Today we’d like to introduce you to Christina Ness
Hi Christina, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I’ve been lucky enough to work in a number of entertainment positions that intersected with tech. I came to LA in 2015 to work on a startup, and during that time I was taking freelance positions on the side, and one was in shareholder management for an app. Through that, I met a number of shareholders who were high powered entertainment and advertising executives, and ended up spending three years fundraising and leading digital strategy for ‘Idol’ creator Simon Fuller, while we built his pop Group ‘Now United’ from the ground up.
From there I went to a world class live production firm called Done + Dusted, and then landed at Activision Blizzard where I met Justin Chu, the co-founder of our company, Evenigo.
Before we started our company, we used to joke about starting a business together when work got stressful while we were running communication for the Call of Duty and Overwatch Leagues; and then after a mass-layoff and some brainstorming, we had the opportunity to turn our idea into reality.
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?
Going from a stable job in a well established and exciting industry to starting a business from ground zero has definitely been challenging, but I think the struggles are part of the fun. I had the privilege of working on a number of startups within other companies previously, so I think that made it less scary for me initially. Whereas, my partner had never worked outside of a big corporation before, and it was a bigger jump for him.
One of the biggest challenges we originally faced was that neither person is able to code, and we needed to build an app and website with baseline functionalities. We were able to overcome this by using Bubble, a ‘no code’ platform to get them up and running.
Part of entrepreneurship is that you don’t typically have the budget or the knowledge to do what you actually want to do, so you get the opportunity to learn how to do it as you go… and you can probably learn whatever you need from YouTube. We’ve watched a number of tutorials and taken online courses to build different facets of our business, and there are also a number of inexpensive tools like Capcut, Figma and Canva that anyone can leverage for creative inspiration.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I currently own a tech startup called Evenigo (https://evenigo.com) that puts your favorite promos, live events and product launches on your calendar so that you don’t miss out on important discounts or moments. People check their calendars about 10 times a day, so we send the reminders directly to them as calendar invites.
I’ve always considered myself to be a bit of a generalist, so my specialty areas for work include design, partnerships and finance. However, I think what sets me apart is my ability to make connections and build relationships. Getting to know people has always been the best part of my various jobs, and has resulted in a number of awesome long term friendships as well as professional opportunities.
Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
I would recommend that everyone finds a mentor, or a number of mentors who know them on a professional level and are someone they already look up to.
Finding a mentor who knows you professionally is helpful because you’ve already built a relationship with this person by default, and now you have the opportunity to grow it with mentorship. This often leads to more industry connections and this person will also have had the opportunity to see how you react in different scenarios, so they can give you more targeted feedback.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://evenigo.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christieness/
Image Credits:
Christina Ness
