This week, Elevation DC spends 60 Seconds With Blake Hall, cofounder of
ID.me. Hall, 31, is a U.S. Army ranger and veteran of the war in Iraq. He cofounded ID.me in November 2012 as an online way to verify the identity and status of military personnel, students and first responders so online retailers can provide them with discounts.
Elevation DC: What was your first job?
Blake Hall: I was a paperboy for the
Lawton Constitution.
Best thing about your business right now?
The people, and nurturing a great culture that makes people look forward coming in to work.
If you could change one thing about your business right now, what would it be?
Nothing. I'd like for us to move down our product roadmap more quickly, of course, but I believe digital identity is the biggest market out there. So it's incredibly exciting to have a unique market-entry strategy.
Describe an “A-ha moment” (in business, or in life) that you’ve had.
My experience in combat in Iraq shaped my views on innovation, leadership and team-building. Over the course of fifteen months, I observed that a great team that consistently learns and improvises can go from below average to best in class.
What are you reading? Or, what have you read recently that has had an impact on you? Why has it been influential?
Steve Blank's
The Four Steps to the Epiphany is the most important book to read if you are an entrepreneur because he introduced a framework that allows entrepreneurs to assess their startup and their strategy according to market type and the progress they've made with customers. Steve Blank took five of his eight companies to IPO so he is a very credible voice in the space. His student, Erik Riess, coined the term "lean startup."
Biggest influence in tech or startup culture today? Why?
I follow Steve Blank, Jeff Bezos, Peter Thiel, Jeff Weiner and Marissa Mayer. I love Steve Blank because his frameworks bring structure to the chaotic world of startups. I like Jeff Bezos because he understands that true innovation takes time and he doesn't let Wall Street dictate his strategy. I like Peter Thiel because of the way that he thinks about successful startups as "secrets" that are waiting to be discovered -- it literally paints a picture of billion dollar companies waiting to be started for the entrepreneur who is lucky enough to discover something that no one else knows. I admire Jeff Weiner for his leadership in shaping a great company culture. I respect Marissa Mayer for her "when in charge, be in charge" attitude, her high expectations for great work from her employees, and for the way she has made Yahoo! an exciting company again.
Company to watch (besides your own)? Why?
Coin. Their approach to the market, while not necessarily intuitive, has certainly been validated. If it turns out that consumers prefer to keep the same card form factor as an intermediate step towards a digital wallet future then that has very interesting implications for the entire payments ecosystem.
Beverage of choice?
Coffee. Lots of it.
Guilty pleasure?
I am a cereal monster.
Most recent app purchase/download? Why?
The last download I cared about was Waze. It has already saved hours of my life by helping me to navigate traffic.
What do you loathe about D.C.?
I don't loathe anything about D.C., but if I had to pick one thing I don't like, it would be driving on I-495 at 5 p.m..
What do you love about D.C.?
D.C. Tech is really blossoming. It's been terrific to watch the community grow in large part due to the efforts of leaders like Peter Corbett, DJ Saul, Evan Burfield, Donna Harris and Zvi Band.