Chris Fischer

Wolf of Williamsburg / The endeavors

Apply

Co-founder and Chief Digital Officer, New York / 2020

Apply started as a small sticker side business while I was still working full time at Aaptiv. I co-founded it and led all digital and DTC efforts from zero to profitability, including the e-commerce experience and the royalty and payment systems behind B2B growth.

A small but mighty design team developed products now sold at the Met, MoMA, and the Broad.

From the archive

  1. The Long Way HereI build technology companies, work with startups, run and ride bikes, fix old houses, and start more side projects than I need.
  2. Apply Took DUMBOThe Apply team was together in DUMBO while several people were visiting New York.
  3. Email Chris@Loop's Alpha reached outside users, which meant TestFlight permissions, Chrome allowlists, refresh bugs, screen shares, and a support plan that mostly ended with emailing me.
  4. Can We Be Both?A cofounder conversation about Loop became a real negotiation over ownership, pay, Pinata, Amanda, and where we could build the company.
  5. I Signed ItNine days after telling people I would probably pass on Pinata, I accepted the Chief Product and Technology Officer role and signed the offer.
  6. Not Bored Enough for the Wrong ThingAfter the cross-country ride and an overseas trip, I came back to New York, finished an Apply handoff, moved into Rockaway, and started looking for the right next project.
  7. Mom Gets the DaySanta Monica moved Apply cofounder work to 7 a.m. Pacific and pushed a Wahoo standup aside for Gisi's birthday.
  8. Good Feels All AroundI signed the TRX offer, asked for a May 10 start, then sent a six-part getting-started list three minutes later.
  9. The Product Test Was a WorkoutApply was launching, I was moving apartments, and my TRX homework involved live classes, sore muscles, and a lot of product notes.
  10. 1,153 Beta FormsApply Stickers opened a six-day beta signup, collected more than a thousand mailing addresses, and turned my inbox into a Typeform notification machine.
  11. A Lot of HoursApply was busy, the Poughkeepsie house had a leak and ancient wiring, and I still said yes to helping Rapchat and Cutback Coach. COVID had left a lot of hours in the day.
  12. Tempted (Joking)A wholesale coordinator job at the Poughkeepsie Farm Project landed in my inbox while I was building Apply. The joke was that I might want it. I sort of did.

14 more in the archive.