June 12, 2017 – Austin, Texas: There are different interpretations of the origin and meaning of the name Redmer Productions LLC. One story that I like a lot is the story of a father having dreams of being closely involved with the “production” of his sons’ burgeoning careers. This is a dream that manifested itself two decades ago. Over that time, a father would lay the foundation to realize this dream through the development of his relationship with his sons and guiding their growth as individuals.
During my youth I had a paper route. I would get up around 4:30-5:00 o’clock in the morning every day and fold newspapers on my driveway and then deliver them to the homes in my neighborhood. Every month I would go around and knock on all the doors and collect subscription fees for that month and then meet with my supervisor to settle up. I started the route with 14 subscribers and grew it to over 50 after a year of complaint free service. This experience taught me a lot about entrepreneurism, marketing/sales, accounting, accountability and customer support.
Thirty years later, I watched my sons start small internet businesses at the same age I was as a paperboy. Paperboys with paper routes were no longer in fashion. At around age 12, Andy started a website called Gaming Villa. He offered leveling up services for Halo players. I watched with pride as he grew this endeavor into a profitable business. I enjoyed conversations with him about his challenges. He hated customers that didn’t pay. Sometimes he had to deal with complaints, usually from impatient customers. He eventually had to enlist others, including his brother Adam, to help fulfill his customers’ orders.
In the meantime, Tony had started an online game studio called Fuseline Studios. Along with a key partner in Scandinavia, he developed shareware MMO’s enlisting the support of software developers and artists around the world. At one point, Tony was managing a team of about 15 developers. He was in his early teens at the time.
I could see how these two experiences would help shape them in a similar way that my paper route did for me. At times, I like to think of Redmer Productions’ mission to be a vehicle for the production of Redmers. To that extent I am also quite proud of the results.
