This Entrepreneur Realized Something Was Missing From Apple TV so he built a business to solve the problem

The #BuilderGeneration series on LinkedIn tells the stories of the builders, entrepreneurs, and innovators who pushed the boundaries of conventional thinking in order to bring their ideas to fruition.

A game-changing idea, conceptualized by an inspired individual—this is how every driving force of innovation and progress amidst our world begins. With hard work, passion, and dedication, every dream deserves the chance to see the sun, and every dreamer deserves to fulfill their own potential by being able to see that through.

These are their stories. Tag your favorite builders in the comments to be featured.

Meet Damian Pelliccione, the CEO and Co-Founder of Revry, the world’s first LGBTQ Global Content Streaming Network. Revry is currently available on Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, Android TV, Amazon Fire, Pluto TV, Xumo TV, IOS, Android and the Web. Revry now reaches over 35 million people in over 100 countries across the globe.

When and how did the idea to build Revry come from?

As a self-proclaimed serial entrepreneur, Revry is definitely the most exciting business I’ve built with the team. The idea came after I purchased an Apple TV with my partner. We took it home, hooked it up, but we couldn’t find any programming for the LGBTQ community. It was kind of shocking that there weren’t any, so we brought our idea to life and built an app to solve the problem. The entire business was launched in our living room. 

We launched in beta in March of 2016 with licensed content and built the library up over time. We kicked it off publicly at San Francisco pride that year - it was very grassroots. We printed pink Revry t-shirts, handed out flyers, and walked around Dolores Park telling anybody and everybody that would listen to us. Wired Magazine got word of what we were doing and they wrote a feature article about the idea and app. After that, we were off to the races.

You make it sound so easy, but in reality, bringing an idea to life is hard behind the scenes. What is the biggest misconception people have who are viewing it from the outside? 

That was definitely the short story version of Revry, but yes, a ton of work goes on behind the scenes that aren’t always talked about. I think the misconception in media is that you have a great idea that fills a void, that it would be easy to build, launch, market, and fund, but the entertainment business and media specifically have so much competition. We’re all competing for attention. You really have to create something that is beyond a great product. The brand of Revry works because its identity is community-driven and it's inherent to who we are. I use the example of being a consumer of Tom shoes or Whole Foods - those brands represent something much bigger than just a good product. And so, our mission was to really reflect the true identity of the LGBTQ community by uplifting and creating a platform for true authentic voices that were not just targeted towards, you know, one gender, one sexual orientation or one race or one culture even. But to be able to source and amplify, the diverse acts and inclusiveness that is the LGBTQ community by creating global platforms for discovery of it.

What do you think prevents most people from acting on their ideas and building them?

I think the biggest thing is fear - fear of the unknown, how to build it, etc. If we just go from a really fundamental kind of place, right? People can come up with a great idea, come with a great concept, even come up with a great pitch. But the biggest thing is taking that plunge and really committing to your idea. Don’t let fear or the anxiety of where the next paycheck, a round of funding, or even next sale is going to come from. You have to take action to figure that part out. Just thinking of ideas and not executing them gets you nowhere. 

Once you commit, you need passion to drive you. My three co-founders and I are all passionate about what we're building. It's more about the excitement, the curiosity and the ability to learn and pivot and grow and not make the same mistakes and be okay with it.

If you weren’t building Revry, what would be the next space you’d be disrupting?

The Cannabis industry is definitely is something that I’m interested in. I've just read a lot about how that industry is evolving. I think what's really exciting for me, and this is very similar to Revry, is that I like being an early adopter or an inventor in a new space or a new segment. I think my curiosity for creating businesses or brands comes from a place of wanting to be a tastemaker of wanting to teach someone about something new that I just learned.

What’s your one piece of advice for entrepreneurs who have an idea to build?

I’d say to any new or young entrepreneur is to just not give up and get comfortable with learning to fail over and over again. I was 35 years old when I really started to figure out what all my previous business and failures meant. Collectively, it was a real-life education for Revry.

What are some of your favorite apps you use daily?

Oh, my favorite apps I use every day and most consistently, are my yoga app, One Down Gog. I love yoga. It's the one thing that kind of centers me and grounds me before I go to work every day. The other one that I use a lot is  Mindful, a meditation app. 

What new technology are you most fascinated with learning more about?

The most exciting type of technology that I'm curious to see how this evolves in and kind of affects our everyday life is AI. There are a lot of discussions going around about personal data and machine learning and how that's going to obviously evolve. I’m interested in how connecting all the data with AI will turn out. It’s an unexplored world, part of which is scary, but also very exciting.

On the flip side of technology, what’s one thing you still do the “old-school” way?

Almost everything I do is screen-based, but the one thing I still do daily is journaling, with a pen and notebook. There’s something about writing your thoughts out on paper that feels more real than on a screen. Other than that...it’s an all-digital world for me.

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Are you an innovator who wants to share their story or know of someone who should be featured in the #BuilderGeneration series on LinkedIn? Tag them below!