Can't wait to read the rest of Steve's answers. Awesome stuff.

Threads like this are a wealth of information.

I'm holding my breath myself.

awesome thread Steve!! :thumbsup this is a good read and I love how you are being so honest here

I know you already have over 100 but thought I'd ask anyways

LOL Can I crash on your couch from say Jan till April?

Very cool :thumbsup

Awesome info.. Thax Steve for sharing so much knowledge. :thumbsup

51) Will Jordan Capri be in Vegas?
No, we don?t invite our under 21 year old models to the Vegas conventions, since they can?t get into the majority of the parties. She?ll be 21 by Internext 2006 so maybe then.

52) What industry person has had the biggest impact on you?
Tanker. When we met him in 2001 we were struggling to get our affiliate program off the ground, and we honestly didn?t know what to do next. Tanker put Lightspeedcash on the map. I still remember asking him how long he thought it would take us to double in size from where we were. I expected him to say 12 months or more. His answer was ?Maybe 6 weeks.? and he was right! We tripled our sales in 2001, and again in 2002. He taught me how the whole industry works, and made me realize that the sky is the limit here. He is a very funny, honest, and down-to-earth guy. I remember feeling intimidated about attending trade shows, and he told me, ?Steve, these are all regular people who are just like us.? Although we parted ways in late 2003, I still consider Tanker to be one of the best people in this industry, and one of my best friends.

I also have to give a lot of credit to Rochard, who is the glue that holds Lightspeed together. He?s been with me from just about the beginning, through thick and thin, and I couldn?t ask for a harder working employee or a more loyal friend.

53) What is your fondest memory (if you can remember and tell about it) of a convention?
I have dozens of great memories from conventions all over the world. The 2001 Portland AWE was the birth of the ?Anal Hobbit?. And I remember Tanker and I not being able to sleep at all at the 2001 Cybernet in Miami, because we were literally giddy about all the new trades and business deals we made at that show. But my favorite has to be our ?Adventure Weekend? in 2003. We invited our top 20 affiliates to Phoenix, along with several of my industry friends, and we spent the whole weekend having what felt like ?summer camp for adults?. That was a great experience for everyone.

54) How many of your models have you jerked off to?
All of them! If my own content doesn?t turn me on, I must be shooting it wrong.

55) which GFYer makes you laugh?
I think Juicy is hilarious. He is just as funny in person too.

56) what would you say are the 5 most important things to do in order to be successful afilliate program owner?
1) great product
2) honest payout and on-time payments
3) lots of promotional tools and materials
4) good branding and marketing
5) consistency and integrity

57) What is your average retention rate across the board?
I would love to say ?6 months!? but the truth is, those days are long gone. We do everything we can to keep our members happy, and we still see the majority of them canceling within the first month. However, we still get our share of loyal members that stay forever, and with the bundling and site-swapping features of Lightspeed4, our retention is now higher than ever before.

58) How do you recruit your models? Do you do any kind of focused searching, or is it referrals, random encounters, word of mouth, etc? I'd imagine you get a lot of applications. There must be a lot of girls that want to be part of the Lightspeed crew.
We are constantly looking for new models. We advertise in local papers and on all our websites. We operate our own talent agency in Phoenix, and keep the cream of the crop for our Lightspeed sites. I also offer a standing $1000 bounty to anyone who introduces us to the next Lightspeed Girl. We get a lot of referrals from photographers and our current models. My goal is to make being a ?Lightspeed Girl? as prestigious for models as working for Playboy, Vivid, or Hustler.

59) I'm almost affraid to ask - but what would it take to get a 1-on-1 with you for a piece on Pimp Cafe??? I promise to do my research!! ;)
Sure, I?d love to do an interview with you, anytime.

60) How do you imagine lighspeed sites in 5 or 10 or more years ?
I don?t think anyone could predict where this industry could be in 5-10 more years. Its pretty hard to plan two years ahead. Things move too fast, the only constant is change! I hope Lightspeed will still be around in 10 years, stronger than ever.

61) what its the secret of the best converting solo girl site ?
If I had all the answers I?d be retired already! For us, the ?girl next door? look has done well. I think a lot of men are intimidated by porn stars, they prefer models that look like regular, approachable women. Our most popular models also have a certain innocent look to them that?s appealing to a lot of guys, especially ones their own age.

62) do you belive in god ?
I don?t consider myself religious at all. I believe in Karma. How you treat people and conduct yourself defines you. Everything that comes around goes around.

63) where did you work before of lighspeed ?
I worked as a computer programmer for 12 years, and ran my own successful consulting company for 5 of those.

64) did you had any alternatives name to ¨lighspeedcash¨ ?
I have branded the name ?Lightspeed? since 1991. I never considered another name.

65) could you send me a tshirt of lighspeed for me ? (promoting ls since 2001)
Our Lightspeed Jerseys are now part of our rewards store, because so many people have asked for them.

66) What advertising methods do you use to find the girls for your site?
See #58. We advertise for girls in a variety of ways, and we interview them over the phone first. If they have internet access, we show them samples of our sites and our girls, so we let them decide for themselves if they feel like they would fit in with what we do.

67) Does your company shoot all of it's own content or do you ever outsource it?
We shoot the majority of our own content, but we have outsourced some to Falcon Foto, Wanton, Paul Markham, and a few others.

68) Are all the girls from the same city?
No, our models are from all over the US now. We fly them in to Phoenix for their photoshoots.

69) What kind of cars do you have?
I have a 2004 Viper SRT-10, and a Town and Country minivan for my family.

70) how big is your house
I have a nice family-size ranch-style home in Phoenix.

71) Do you fuck the talent?
See #6.

72) Have any of the model's boyfriends tried to harm you?
Never once. We treat all our models very courteously and professionally.

73) Have you had to straighten out one of the model's boyfriends?
I?ve never had any problems with their boyfriends or husbands. Tawnee?s boyfriend has been at every one of her shoots, he even helps out with gear and lighting when we go on location.

74) Why Arizona?
I?m from Seattle, and I got tired of the constant rain. I went to college at Arizona State, and I loved it. When I was able to move wherever I wanted in 2000, I picked the sunniest place I could find. The fact that there are thousands of hot girls here doesn?t hurt either. :)

75) Why do you do what you do?
I love this job. I feel like I get to indulge myself by photographing some of the most beautiful girls I?ve ever met, and people pay me just so they can watch!

Great thread Steve!

Thanks for all the honest answers...it's rare to have someone be so forthcoming.

great thread...still 25 more


and, look at my sig! :thumbsup

awesome answers, glad to see you kept them honest and clean! :thumbsup

DAMN this is too interesting.

:thumbsup

This is a great thread. All the questions and answers are so interesting.

I'll finish this off tomorrow. I'm glad people like this post, I'd like to see it catch on with other company owners. How about Lensman next?

Steve Lightspeed

not a bad idea....Lens??

answers like this is why I look up to steve

thanks Steve :thumbsup
Great way to start off 05

Thanks Steve ;) I'll drop you a line after Vegas . . . ;)

Did anyone ask this one? How can I get a job at Lightspeed? I'm sure that's a popular question from surfers.

You know, in this industry, there's a hand full of people I trust... and then a chunk of those I really respect and of those... well, there's maybe 2 people that I'd actually really like to be like.

And you Steve are one of them.

I really admire the balance between never growing up and hard work and dedication you put towards responsibility... the way you show everyone a good time over yourself... and thus yourself end up having a good time. The way you keep everything honest and look out for those around you knowing that they'll do the same for you in return.

All that shines through every time I have the pleasure of seeing you in person, as well as how you have fun on the boards while also taking the time for threads like this one.

I don't have it in me to make it as far as you have, much less the Lensman's of the world.... but if I could, I'd want to do it using the same approach you have.

I know, a lot of people will say I'm kissing ass.. doesn't matter much to me. I've never kissed anyone's ass no matter how successful they were... but I will give credit where credit is due.

:thumbsup

See Steve knows what is important.

I love the honest answers. Very impressive.

Very cool thread, thanks for all of the info :thumbsup

i have to tell you Steve from reading these I have gained a respect for you. I wont busting your balls on threads anymore.

Good stuff

good thread Steve

Just caught up with this thread after getting back from Vegas, and I wanted to follow up with some similar comments above.

I've got a tremendous amount of respect for Steve and the things he's done: for himself, for his company, for his employees, for his models, for his affiliates and for the industry itself.

I know there are some haters out there (including people who I consider friends) and I just can't understand where that comes from.

The funny thing is, he almost got a backwards start into the business, but by the good graces of some of the great people in this industry, he got straighted out and now look where he's at. It's an amazing story people.

He's one of the nicest, and one of (if not THE) most accessible major program owners in the business (witness this thread).

Steve, serious props to you - you deserve it. Much love bro..

Steve, I have some plans for some Adult stuff here in Europe.
Im looking for an partner, wanna be my partner?

Thanks for all the great responses and for taking the time to answer everyone's random questions. :)

Hoping for the rest..

Did you really run away from Brad Shaw in Vegas? I hear there is a video.

i hear lightspeed is going to buy executivestats.........

He told me "I don't like you." I think its just the opposite. I think he's secretly in love with me, and he proves it by stalking me.

When I realized Brad was TRYING to provoke a fight (with his 4 boys standing behind him), I WALKED away. Brad needs to seek help for his obsessive and psychopathic behavior. He's becoming a danger to himself and other people.

Steve Lightspeed

I think the fact that Brad is "speakthetruth" proves my point here.

I don't like him, so I avoid him. He seeks confrontation. Whatever Brad, I hope you give your new child as much attention as you do me.

Steve Lightspeed

Don?t sweat jealously Steve.. :)

niCe newb session.

Lightspeed - I know that the 100 questions thing is over but I wonder, in what terms did Louisa left?

How can I talk to regarding webmaster support now?

Don't hate the player, hate the game.

Are we still waiting on the last 25 or did I miss them somewhere?

I think we're still waiting.

Hey Rui...if you need any help feel free to hit me up on ICQ or by email - lisa at lightspeedcash dot com.

:)