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Mike & Luce & www.seethru.co.uk - THE STORY SO
FAR
1990 - MIKE & LUCE meet as students at Manchester
Poly via an audition for Mike's indie/dance band, Safe.
They quickly become the college golden couple.
1991 - Final year degrees are sacrificed on the
back of frequent gigs across the North of England. Luce
still manages a 2:1.
1992 - The band continues, but Luce's interest
wanes.
1993 - Luce is offered a well-paid publishing job
in London. Peers predict the demise of their relationship.
1994 - Mike and Luce are married. Mike leaves Manchester
to join Luce in London, signalling the end of Safe.
1995 - Alone in London, Mike abandons attempts
to start a new band, and starts Dj-ing.
1996 - Mike has a successful spell Dj-ing, bringing
in good money. They buy a flat.
1997 - Following one of the club scene's frequent
seismic shifts, Mike's Dj-ing gigs dry up. He retreats
to the bedroom and starts experimenting with Luce's computer.
Mike goes online and quickly becomes a Net devotee, encouraged
in his addiction by JAKE, an acquaintance of Luce.
1998 - Mike's lack of contacts, prevent him from
getting a record deal. Jake suggests he publishes his
music online. Mike, Luce and Jake are socialising regularly.
Nov 1998 - Mike launches his own website, which
features his own music and video, a brief guide to the
web and some blazing polemics.
Jan 1999 - Mike contacts musicians and video makers
that he admires to persuade them to put their music on
the site. This leads to a deluge of material landing on
his doorstep. But Mike's standards are rigorous.
Mar 1999 - A small 'online music' feature in a
Sunday supplement prints the address to Mike's site. Traffic
get busy at up to 4,000 page impressions a month.
May 1999 - OLLY, an old mate from the club scene,
approaches Mike to feature his Camden second-hand vinyl
shop on the site. A pseudo mail-order business. Mike would
get a small cut of every resulting sale. Mike agrees.
Jun 1999 - The response to Olly's promotion is
greater than expected. Mike's spending all his time on
the phone dealing with enquiries about Olly's shop. Other
shops are interested in hooking up.
Aug 1999 - Mike's lack of earning power combined
with her own disillusionment at work (promotion is being
denied her) becomes a personal irritant to Luce.
Sept 1999 - Luce suggests a trial separation. She
needs space to see what else is out there. Mike goes along
with the split, but is deeply hurt.
Feb 2000 - Back together, Mike and Luce decide
if they've survived this split, they can survive anything.
Luce calls Mike's bluff on the Website - do it properly,
with her full backing, or don't do it at all.
Mar 2000 - A cobbled together business plan and
small bank loan enables Mike to upgrade his computer,
buy new software and secure extra space on the server.
A trickle of revenue comes from the off-site sales.
May 2000 - Mike & Luce ask Jake - by now a successful
website designer - if he's interested in helping out on
the site in his spare time.
Jun 2000 - The site now features an expanded range
of content. Unfortunately, it's barely operational. Jake's
been a touch over-ambitious, and the site keeps crashing.
July 2000 - Conflict between Jake & Mike: both sides
feel the other is taking the piss. The compromise is to
take on REECE, a 23-year-old programmer and give Jake
stock options.
Aug 2000 - Following a tip-off from his teenage son,
a business angel - Joe Walsh - approaches Mike and Luce
with an offer of investment.
Attracted by Joe's enthusiasm and passion for the site,
Mike and Luce accept the offer. Their flat will act as
collateral for the £50,000 seed money Joe provides until
the deal is finally done.
With the amount of content growing and the stakes rising,
Luce and Mike are keen to take on a trained journalist.
They didn't quite bank on SOPHIE ...
Sept 2000 - The business moves into new - but less-than-glamorous
- offices. They hire a techie - BRANDON. Hits are up to
10,000 a week and though the deal with Joe is taking a
while to go through, Mike and Luce are buoyed up. Luce
hands in her resignation at work.
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