The story of two brothers
and Passle
By Tom Elgar
#mystartupstory
triumph and disaster
and back again

This is me, Tom, leaving Nichestream
– my web development company –
for the last time EVER in 2001.
We’d been smashed up
in the dot-com crash

This is me, Tom, leaving Nichestream
– my web development company –
for the last time EVER in 2001.
We’d been smashed up
in the dot-com crash
I’ve just turned off the lights.

This is me, Tom, leaving Nichestream
– my web development company –
for the last time EVER in 2001.
We’d been smashed up
in the dot-com crash
I’ve just turned off the lights.
But forgot the awning –
better do that first.

“…meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two imposters just the
same”
Rudyard Kipling

My brother, Adam, and I have
worked on a lot of projects
Me
Adam

When I was about 12, our mother said she would give us
£100 to paint this barn with wood-preserving creosote. At
least a week of hard, dirty work.

But if you pilfer a spray can and mix the
creosote with petrol, you can spray it
on in about 3 hours…
When I was about 12, our mother said she would give us
£100 to paint this barn with wood-preserving creosote. At
least a week of hard, dirty work.

But if you pilfer a spray can and mix the
creosote with petrol, you can spray it
on in about 3 hours…
When I was about 12, our mother said she would give us
£100 to paint this barn with wood-preserving creosote. At
least a week of hard, dirty work.
… and go back to watching TV.

But if you pilfer a spray can and mix the
creosote with petrol, you can spray it
on in about 3 hours…
When I was about 12, our mother said she would give us
£100 to paint this barn with wood-preserving creosote. At
least a week of hard, dirty work.
Our mother is was LIVID.
… and go back to watching TV.

They actually make it
now commercially.

Although probably not
simply by mixing
creosote with a gallon of
lethally explosive petrol.
They actually make it
now commercially.

When I was 14, we had an idea for a children’s drawing game.
Using stencils of body parts you could make up different
characters (mostly based on the drawing of Albert Uderzo)
We called them the AniMates.

When I was 14, we had an idea for a children’s drawing game.
Using stencils of body parts you could make up different
characters (mostly based on the drawing of Albert Uderzo)
We met the toy companies, but they said using
stencils was too complicated for little children.
Which is a shame because they worked well.
We called them the AniMates.

Later – somewhat by accident –
I got a job teaching Economics
and History in Zimbabwe.
When they realised I couldn’t
teach, I got a call from Adam
(who now worked for a
conference company) to run
this exhibition.

As it turns out, ‘The Biggest
Internet Event in Africa’ in
1996…
Later – somewhat by accident –
I got a job teaching Economics
and History in Zimbabwe.
When they realised I couldn’t
teach, I got a call from Adam
(who now worked for a
conference company) to run
this exhibition.

As it turns out, ‘The Biggest
Internet Event in Africa’ in
1996…
…wasn’t really ‘THAT’ big.
Later – somewhat by accident –
I got a job teaching Economics
and History in Zimbabwe.
When they realised I couldn’t
teach, I got a call from Adam
(who now worked for a
conference company) to run
this exhibition.

And when Adam did his
next conference – now as a
spin off company called
Streamingmedia Inc. – I
coded their website and
marketing tools…
Then I learnt to code.

And when Adam did his
next conference – now as a
spin off company called
Streamingmedia Inc. – I
coded their website and
marketing tools…
Looks pretty hopeless now
but, the clever bit was…
Then I learnt to code.

And when Adam did his
next conference – now as a
spin off company called
Streamingmedia Inc. – I
coded their website and
marketing tools…
Looks pretty hopeless now
but, the clever bit was…
Then I learnt to code.
This:
Industry news

And when Adam did his
next conference – now as a
spin off company called
Streamingmedia Inc. – I
coded their website and
marketing tools…
Looks pretty hopeless now
but, the clever bit was…
And this:
Advertising for
the conferences
Then I learnt to code.
This:
Industry news

San Francisco, 2000
So instead of:
1. Buying a mailing list
2. Printing flyers
3. Sending them
4. Hoping for the best

San Francisco, 2000
Streamingmedia Inc. created a community
around the emerging streaming technologies.
We spoke to THE RIGHT 25,000 people each day.
The competition spoke to THE WRONG 100,000
PEOPLE, at huge expense, twice a year.
So instead of:
1. Buying a mailing list
2. Printing flyers
3. Sending them
4. Hoping for the best

Nowadays it’s called ‘Content Marketing’.
We just thought it was very clever indeed.
Either way, Streamingmedia won.
Bill
Adam

Nowadays it’s called ‘Content Marketing’.
We just thought it was very clever indeed.
Either way, Streamingmedia won.
Streamingmedia Inc. sold to Penton
Media for $100m in late 2000.
Bill
Adam

And all coded from this little
shop in Oxford, UK!

Then we set up Serverside Group, which
puts pictures on payment cards

I thought it would be great for small business
logos, but actually it was mostly dogs and kids

But there are lots of dogs and lots of kids, and
we started to do lots and lots of cards

But there are lots of dogs and lots of kids, and
we started to do lots and lots of cards

And we signed up lots and lots of
the world’s leading banks.

We needed to demonstrate our
expertise in our market.
So we started a blog.

But writing content was always the second priority for
the senior management and our in-house Experts –
It was really hard and it did not directly close business.
We needed to demonstrate our
expertise in our market.
So we started a blog.

And hardly “authentic”
We tried to outsource our content writing, but the
agency didn’t really understand our weird little niche.
So the content was BORING.

And hardly “authentic”
One day we walked our little blog out in
to the snow… And shot it.
We tried to outsource our content writing, but the
agency didn’t really understand our weird little niche.
So the content was BORING.

And hardly “authentic”
One day we walked our little blog out in
to the snow… And shot it.
We tried to outsource our content writing, but the
agency didn’t really understand our weird little niche.
So the content was BORING.

By now we were doing well, and other companies
started to copy us (but we had the patents)
so we went at ‘em! A bit like this…

Eventually we knew more about
plastic cards than any man
should reasonably know.
So we sold to Gemalto N.V. in 2009. The
$9bn gorilla in our field.

When we finally made
our getaway, we
wondered about
whether that:
‘Experts demonstrating
their knowledge thing’
… was a ‘Thing’.
It turns out that lots of firms want to showcase the
knowledge and experience of their bright, busy experts….

She is destined to
be a Mighty Warrior!
And so Passle
was born…