Today we’d like to introduce you to Hope Horner.
Hope, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I grew up in Johnson City, TN – a small town in the northeast corner of the state. For as long as I can remember, I dreamed of moving to Los Angeles and starting my own business. The most direct way to achieve that plan was to plan for college in SoCal after I graduated high school. When I was in seventh grade, I set my heart on Pepperdine.
I eventually visited the school – and several others – a few years later. My early instincts were correct and I was certain that Pepperdine was the right school for me. When the time came, I applied and was accepted.
I moved to LA in August of 2004 to attend college and begin exploring my “adult” life. To me, California was exceptional. It embraced diversity and culture in a way I never knew was possible. The opportunities seemed endless, and I was eager to jump right into the middle. I explored a variety of entrepreneurial endeavors back then – everything from multi-level marketing to starting a tutoring business – before finally getting a job in gym sales. I worked at 24 Hour Fitness and eventually Equinox for several years. While there, I recognized that there was a unique opportunity within the health and wellness space. An opportunity to bring personal trainers and massage therapists directly to customers. This ended up being the core idea behind the first company I started at 22 years old – BetterYou.
In 2008, the startup culture was very limited in Los Angeles. Resources were scarce and it was difficult to learn how to start and run a company with no experience. Nonetheless, I trudged through the journey for a few years trying to figure it out. It was filled some success and a lot of learning lessons, but ultimately, it didn’t end the way I had hoped. I spent a few more years working with startup companies and learning more about the landscape and how to hone my skills as a leader and entrepreneur.
In April of 2014, I started my second company, Lemonlight, out of a second bedroom with my two co-founders, Daniel Marlow, and Chad Rogers. Lemonlight’s mission was to offer small and medium-sized businesses access to high-quality, affordable video content that they could use to advertise their brand online.
At the time, the average cost for a 30-second commercial was $342,000 according to the American Association of Advertising Agencies. It was filled with lengthy creative meetings and customized prices based on the size of the brand. We saw an opportunity to bring transparency to an industry that had long operated in a very opaque world limited to the business elite.
In a sense, we commoditized video production. We offered a pre-built pricing menu that was affordable to most business owners. After the videos were made, we taught them how to use them as online ads to grow their own business.
Since 2014, the journey has been filled with ups and downs. There are days we celebrated and days where I didn’t want to go to work because reality was terrifying. As a self-funded company, there’s no safety net.
Today, we have a full-time team of 35 people and more than 400 freelance teams across the world. We’ve produced more than 6000 videos for more than 3000 clients and 50 partners. We’ve been recognized in Inc. Magazine as one of the top 500 fastest growing companies in the country and by Entrepreneur Magazine as one of the top 360 companies for the past two years. We were also awarded the eighth spot as the fastest growing media company in the United States in 2018. We contribute our success to our commitment to providing high-quality video content at affordable rates.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
The entrepreneurship road is paved with challenges and, at times, seemingly insurmountable roadblocks. Last year, I published an article in Entrepreneur (https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/306734) that bared some of these dark realities. Here are a few other challenges:
It’s hard to feel “accomplished.” Every time you hit a milestone, there’s already a new, bigger, and more daunting milestone waiting ahead. Imagine running a marathon that never ends. Once you approach the finish line, the finish line moves forward another 26 miles.
Like hot air, problems rise. For the first few years in business, I felt overwhelmed by the number of problems I had to “fix” every day. We were growing and from the from a distance, everything seemed great. Despite this, I felt like every single day was filled with new challenges and problems.
Early on, these problems often discouraged me and left me feeling hopeless. In my mind, I had disassociated “successful” businesses and problems. I later came to realize that my understanding was flawed. As the CEO, the most difficult challenges fall on your desk to fix. Part of my job was and will continue to be, fixing these problems.
As this realization set it, I began taking them less personally and focused more on finding solutions quickly and effectively so that I could be prepared for the next one.
Tell us about your business/company. What do you do, what do you specialize in, what are you known for, etc. What are you most proud of as a company? What sets you apart from others?
Lemonlight is an on-demand video production company that offers brands access to high-quality, affordable video content nationwide.
In addition to brands, we also work with creative agencies, marketing companies, and media brands around the country. Our high-quality, affordable video content fits directly into the marketing strategy they craft for their clients. Our streamlined processes ensure that our partners and their clients have a seamless experience on every project.
We guarantee:
Reliability: Our deep experience ensures that their clients will receive a quality video every single time.
Scalability: We have vetted production teams around the world. Wherever their clients are, we are too.
Affordability: We offer affordable and flexible partnership rates, so we share business and share success.
In addition to the awards we’ve won, I’m most proud of the number of return and repeat clients that we have. Over 50% of our monthly orders come from previous clients, which means we’re providing value and delivering a great service that people appreciate.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
My business partners – Daniel Marlow and Chad Rogers. I cannot imagine having to make some of the most important decisions for our business without them. We push each other and hold each other accountable.
Our team – It takes a lot of people to build a company. You have to be able to rely on people to talk to your most important customers and provide them with an exceptional experience. As a startup company, they also have to be very comfortable with change, which is not always easy.
We’ve moved offices three times, we’ve shifted our products and services, we’ve added team members and removed others – our team sticks together, drinks together, and succeeds together. We could not be where we are without them.
Pricing:
- Company Brand Video: $3000
- Animated Explainer Video: $1750
- Product Video: $3500
- Highlight Video: $1500
- Crowdfunding Video: $3000-$9000
- and more!
Contact Info:
- Address: 4120B Del Rey Avenue, Marina del Rey, CA 90292
- Website: https://www.lemonlight.com/
- Phone: 310.402.0275
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lemonlightmedia
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lemonlightmedia/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/lemonlightmedia
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.
