The archive · Consumer Apps · Financial decision · 2007–2011
Viximo's core-group bet: co-founder, prototype and $5M in four weeks
A 2007 keg-party idea at Boston's first tech co-working space became social-game publisher Viximo, with co-founder, prototype and $5M raised inside four weeks.
Viximo
What the business is
Viximo was a Boston social-gaming publisher that grew out of Betahouse, the city's first co-working space for technology entrepreneurs; by 2011 it reported about 30 employees and described itself as one of the premier publishers in the social game industry.
Starting capital：About $5M in VC funding raised within four weeks of the founding idea in 2007, from VCs connected through Betahouse's member network.
How it started
In 2007 Brian Balfour, then 23 and working full time as a product manager at ZoomInfo, was moonlighting on entrepreneurial side projects. Six months earlier he had joined Betahouse, the first co-working space for technology entrepreneurs in Boston, where a diverse group of people worked on their own projects but freely collaborated on each other's. At a Betahouse party, an inebriated conversation over a keg turned into the idea for Viximo, formed with fellow Betahouse member Greg Gibson.
What happened
Over the following weeks the Betahouse network executed the startup's hardest steps: member Dan Choi built the early prototype, another member introduced Balfour to Sean Lindsay, who became his technical co-founder, and VCs inside Betahouse's network supplied about $5M in funding — all inside four weeks. Balfour credits the group's deeply invested, unfiltered relationships rather than his own skills, network or mentors for the speed.
How it ended up
Viximo quickly outgrew its space at Betahouse and, by the time Balfour wrote the story in January 2011, reported about 30 employees and described itself as one of the premier publishers in the social game industry; the company also housed numerous startups in its own office space.
Background
Viximo was a Boston social-gaming publisher born inside Betahouse, the first co-working space for technology entrepreneurs in Boston. In 2007 Brian Balfour, then a 23-year-old product manager at ZoomInfo, was one of its original members; at a Betahouse party an inebriated keg conversation with fellow member Greg Gibson became the idea for Viximo.
Within four weeks the group executed the steps that usually take founders months or years: member Dan Choi built the early prototype, another member introduced Balfour to Sean Lindsay, who became his technical co-founder, and VCs inside Betahouse's network supplied about $5M. Balfour credits the group's deep, invested relationships — not his skills, contacts or mentors — for the speed.
Viximo quickly outgrew Betahouse and, by January 2011, reported about 30 employees and called itself one of the premier publishers in the social game industry; it later housed other startups in its own office. Balfour's broader argument was that a 'core group' of honest, diverse peers creates exponential progress where solo work and networking produce only linear gains.
What has to be true
- Betahouse turned co-workers into invested peers: the idea, the early prototype, the technical co-founder and the VCs all came from people who wanted each other to succeed.
- Balfour argued peers are better positioned than mentors: they face the same obstacles at the same stage and can give unfiltered, honest feedback without their own incentives.
- Deep relationships built outside professional contexts let members admit weaknesses quickly, which compressed months of founder search into days.
- Diversity of skills let each person play to their strengths — product, idea, prototype, engineering — while the group filled the gaps.
What can be applied
The people who move a startup forward are neither mentors nor a big network but a small, honest, invested peer group — it supplies co-founder, prototype and capital that solo effort cannot.
Aftermath
As of 18 January 2011 Viximo had roughly 30 employees and, per Balfour's account, was one of the premier publishers in the social game industry; it had outgrown Betahouse and was itself housing startups. Betahouse had gone through various evolutions under Jon Pierce and was on hiatus at the time, while Balfour continued building peer networks through PopSignal and ReCatalyze. The figures in the post — $5M raised, four weeks, co-founder plus prototype — are Balfour's own account of the founding.
Sources
- How I Found a Co-Founder, Built a Prototype, and Raised $5M in Less Than 4 Weeks
- How I Found a Co-Founder, Built a Prototype, and Raised $5M in Less Than 4 Weeks (HN thread)
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