START-UP: A Periodic Look at the Region's Newest Companies; Picture This: An Online Spot for Special-Event Photos
By Terence Chea

From The Washington Post

June 25, 2000
PrimeShot.com was born out of consumer frustration. Last summer, company co-founder David Holder attended a wedding and wanted to track down the photographer to buy a precious group photo of his friends.

"Contacting the photographer was close to impossible, and that made it impossible to order a print or reprint," Holder recalls. "My immediate thought was: This should be easier. This should be easier through the Internet."

He was chewing over his troubles with friend and co-worker Mike Niccolini when it dawned on them that there was a business here. Holder, 27, and Niccolini, 29, were college friends at Cornell University who earned law degrees before they found jobs at Vienna-based MicroStrategy Inc.

"We looked into the marketplace and saw that nobody was filling this particular niche," Niccolini says. Through a friend, they got the ear of the director of Connecticut-based hedge fund Lone Pine Capital, who gave them their first round of funding. That August, Holder and Niccolini left their MicroStrategy jobs and founded PrimeShot.com.

The PrimeShot.com Web site lets people book a certified professional photographer for special events such as weddings, class reunions and company banquets. After the event, guests can view and purchase the pictures online in password-protected "galleries."

So far, the company's clientele includes corporations, professional sports teams and universities. It recently partnered up with Seeuthere.com, an online event planner, and D.C.-based District Photo to finish, package and distribute photo orders. The company says it has certified photographers, who receive an hourly fee plus commission for each photo sold, in all 50 states.

Like other dot-commers racing to grow a business practically overnight, Holder and Niccolini work never-ending hours, but they say it's a labor of love.

"Dave and I are building something we believe in," Niccolini says. "We work every day. We work all hours of the day. And if I'm not working, I'm lying in bed thinking about the company."

In Profile

Name: PrimeShot.com

Big idea: A Web site that allows you to book professional photographers for events such as weddings, basketball games and graduations, then lets guests view and purchase the pictures online.

Launch date: The company was founded in August 1999 and launched its Web site in February 2000.

Number of employees: Now 38, but the company hopes for 100 by the end of the year.

Who's in charge: Former college buddies David Holder, 27, and Mike Niccolini, 29, founded the company and now serve as co-presidents. Holder oversees marketing, technology, product development and customer support while Niccolini handles sales, photographer networks, event logistics and finance.

Previous jobs: After finishing law school, both Holder and Niccolini worked brief stints at local law firms before landing marketing and consulting jobs at Vienna-based MicroStrategy. They stayed about a year before jumping ship to start PrimeShot.com.

Company base: The company just moved from a 3,500-square-foot space in downtown Arlington to a 14,000-square-foot space on Vermont Avenue in downtown Washington.

Funding: They closed their first round of seed funding from Lone Pine Capital in August 1999. In April this year, the company raised $7.15 million in equity funding from a group of investors that includes Israel Seed Partners, Yazam and Lone Pine Capital.

Biggest personal risk: "Dave and I had great jobs at a great company, MicroStrategy," Niccolini says. "But this is the easiest decision we've made. This is what we're supposed to be doing."

First employee hired: Eleanor Frias, a former project manager at iXL--a Web development consulting company--who now oversees development of PrimeShot.com's Web site.

Company (besides this one) most admired: Cisco Systems, because "they have unparalleled products and customer service," Holder says. "So much so that they've totally dominated their category and are a hugely successful company." Niccolini admires Dell Computer Corp. "The way that Dell treats its customers compels me to be a repeat customer," he says.

Family: Niccolini is married to a lawyer, and Holder is single. "Between us, we have only one child," Niccolini says, "and it's PrimeShot.com."

Back to list of news