Rockin it at Pretty Night Out

If you haven't already seen from our Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram pages, we had one heck of a time at the 1st ever "Pretty Night Out" modeling industry mixer hosted by Model Revolt. This is not your ordinary networking event where you have to sit there and listen to some Joe blow go on and on about how he can do this and that, or how connecting with such and such from this company is sure to boost your odds at success.

Pretty Night Out is hosted for anyone in the modeling industry trying to get their name or work known to others, whether it's photographers, models, or agencies, all while having some drinks and taking some killer sick photos (see the 4 studs above - haha!) Gestures was lucky enough to be the sponsor for this epic, one of a kind event, and man were we happy. There was a crowd close to 300 for around 4 hours, and pictures in front of the new backdrop didn't stop for a minute. Needless to say, a professional 10X10 backdrop can easily give any event that nice "red carpet" touch especially when the hilariously funny and talented Jonah Gilmore is behind the camera.

But more importantly getting to sponsor the party helped us get our name out there and we were even able to install the beta-version of our Gestures Camera App on quite a few of the party-goers. We had our best week yet as far as traffic to our social sites and we couldn't be more thankful for those of you who are continuing to support us as we prepare for our official App Store Launch. Not to mention it was an all out blast sharing our app in front of so many people who hadn't yet seen it - and seeing their reactions to how awesome it is!

One more thing, to all you aspiring / established models and photographers it's time to check out Model Revolt if you haven't already. Their site isn't live yet (coming soon) but their Facebook page is and recently just passed 20,000 likes. Not too shabby at all for a startup company that hasn't even officially launched yet! This is sure to be the next big thing for the modeling industry, so you might as well hop on board.

Also, good news to all those who missed out, we'll be making #PNO a regular event so you can catch the next one soon. If you're in the industry or considering becoming a model / photographer swing by and get your meet and greet on!

From One to Six

If there is one word that could accurately describe the process of building a start-up company from the ground up it would almost certainly have to be "exciting."

From seeing the first prototype to seeing your social accounts grow with a sizable loyal following, every aspect of a start-up brings that added level of excitement and adrenaline rush for the founders. That being said, anyone whose participated in the development of an early stage company knows there is a certain amount of various emotions that fill your brain and stress you out to no end.

However, when it's all said and done, and your able to look at something built with pure dedication, it becomes well worth it. Besides... some grey hair and a few nights of no sleep never hurt anybody anyway, right? Of course this is me, the PR guy. I don't have that stress or worry that a founder may have, but I can attest to the work ethic and determination that it takes to be one of those guys – because we have them on our team.

I've learned that it's important to knock back when doubt or negativity hit you square on. Standing your ground when you believe in something is what it takes to succeed in this world. Of course it always helps to have a reliable team supporting you every step of the way.

For a company to have a viable growth strategy, they must first have the right team. This is where we get the title "From One to Six" for this particular blog. As I mentioned earlier, excitement is what it's all about and the past couple of weeks have been pretty big for us. We gained four more brilliant individuals for our team. What once was a one-man show has quickly become a full fledged group of creative mindsets that are positioning the Gestures Inc. brand into a very - real - company. 

First, Roy Mitsuoka is our co-founder and the VP of Research & Business Development. He has an extensive background with the US Army Intelligence and had a helping hand in the development of Firefox and the Ushahidi app.

Next up is our new co-founder and Chief Technology Officer, Rob Edgell, who is currently the Mobile App Development Manager at FOSSIL Group.

His partner in crime William Saults, who also hails from FOSSIL, will be our Director of iOS Development. He will make sure we own our apps completely and knock the socks off of our competitors.

Lastly, we have garnished an amazing photographer and Instagram aficionado Austin Sabado as one of our Street Team Photographers to help lead some of our social awareness and building.

One bad ass team if I may say so myself! 

Rob says it all with this short and sweet line, "Best practice has turned into 'the best way to organize a list view.' GESTURES is here to change that, and it's going to be awesome." I know I can speak for the team when I say how exciting this year is going to be, especially with the launch of our beta-version GESTURES Camera App - coming soon to phones near you, January 31st, 2014. 

Until Next Time, Shutter On!