing programming where entrepreneurs could learn and grow, and run an accelerator program to educate and advance aspiring entrepreneurs and businesses. We were always the first money in with investments up to $50k.

After Launchhouse, I co-founded a live event production company called TanZ. I was always very passionate about the entertainment industry and loved the idea of bringing events to life. So we produced music festivals, comedy festivals, and tastemaker shows at events such as Sundance Film Festival, Art Basel Miami, SXSW, and more. We were a 360 production company, so we did everything from the conceptualization of the actual event, marketing, branding, permitting, sound, stage, lighting, and talent booking.

My entrepreneurial journey has led me to where I am today with Geojam. I am incredibly passionate about building startups, and I believe that two essential components must be present for a startup to succeed: team and product/market fit. I believe we have both of those with my incredibly dedicated co-founders and the fantastic team we have assembled. In addition, the time in history has never been better to launch a social platform with music at its core, along with the notion that fans can and should get rewarded for supporting their favorite artists and creators.

We have grown rapidly since launching to the public in October of 2020, and I’m so excited to see what our team can and will accomplish in the future.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Since we officially launched, there have certainly been some obstacles that my team and I have had to overcome. For example, our COO was traveling with his family and ended up getting stuck in Australia during pandemic lockdowns. This now semi-permanent relocation meant that we had to adjust to collaborating across opposite time zones, which was tough when we were trying to get on calls and grow the business or get aligned on things. Of course, we’ve made it work and have actually turned it into an advantage, as somebody is always working on Geojam round the clock now, but it was an adjustment for sure.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Geojam is the ultimate social media platform for music. We integrate with popular music streaming services to generate revenue for artists by giving their superfans a platform for their passion. In addition, our rewards-based gamification makes it fun for fans to engage with artists like never before. My role at the company is Co-Founder & Chief Talent Officer. I do a bit of everything for the company, but I am mainly responsible for onboarding all talent onto the platform, including musicians and athletes. Since our launch in October 2020, we have worked with and run campaigns for major artists such as Machine Gun Kelly, 24kGoldn, and Mariah Carey. Many more artists we’re super excited about are in the pipeline for the remainder of 2021 and beyond as well.

Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
My co-founders are a tremendous inspiration for me with the hard work and dedication we all put in to drive the company forward daily. Geojam wouldn’t be the same without them putting in the hustle they do to move us forward.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: geojam.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/realsammyk/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/samkrichevsky