Pitch Fade is a community marketplace for party people to get themselves a DJ through a mobile phone. If you are planning to hold a party with friends, organize a corporate event in your company, or even hold a wedding reception, Pitch Fade can connect you to the best DJs in town.
Dhanai Holtzclaw, Founder, CEO, and Creative Director of Pitch Fade, busted-a-move on the KillerStartups‘ dance floor recently. Dhanai, who happens to be a DJ himself, shared how he used his passion for music and mixed it with his entrepreneurial side to start-up his big plans for the industry.
What’s your company about? What do you do? Who are your customers?
Pitch Fade is a community marketplace for people to list, discover, and book DJs.
What’s the greatest thing about your company/website? Why is it better than the competition?
DJs can sign up and build a profile, set an hourly rate, and add details about the types of events they’ll play, what genres of music they’re comfortable with, what gear they can provide, etc. At the same time, consumers looking to hire DJs can search for them in a city or region, review their profiles, and make a request to book the DJ for an event.
How’d you come up with the name for your company?
“Pitch Fade” comes from the term “pitch fader” which is a slider on a turntable to adjust the pitch of a song. This is one of the main tools in beat matching.
What was your first computer? How old were you when you first got on the world wide web?
I can’t really remember my first computer, but I was in the first grade and there was only DOS. I first got on the internet when I was about nine or ten.
What time do you usually start work each day? How many hours a day do you usually work?
I usually start work around 10 am and work about 12 hour days.
When’s the last time you went on vacation and where did you go?
My last vacation was in January of 2014, and I went to Puerto Vallarta for a friends wedding.
What’s the very first thing you do at work every day?
The very first thing I do is check my emails.
When do your best ideas come to you? In bed in the morning? During dinner? On your third beer?
My best ideas probably come in bed before falling asleep, which then I can’t sleep.
How many people did you start the company with and how many people work for you now?
I started the company with two other guys. They still help with development today.
A lot of people have big ideas. What gave you the confidence to actually go after yours?
I have a big entrepreneurial drive, and being a DJ myself I really wanted to do something for the industry.
Remember the early days of starting up? Describe the struggles you went through.
Some of the struggles that we went through in the early days was getting a product to a lean minimal viable product, without too many goodies.
How do you handle frustration? What has been your biggest professional frustration?
I’m a pretty calm guy. I can’t think of too many professional frustrations.
What’s your office environment like? Do you listen to music? Watch movies? Play video games?
My office is pretty chill. I open up Spotify and just start crankin away.
How do you picture your company in 5 years?
In five years I’d like to be the go-to destination when looking to hire a DJ for a celebration or event.
Who or what inspires YOU? Role models? Quotes? Running? Video games? Snack food?
Other start-ups and entrepreneurs inspire me. Seeing other success stories, and failure drives me to do my best.
How’d you fund this venture? VC? Self-funding? Crowdfunded? Where’d you get the money, man?
I’ve been bootstrapping this venture, but soon may have to seek outside funding.
What other advice do you have for other entrepreneurs struggling to get started?
My advice for entrepreneurs is to keep pushing. Success isn’t built over night.
What would you do if you had a year off and $500,000 to spend (on something other than work)?
If I had a year off and half a million dollars, I’d probably visit a few different countries and end up in Las Vegas only to cut my year long vacation short.
Do you consider yourself a successful entrepreneur? If not, what’ll make you feel successful?
I am still working towards my success. If there are recurring bookings through our company each month, I would consider that a success.
Top 5 websites you couldn’t live without and why?
- Awwwards – I go here for design inspiration.
- DJcity – This is where I get all my music for gigs.
- The Huffington Post – I like to find out whats going on sometimes.
- Netflix – Though I don’t really watch this via web anymore, I suppose it still counts.
- KillerStartups – Shameless? I love reading about new companies.
Top 5 mobile apps you’re in love with and why?
- instagram – how I keep up with friends
- waze – to avoid traffic
- phrase party – we play this game alot to pass time while at restaurants
- spotify – I don’t even keep music on my phone anymore
- pitch fade – I hear its amazing for booking DJs ;)
What is your music streaming player of choice, and what are you listening to right now?
Spotify – I listen to just about everything, but at this very second “Go Radio”
Number 1 country you’ve always wanted to visit but haven’t yet? (And why that country?)
I’ve always wanted to visit Spain to go run with some bulls.
Three people (other than you) we should follow on Twitter and why?
- DJcity – great for news on the dj industry
- R U E K R E W – for hype beauties
- MannyStreetz – real cool dude
Please share some specific numbers (funding, revenue, visitors) that highlight your growth.
507 Installs 265 Users 127 DJ Profiles
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