Introducing LottieLab

Q: Can you give a little background about your company?

A: LottieLab aims to make motion design accessible to everyone. Think about those slick animations you see on apps like Uber Eats or Duolingo. Traditionally, making those required a mix of an artist, a developer, and a mathematician. What we wanted to do was make this process easier and more accessible.

We saw a gap in the market. There were tools to create videos or GIFs but not code-based animations. That’s when we found Lottie, an open-source JSON-based format for animations. The original use case for Lottie was a children’s interactive storybook. You had to use After Effects to create these animations. Let’s be real After Effects is not for everyone—it’s not easy, and it’s not collaborative.

So we built LottieLab to fill that gap. Now you don’t need to download After Effects or any other non-collaborative tool to create these animations. Our tool is so user-friendly that even a salesperson with zero design skills could use it to create a custom animation. When we were developing LottieLab, I even involved my nieces and nephews to understand how kids would animate. We’re making sure the barrier to entry for animations is super low.

Why Entrepreneur First

Q: Why did you decide to apply to Entrepreneur First?

A: Funny enough, I didn’t apply to Entrepreneur First (EF) right off the bat—they reached out to me. They find potential fits on LinkedIn and get in touch, and that’s what happened in my case. I already knew about the program through friends who had been a part of it. The timing was impeccable. I was on the verge of quitting my job to focus on personal projects, just to let my creative juices flow.

I’ve always been a maker at heart. Back in university, I spent a lot of time creating and experimenting just for the fun of it. But let’s face it, once you dive into the 9-to-5 grind, your creative energy kind of gets sucked out. So I was planning on quitting and just messing around with projects for three months. Right around that time, Entrepreneur First popped up and said, “Hey, why not do your messing around with us? We’ll even pay you a bit.” That offer, along with the promise of surrounding myself with other like-minded people, was enough to hook me in. So I joined and continued my creative journey there, which eventually led me to meet my co-founder.

Entrepreneur First Application Process Tips

Q: Can you share any tips for the application process?

A: First off, don’t undersell yourself. I know, talking yourself up might feel like bragging, but look at it this way: you’ve got to present your accomplishments objectively. They don’t know anything about you and you don’t want to sell yourself short when others are going big.

For example, let’s say you’ve won some awards or built something cool. Instead of just flaunting the award, tie it back to the mission that drove you. Your passion for that mission is the real story. The accolades are just the by-products, the cherries on top, if you will.

And then, you’ve got to show you can think outside the box. Academic accomplishments are great professional milestones, fantastic! But EF is looking for trailblazers, folks who don’t just follow the paved path. Ever started a side project just for kicks? Ever cold-emailed someone in a high position just because you had an idea? That’s the sort of stuff that shows you’re not afraid to venture off the beaten track. You’ve got to show them that you’re the kind of person willing to take the plunge without waiting for someone to say it’s okay.

In short, don’t wait for permission, don’t stick strictly to the script, and don’t be shy about your accomplishments. Be bold, be brave, and let your actions speak for your character.

Q: Does the application process take a lot of effort?

A: Smooth and effort are two things that can be a bit elusive in this process. You should be laser-focused on how you present yourself. It’s all about boiling down your life’s narrative, your mission, and your achievements into compelling soundbites. Trust me, that’s no walk in the park.

You might want to bring in some external perspectives, someone who can be ruthlessly honest with you. I had a couple of friends who’ve been through Entrepreneur First, and they were invaluable in helping me prep. I told ’em straight, “Grill me, don’t hold back.” And we went through that wringer a few times, not just to practice for the interview per se, but to get me comfortable with talking about myself in a way that’s both objective and compelling.

We’re talking a couple of rigorous practice sessions here, each lasting an hour or two. It’s a mental workout to sharpen your narrative, hone your answers, and figure out how to pitch yourself without the fluff. So, if you’re wondering about the amount of effort, don’t measure it in physical terms. It’s more about mental agility and prep.

Entrepreneur First Journey Highlights

Q: How did you meet your co-founder and how did you come up with the idea?

A: Entrepreneur First, it’s like the ‘Love Island’ for startup founders, no joke. Imagine a house full of people all scrambling to find their perfect business match before it’s too late. Every week or two, the herd gets trimmed, and if you haven’t found your co-founder, you’re out. But here’s the catch: I wasn’t desperate to find a co-founder. I didn’t join EF to just get that startup dollar; I joined because I love building stuff. For me, it was about finding someone organically, vibing over common interests rather than a calculated business move.

Here comes Alistair. We were supposed to have this 30-minute ‘get to know you’ chat, but, we just clicked. We spent a whopping six hours talking about everything from design to games to engineering. The guy created a game in school that went global; I had my roots in design from a young age. We knew we wanted to build something together, not just for the sake of EF but because we genuinely enjoyed the brainstorming and the creating.

Both of us realized that while creating interactive animations was second nature to us, it wasn’t for most people. We started looking into the Lottie animation format and knew we were onto something. So, I threw a quick Figma design up on Twitter, just to test the waters. The Lottie community loved it. And that’s how Lottielab was born, built alongside a community that was as stoked about the idea as we were. We then leveraged that community feedback to land our initial investment.

What made it work was our shared nerdiness and our excitement about the topics that got us talking in the first place. Throughout EF, Alistair and I stuck together as a team. It was like finding your perfect bandmate in a house full of solo artists. And that is how you find a co-founder and an idea that sticks.

Q: What were the biggest benefits you got from the program?

A: Speed. I’ve always loved to build fast, but Entrepreneur First took that to a whole other level. It’s like they stick you on this treadmill that’s already running at 10 mph and yell, “Keep up!” So, you do. You run faster than you ever thought you could. If Alistair and I were on our own, bootstrapping and all, we never would’ve aimed as high as we did. EF sets these gnarly deadlines, like, “Hey, demo day is coming, you better be ready to fundraise.” So, you get into this hyper-focused mode.

Originally, we were eyeing maybe $500,000 for our fundraising. We weren’t even considering the $4 million mark. But EF pushes you to be bold. We started hustling in ways we never had before—Reddit stunts for sign-ups, and rapid-fire landing page tests.

Our first interaction with an investor was sort of accidental. A guy from Accel was supposed to give us some “office hours feedback,” more like prepping us for a Series A down the line. But he saw what we were doing, how fast we were moving, and was like, “Hold up, you need to talk to the big guns.” Just that interest from Accel set off this domino effect, creating a FOMO frenzy among investors. We were inundated with inbound interest. No cold calls, no cold emails, just pure, unadulterated interest. We closed our fundraising in a week. My days turned into 16-hour marathons of back-to-back calls, but hey, that’s the intensity EF brings. And that, to me, was its greatest gift.

Q: Did you have any ‘aha moments’ during the program?

A: Talk about going from zero to a hundred! We walked into a meeting thinking $600,000 was the dream. Like, “Yeah, that’ll keep the engine running.” And then, this investor looks us dead in the eyes and says, “That’s pocket change. How about $2 million so you can scale this thing?” I mean, are you kidding me? That’s the first time I’d ever heard a number that big related to something we were doing. One minute, we’re grinding to get another 100 users for our MVP, and the next, we’re sipping coffee with someone ready to write a $2 million check.

This wasn’t just an eye-opener; it was an entire paradigm shift. Suddenly, we weren’t thinking about how to get from point A to point B; we were envisioning the entire alphabet. The investor wasn’t buying into what we’d built; he was buying into what we could build. That was my ‘aha moment.’ It’s not just about where you are today; it’s about crafting that narrative of where you’ll be tomorrow.

Venture capital isn’t just about money; it’s about storytelling. And not some fluffy, “Once upon a time” stuff. I’m talking about narratives so compelling that an investor can’t help but say, “Take my money; now go build your empire.”

So we started thinking, “Okay, Alistair and I have done X with our bare hands. With $2 million, we could 10X this thing. Easy.” That realization? Priceless. That’s what got everyone—from us to the investors—really believing in the vision. The only missing piece of the puzzle was their investment, and when they realized that, it was game on.

Life After the Accelerator

Q: What’s happening at the company right now?

A: A month ago, we pulled the curtain back and went public after two years in the making. No time wasted—$4 million in funding as we closed out our stint at Entrepreneur First. Since then, we’ve caught the attention of big players like Google, Microsoft, and Lego, and they’re all using our platform.

Living by the principle of “Hire slow, fire fast,” our team is as lean as they come. Eight dedicated souls—six engineers, including my co-founder, and a pair of designers, one of whom is me. Everyone’s a crucial cog in this wheel; we’re not just filling seats, we’re adding value at every turn.

In terms of product development, now, it’s not just about building; it’s about smart growth. We’re eyeballing the metrics that actually drive progress, steering clear of the flashy but empty numbers. Here’s the lowdown: staying lean isn’t about being cheap—it’s about being smart. It’s about asking tough questions like, “Do we really need this?” before diving into any commitment. Because let’s face it, wasteful spending is a quick way to derail any startup journey.

We’re small but punch way above our weight, super hands-on, laser-focused on what really counts. The dream is still there, but now it’s backed by action and real results.

Q: What growth channels have you tried?

A: We have tried some stuff, but not just any kind of growth—smart, sustainable growth. Now, we’re getting a good number of signups a day and we’re eyeing to increase this number. But let’s get one thing straight: it’s not just about inflating the top of the funnel.

Retention is where the real game is. We’re obsessed with it. User churn is like the startup Grim Reaper, so we’re doing everything we can to make our users stick around. What’s the use of adding thousands of users a day if they vanish tomorrow, right?

The key? Being super hands-on with our customers. We’re also constantly tweaking our acquisition strategies, optimizing content, and let’s not forget, building a kickass community. Speaking of which, we’ve got a lively Discord community with around 7,000 people. We’re not just blasting messages; we’re in there, engaging, learning, and adapting based on real feedback.

To sum it up: it’s not just about packing the funnel with new signups. It’s about guiding them through, converting them, and most importantly, retaining them. Quality over quantity, always. We’re not just throwing spaghetti at the wall; we’re cooking a full-course Italian dinner. Welcome to the next level of growth.

Final Advice

Q: Any final tips for the founders on the fence about applying to Entrepreneur First?

A: Stop sitting on that fence and just go for it—1000%. Here’s the deal: If you’re only obsessing about the endgame, like, “Will I create the next unicorn?” you’re missing the point. Entrepreneurship isn’t a linear path, it’s a crazy rollercoaster, one that can throw you for a loop every single day. Doubt is part of the game, and trust me, I’ve got a daily subscription to it.

Don’t just fixate on the destination; value the journey. If you think Entrepreneur First is your ticket to build the next Google, you’re setting yourself up for disappointment. What will keep you grinding during those inevitable low points is not the vision of becoming a billionaire but the idea that you’re growing into a better version of yourself.
EF or not, building a startup is like compressing 10 lifetimes of experiences into one. It rewires your understanding of the world. Now imagine coupling that with the incredible network you build during your time at EF. Whether you leave the program having founded the next big thing or not, you walk away with life experiences and connections that most only dream of.

To all you would-be founders out there, if you’re looking for a life-changing experience, just take that leap. Because even if you don’t land exactly where you aimed, you’ll still land among the stars. I’ve been there. It’s that transformative, promise.