An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis

Your journey will be full of pivots: Your idea or business model is going to constantly evolve; embrace it! Embracing pivots can change the trajectory of your company for the better; therefore, don’t be dismayed and enjoy the journey.

As a part of our series called “Making Something From Nothing”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Chynna Morgan.

Being in love with cultivating innovative ideas and bringing them to life, Chynna knew that she was destined to become an entrepreneur from a young age. She is the founder of GIF Out Loud and Viddey, an experiential and SaaS technology company that allows brands to engage and connect with their fans and audience using the power of user-generated videos and sound.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn a bit more about you. Can you tell us a bit about your “childhood backstory”?

I knew that I always wanted to be an entrepreneur or a businesswoman from a very young age. I have always been full of the biggest ideas, adventures, and dreams, but I had no idea that would land me in the tech industry. I always like to say I did not choose tech, but tech chose me. Before I started my company, I was getting my Master’s Degree in Healthcare Management with the thought of opening up my franchise of home care agencies throughout California. I was three classes away from finishing school when I had the idea to start my technology company (GIF Out Loud). I have been a professional actress and model since the age of 7, so my tech company brought both of my passions together, business and entertainment/music, in a fascinating way. It all started with an idea, execution, and in a short period, it came to fruition. I have not looked back since.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

One of my favorite quotes is, “When one door closes, another opens.” This means that if something does not work out, it was not meant for me and that something even better is waiting for me. My job is to be patient and understand that rejection is protection. Being in the business or entertainment industry, you’re constantly going to get so many No’s, and I had to understand early that every job was not for me. Understanding this and applying this to my work ethic has given me peace of mind and less stress. When a deal falls through, I am thankful that it did, and I keep it moving.

Is there a particular book, podcast, or film that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story or explain why it resonated with you so much?

One book that truly resonated with me was the Secret. I read this book when I was around 12 years old, and it helped me understand the power of my mind and thoughts. Therefore, I am conscious of what I think and the words that I speak. I understood early that I could bring my desires into existence with my thoughts, patience, and confidence.

Ok super. Let’s now shift to the main part of our discussion. There is no shortage of good ideas out there. Many people have good ideas all the time. But people seem to struggle in taking a good idea and translating it into an actual business. Can you share a few ideas from your experience about how to overcome this challenge?

It’s all about believing in yourself and being selective with who you share your ideas and desires with. This is important so that you will not lose your steam; you have to be careful of negative people or people who do not share your vision. Most importantly, you have to do the proper market research and have confidence that your idea will work. If you’re not confident about your vision, it will be hard to translate your idea into an actual business.

Also, I learned early that a good idea is nothing unless you put it into action.

Often when people think of a new idea, they dismiss it saying someone else must have thought of it before. How would you recommend that someone go about researching whether or not their idea has already been created?

There is enough room for every idea; one may have to change a few things to make it unique. For example, do you know how many fast-food restaurants there are, but they all specialize in different menus and have a specific target market. The truth is, it does not matter if someone thought of your idea before, and it doesn’t matter if there is something similar in the market. The goal is to research the market, figure out the pain points that your competitors are missing out on, and go for it!

For the benefit of our readers, can you outline the steps one has to go through, from when they think of the idea, until it finally lands in a customer’s hands? In particular, we’d love to hear about how to file a patent, how to source a good manufacturer, and how to find a retailer to distribute it.

When you first have your idea, the first step is to do your research to see if there is a market already for your idea and/or would you be considered first to market. Once you do the proper research, strategize the problem that your idea’s problem. Once you figure that out, and if you are not a technological person, hire someone who can develop your MVP and get a couple of beta users to give you feedback. Once you get your feedback, go back and make the proper changes, and then you are ready to launch and go to market! Once you develop your technology (you can get a patent lawyer to help you figure out the best way to patent your idea/tech concept).

What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I First Started Leading My Company” and why?

1 . Your journey will be full of pivots: Your idea or business model is going to constantly evolve; embrace it! Embracing pivots can change the trajectory of your company for the better; therefore, don’t be dismayed and enjoy the journey.

2. You MUST have a balance: When I first started my company, it felt like I was working 24/7, with no healthy balance. I quickly realized that I needed to take time for myself, for my family and friends, and do things that I love outside of work. Once I figured this out, it allowed me to work much better and smarter. Balance is critical when running a company (you don’t want to overwork yourself). You have to take care of your mind, body, and spirit; if not, you will burn yourself out, which in return will impact your business negatively.

3. You will get TONS of No’s: Be prepared for No’s; actually, accept and embrace them because a no means not right now. Be patient and know that you will get the yes you have been waiting for and beyond. I live by the notion that when one door closes, another one opens.

4.Build Genuine Relationships: You need to surround yourself with people who can give you honesty and feedback and individuals who have been where you are trying to go. However, you do not want to use people for what they can do for you but connect with people from the heart, creating genuine relationships. Then the goal is to give unselfishly and pay it forward! I have learned in life that you get back what you give and sometimes even more.

5. There is no such thing as failure, only lessons learned: It is all a matter of perspective. I don’t believe there is such thing as failure, but lessons to know what to do or not to do next time. Sometimes what we thought was a failure actually was the thing that took us to the next level.

Let’s imagine that a reader reading this interview has an idea for a product that they would like to invent. What are the first few steps that you would recommend that they take?

The first thing you should do is research to see if the idea has already been invented. If it has, figure out what you can do differently than the product that is already in the market. If it has not been invented, figure out why it has not and start brainstorming from there.

There are many invention development consultants. Would you recommend that a person with a new idea hire such a consultant, or should they try to strike out on their own?

I have never worked with an invention consultant, so I would not be able to recommend whether or not it is necessary.

What are your thoughts about bootstrapping vs looking for venture capital? What is the best way to decide if you should do either one?

I think it depends on your product and your financial situation. There are many cases where a person can get started with limited funds and/or support from their family; in this case, if you can bootstrap your way until you are profitable (that is always awesome). If you need venture capital, figure out your monetization model before you start looking for funding. Yes, now you have funding, but the bigger question is, what is your plan to turn a profit? However, the key is to be realistic about what you need to succeed.

Ok. We are nearly done. Here are our final questions. How have you used your success to make the world a better place?

When I started my company, I did not have a network or anyone to ask for advice or feedback. However, this experience has inspired me to reach out and help others to make their experience easier. I love connecting with other founders or up-and-coming entrepreneurs to explore ways to help them move towards their goals. I try to make the world a better place is by having people be less stressed and more successful through my support and knowledge.

You are an inspiration to a great many people. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.

We should start a movement that teaches children about the importance of having a positive mindset. Imagine a kid growing up, thinking they can do whatever they put their mind too because they genuinely believe it in their heart. It all starts with your upbringing, self-esteem, and confidence.

We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US, with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them.

I would love to have breakfast or lunch with Issa Rae! Her grit and resilience in starting her show to where she is now, having multiple businesses is inspiring!

Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.

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Making Something From Nothing: Chynna Morgan Of ‘GIF Out Loud’ On How To Go From Idea To Launch was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.