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So
how did he go from newbie to Chief Operating Officer
of one of the hottest companies in the adult Internet
industry? "My strongest point was - and still
is - that I wanted a Web page to look good AND be
functional," says Richard. "No, I never
really gave much thought to where Lightspeed Cash
would be in the future - it was more like, 'let's
keep pushing and see how far we can take this.'
I like where we are now, and what people think of
me, and Lightspeed Cash - we are known for being
a bunch of honest guys who like to have fun. I hope
this never ends."
With
experience in the industry since 1994, before the
big "Gold Rush" really hit, Richard has
a really unique perspective on the industry that
most people in his position really can't appreciate.
He has the hands-on history "back in the day"
that few can honestly say they were there to experience
first-hand. As an actual webmaster and not "just
some business guy," Richard - and Lightspeed
- has the advantage over other companies who have
not been a part of the community for as many years.
"The
only thing I miss about the 'old days' is how close
Lightspeed [Steve Jones], Tanker and I were,"
says Richard, of his early start with Lightspeed
where they took photos, built Web sites and did
everything else involved with running sites. "Back
when we first started, we operated from a one bedroom
apartment. Every day we were shoulder to shoulder,
and I knew every detail of their lives. These days
I have problems keeping track of where Lightspeed
and Tanker are."
After
coming on board, Richard opened up the second Lightspeed
site, "Lightspeed Sorority" (the first
was "Lightspeed University"), and other
sites soon followed. Steve [Lightspeed] was shooting
the content, Tanker handled the marketing, and Richard
built and ran the sites and assisted in producing
the content. "For the future," says Richard,
"I'm looking forward to taking Lightspeed Cash
to the next level. It seems in the past three years
we've climbed up different levels, and we never
seem to slide back. It's been a fun ride."
While
Lightspeed Cash has continued to grow and evolve
- so has the industry. Change is inevitable - no
matter how inconvenient. "The industry is much
more crowded than when we began three or four years
ago. I remember once I used to have everyone on
GFY (www.gofuckyourself.com) on my cell phone,"
laughs Richard. "Now I don't know half of these
people. I think this is a good thing for the industry.
It's time to get rid of the people who are ripping
surfers off with crappy sites. Only the people and
companies who are serious about this will still
be standing in a few years. It's only going to get
better."
True
- there are many more people and the competition
is getting fierce. But competition is the good thing
- it separates the slackers from the hard-working
crowd and eventually weeds out the problem children
from the community. However, more competition is
still more competition, and that means more work,
longer hours and lots of creative thinking. "The
biggest obstacle that newbies face today is the
competition. It used to be easy - all you needed
to do was shoot some content and open a Web site.
It's much more involved today, and not as easy.
One area that scares me are the copyright and patent
issues. It's only a matter of time before another
company starts coming after us thinking we'll be
an easy target."
No
longer the "new kids on the block" of
the industry, Lightspeed Cash still maintains its
reputation as the "young fun guys" of
the biz. Perhaps some of that youthfulness can be
attributed to Richard's own college experience where
he went back and got his degree at the ripe old
age of 29. "Going back to college was one of
the most challenging things I've ever done,"
says Richard of his college experiences. "I
went to a small community college where the average
student age was about nineteen. I was the second
oldest student in the college. I decided to put
my best foot forward and put all of my effort into
it. I worked full time and went to college full
time; it was twice as hard for me as the average
student. Much to my surprise it was them who had
to keep up with me!"
A
love of one's work also helps as well, admits Richard.
"I always managed to get every girlfriend naked
in front of a camera. Eventually I was able to put
them both together at the same time. I've always
considered myself well-rounded and love to have
my hands in every aspect of what I'm doing."
But
as COO of a company the size of Lightspeed Cash,
the little luxuries like shooting girlfriends as
content and hanging out with the boys aren't always
as easy to obtain. "I remember the day when
everything was simple," he says of Lightspeed's
early days. "Changes were made within the company
over a casual dinner. Now we have schedules, budgets
to submit and deadlines. Things have to be planned
out in advance. Somewhere along the line we became
a bit more corporate with a staff of thirteen people,
yet at the same time we are still the same guys
and all friends with each other."
Of
course with over 27 different Web sites in their
arsenal - and more on the way - the Lightspeed crew
has plenty of interesting stories to share from
over the years. Richard's favorite is about Tawnee
Stone, a model that had worked with Lightspeed a
few times. They noticed an increase in comments
about her in e-mail from members and Steve insisted
that Richard build a site for her. Richard didn't
think it was worth his time, but he finally got
around to it and of course it took off almost instantly.
It seems as if the boys at Lightspeed just have
that Midas Touch!
That
success can be easily seen and measured by Lightspeed's
popularity with its webmasters as well as with its
members. With niche sites geared mostly towards
the "teen" niche, Lightspeed features
mainly models between the ages of 18 to 21. "We
offer both Revshare and Pay-Per-Sign-up. We believe
in giving webmasters all the content they need,
so we've flooded the Internet with our free pictures.
We also have free host galleries, a free host and
a real TGP for our webmasters to send traffic. Most
importantly, we have REAL member's areas with original
content that really do well with retention."
On
the subject of hardcore versus softcore, Lightspeed
Cash stands strong for what they believe and backs
it up via their sites. "Lightspeed doesn't
do hardcore. We are mostly softcore. I think the
amount of free hardcore content on the Internet
should be limited - and monitored. Somewhere along
the line we have to be held accountable for our
actions, and we must always remember that the Internet
has people of all ages online." And when asked
about whether or not he sees Lightspeed as one of
the "big boys" in the industry, Richard
says he just doesn't see it that way. "It's
still Steve and I, and now Tanker and Zebra (Chad).
Yes, we have a nice big office, but you don't have
to schedule an appointment to drop by... At the
end of the day we're still the same guys just trying
to make an honest buck."
Being
involved in the community - to the point of going
to bat for the industry - is also part of why Lightspeed
Cash is seen as such a stand-up group of guys by
their peers. Part of a group of Acacia litigants
who are working independently to challenge Acacia's
streaming media patent claims, Lightspeed is just
one of the companies working with IMPAI.org (Internet
Media Protection Association). "I don't believe
that Acacia has a legal leg to stand on," says
Richard of the now infamous patent suits. "No
one is violating their patents; I'm using patents
and copyrights by Microsoft and other companies
from whom I've purchased software. Acacia needs
to go after them, not us. I honestly believe this
will be thrown out of court."
Richard
went on to say, "The problem is it's going
to be expensive to get to that point - Lightspeed
Cash has already burned through tens of thousands
defending ourselves in court, and I'm sure we'll
spend more. At the same time, I don't hold a grudge
against anyone who has settled. They've made a simple
business decision. However, they might feel pretty
bad if they settled and it's all thrown out of court."
Truly
more of a behind-the-scenes kind of guy, Richard
won't easily be found at the adult Internet industry
events and conventions. However he does make sure
to give himself time to attend the YNOT Party (YP200*)
event in Mexico every year. "The show [in Vegas]
is a must-attend event. It's the largest and the
most fun. My job is to stay behind and run the company
on a day-to-day basis, and I've learned to accept
that. But the one show that I do attend is YP in
Mexico; its very laid back and I've met some great
people there. I've attended a few smaller shows,
although not recently. I visit friends in the industry
in California on a regular basis, and I attend all
local events here in Phoenix."
"Networking
is the key to everything in this business though,"
says Richard. He feels it is important for webmasters
to attend whenever possible. "It's not what
you know, but also who you know. Meeting the right
people in the industry changed everything for us,
and opened up a lot of doors."
Networking
- along with coming together as a community - will
become even more important in the days to come,
as even more changes continue to help our industry
to grow and evolve. "I think the industry is
going to continue to change exactly as it has in
the past few years," agrees Richard, when asked
about what might be to come in 2004. "You'll
see many new faces, and at the same time competition
is going to increase. Currently in the industry,
we tend to work with each other instead of against
each other. Our competition is our best friends
- this applies to both Lightspeed Cash and the industry
as a whole."
Of
course - like any other industry - the adult online
biz is in dire need of structural improvement and
change. A task that cannot be taken on by one individual
or company on its own. "One of the things I
dislike the most about the industry is the politics,"
says Richard, when asked about his own industry-based
pet peeves. "Although for the most part we
seem to work together hand-in-hand, every now and
then I see walls put up for no reason. I don't like
it when certain people in certain organizations
won't let others join without a valid reason or
any chance of discussion."
Business
ethics and honesty are two other things that will
need to be addressed in the coming months as some
companies will be forced to "grow up"
or just go away. "Shaving is a huge issue in
this industry, and will continue to be an issue
until the end of time - or until someone ends up
in court about it," says Richard, an idea that
many webmasters have been discussing of late. Most
seem to be in agreement that the time is coming
for this issue to come to a head. "I've had
people tell me that they know a company shaves,
but they still make good money with them. It doesn't
matter - it's still fraud, and it's illegal. It's
only a matter of time before one of the larger affiliates
drags a program into court over this issue and then
it will be out in the open. The company that gets
caught up in it will go down in flames."
"Some
of the things I've seen in this industry have both
surprised and amused me," Richard says, reflecting
on his past experiences. "I've seen week-long
'wars' on message boards, while those same two people
are going out drinking at night laughing the entire
time. While message boards are a valuable source
of information and contact, you can't believe everything
you read on the boards."
When
asked about all the fly-by-night companies that
have come and gone over the years, Richard said,
"I've noticed a fair amount of companies come
and go in the four years that I've actively been
in the adult community. This is because it's easy
to make money here, but it's not easy to run a business
and be consistent. Unless you have some business
skills behind a company, it's not going to last.
This industry is fun, but it's more than fun and
games when so much is at stake."
"I've
also seen a lot of people with big names in the
industry who see how easy it is to make money, only
fail big-time when they leave their job and strike
out on their own." He went on to say, "It
looks easy, but there is so much involved. It takes
more than one person and an idea to make it happen.
It takes a staff of dedicated employees to do it
right."
Often
seen as a looking glass into the state of our industry,
the message boards are a reflection of some of the
changes that are happening in the community today.
"Message boards have gotten so bad that they
annoy me," confesses Richard. "It's gotten
to the point where newbies can come out on a public
board and slander a somewhat large and well-known
company. I've seen companies' names dirtied by people
who have no idea what they are talking about. This
is one thing that's going to change. You'll always
have one person who is an asshole and will talk
like one, but soon companies are going to shut them
down."
"In
the next few years," he says. "It's going
to be harder for new people to be accepted into
the inner circles. Anyone with a snappy screen name
and a witty personality could make money in the
industry just by being on the boards - this is going
to change soon."
To find out even more information on Lightspeed
Cash, its sites and upcoming community events and
outrageous activities, visit www.lightspeedcash.com.
You can meet the Lightspeed Cash crew in person
at the January Internext Expo in Las Vegas, Nevada,
and at other upcoming events in the 2004 season.
Richard "RocHard" Buss can be reached
directly via rbuss@ls-media.com.
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