100 questions for Steve Lightspeed of Lightspeedcash

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!! 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

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

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!

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

DAMN this is too interesting.

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
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.

See Steve knows what is important.

I love the honest answers. Very impressive.

Very cool thread, thanks for all of the info

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.

^ Nice talking to you ;)

Steve - we are waiting for the rest man...

most interesting read here at gfy yet. respect to steve.

Excellent thread, very informative thanks Steve

Smurfette

We want more

I love this thread

Here is the last 25. Sorry it took so long, this needed to take a backseat to a few Internext deals I've been working on.


76) who is your favorite rapper in the adult industry?
That would be YTCracker, who put together our ?Light-a-leak? theme song, just to show off his skillz.
http://ytcracker.com/music/ytcracker...lightaleak.mp3

77) is this possible to receive any pair of worn tawnee panties by mail?
See www.lightspeedauctions.com

78) how did you came up with the name lightspeed for your company?
I started with the name ?Lightspeed? when I got my first prodigy account back in 1991. It just stuck, all the way through to my first sites and our affiliate program.

79) How many hours a week do you put into " work " ?
I typically work 12-14 hours a day. Unless I?m traveling, I?m in front of a computer, answering icqs, emails, working with my employees, or looking for traffic and sales patterns.

80) How did you come up with the name " Tawnee " ?
I was in love with Tawnee Kitaen http://www.hard-to-find-actresses.com/tawny.html the cartop-dancing babe from the WhiteSnake video.

81) What was the first digital camera you owned ?
I shot my first 50,000 pictures with a Nikon Coolpix 950 then 990. We use a Nikon D-100 now.

82) Does Richard really work as hard as he says?
Richard is a very hard worker, but he likes to make people believe he?s abused.

83) Do you think this industry has the staying power?
I think as long as people have a sex drive, there will be porn. People have been predicting doom and gloom since I started in 1999, and we?re still here.

84) When you started did you ever think Light-speed would be so successful?
Not at all, my original goal was to work a few hours a week and hopefully make a little money for my kids college fund.

85) what's your best, to-the-point, blunt advice for someone just getting into the biz?

Remember that although you might have a great product, a lot of us have deals and relationships that have been in place for years, and sometimes loyalty prevents us from being able to switch to a new product or move traffic to a new program. Work together with other people at your level, grow your businesses together. Your biggest competitor should also be your best friend. That?s the way this biz works!

86) what's your exit strategy?
I have been investing in stocks and real estate since before I got into this biz. When I am ready to leave the industry, I will sell the Lightspeed brand to someone who I believe will continue to run it the way I have.

87) What do you do to stay healthy, happy and live a balanced life that keeps your business in propper perspective?
I have two kids that keep me pretty busy. One great trick I?ve learned over the years is to look at them and say ?How would THEY feel about this problem?? I get the most honest answers from them, they aren?t affected by all the bullshit. Looking at the world through my kids eyes helps keeps things in perspective.

88) What was the best practical joke you've ever played on anyone?
We had Platinum Dave believing that someone trashed one of his rooms in Montreal, and we needed another credit card to cover all the damages.

89) What's the funniest practical joke that was ever played on you?
A friend told me he invited four wild girls that were willing to do ?anything I wanted? for my birthday. He encouraged me to take a Cialis (a super Viagra) ?just to be sure?. After I took it, I found out that the whole story was a joke, and I was left with a very stiff and angry ?Little Lightspeed? for the whole rest of that day.

90) What's been your biggest disappointment or setback in this business? How did you cope with it?
When Worldcom collapsed, I found out that we weren?t going to be paid on about $35,000 of our 900 sales from Ibill. I freaked out. I confronted Ibill in a very aggressive way, and basically insured that they would not only never pay me, but never want to work with me again. I?m sure I could have handled the whole situation better. Not until my friends at CCBill explained the whole billing process to me did I really understand how fragile it all really is. It was an expensive lesson, but I still paid my affiliates out of my own pocket and ate the loss myself. It?s what I had hoped Ibill would have done.

91) Where do you see yourself two years from now as far as business?
See #15.

92) What would you most like to be remembered for?
I had someone once tell me, ?We?re sorry we were so mean to you when you first started, but we didn?t know you were going to last this long!? I?ve carried that like a badge of honor. I try to deal with everyone equally and fairly, from total newbies to the biggest names in the industry. I hope to be remembered as the guy that treated everyone like a friend.

93) What would you have done differently, if anything?
I think the grass only looks greener on the other side. I?ve second-guessed every decision I?ve ever made. The biggest thing I wish I?d have done differently? I used to treat the conventions like a vacation, often getting so trashed that I didn?t represent myself or my company well at all. People thought I wasn?t serious about business. It hurt my reputation and my health until luckily my wife and friends forced me to face my demons and get control of myself and my lifestyle.

94) If the porn business suddenly became non-existant for some strange reason, would you find a different line of work, go back to school, tap dance on the desk in the Oval Office?
I would probably turn my talents to selling mainstream products online. I might also consider playing ?Mr Mom? for a few years.

95) What was your first job?
Between 15 and 16, I worked for a 18 months as a gas station attendant.

96) How did you get your first affiliates?
I shot content for SneakyPeeks.com and PantySchool.com in exchange for traffic when I was brand new. The owner of that site was my first affiliate. After that, I traded exit traffic and members-area links to get traffic. I started posting to TGP?s, and a few other gallery makers liked my content and asked if they could build galleries too. We have had some excellent affiliates that have been with us since almost the very beginning!

97) As a paysite owner who produces his own content, I'll ocassionally have models who are "found" by family members. Some of them go thru some very hard times because of this. How do you deal with similar situations?
We try to prepare our girls in advance as much as possible. I tell them we will be putting them in front of more than 2 million people every day. Its just like being on TV. Tawnee?s parents found out she was modeling when someone pasted her pictures on her father?s car. He was angry, and she was emotionally devastated. I think its important to make sure our models know what they are getting themselves into.

98) What is the biggest challenge you see ahead for Lightspeed? and for the adult industry?
For Lightspeed, our biggest challenge is finding the right models. We?ve had some incredible successes and some horrible failures. Our business model depends on not only finding and shooting the hottest models we can find, but keeping those models interacting with their sites and fans. I?ve told people recently that keeping ANY model for more than six months is a huge accomplishment. We?ve been very lucky so far.

For the industry, the biggest challenge will be keeping greed from killing the whole business. We are the only industry that pays itself to destroy itself. Spam, spyware, and deceptive billing practices are hurting us all.

99) Will you ever retire from this biz?
I?ve done this all along not for money, but for fun. When I don?t feel like I?m having fun anymore, I might choose to move on to something new.

100) Steve on a scale of 1 to 10 how much do you regret posting this thread right now?
I?m glad I posted this thread. I just didn?t realize it would take me weeks to finish it! I have tried to answer all these questions as thoroughly and honestly as I could. If I get criticized for my answers, then so be it. I hope this ?100 questions? type thread gets copied by other people. I think people need to remember that a lot of rumors and bullshit gets spread around about so-called ?names? in this biz. The things you hear and read aren?t always the truth. Tt?s best to hear the stories straight from the source!


YES I'M FINALLY DONE!!! Who's next?

Steve Lightspeed

Congrats on the finish! Great answers and a solid idea for a thread ;)

250 Lightspeed-curious webmasters

Wow definite read-over-and-again material