bridavsky

Have you ever dreamed of going viral, schmoozing with the stars, swimming in piles of virtual likes and shares, retweets and smiley faces? I mean who doesn’t want fan mail, right? 

Our guest today is fortunate enough to have experienced all of that but here’s the thing, he wasn’t really dreaming of it.  In fact, as it turns out, most people who go viral weren’t.  Generally they are living life like the rest of us, chasing passions, making ends meet, and then one day this one part of their world blows up.  Today Mike Bridavsky, owner of Russian Recording studio and dad to world famous cat Lil Bub shares his story.  

We’re glad you joined us! 

Here's an overview:

Early Memories of Entrepreneurship

Mike always attracted to creating businesses.  Even as a young kid in his parents’ community of Russian immigrants he would sell berries to his neighbors.  By the time he became a teenager he fell in love with recording music.  Immediately he started recording bands.

The Two Sides of Owning a Business

For Mike there are two sides.  The thing your business is about and then the process of owning the business itself.  Mike loved both.   A business is the ultimate customization of something.  You get to pick the brand and the marketing and the place.  The other side is the passion, the thing you love so much that you want to help others with it.  What can be hard when you really love what you do is the monetization.  The “does my business work on paper?” part.  It’s something

Why Recording Studios Are The Worst Business Model Ever

The overhead with a recording studio is insane.  All of the equipment is super expensive.  It takes about $300,00 to really get it put together.  But the recording industry has completely changed since the 1990’s.  Rates for a day of record have dropped from $5000 a day to $500.  So the amount you can make on your best day is pretty much break even.

Yet Mike still continues.  In 2007, he decided to go all in.  He got a large loan, quit his day job, and built his dream studio.  Mike and I walked through before the interview.  He showed me a 50’s era Russian ribbon microphone that could have amplified the voices of Russia’s biggest political leaders.  I walked singing from the band room to the dead room and listened to the change in my voice.  Every detail of the space was beautiful… and expensive.  It’s clear that Mike built his dream and his passion for the perfect audio space drove everything, maybe even just a little too far

It All Goes Bad, Then Good

After he built the studio, it all went bad.  Bands weren’t showing, he wasn’t able to pay rent, the whole thing was bombing.  And just at that moment, Mike’s cat got famous.

Mike had a blog for his Cat Lil Bub.  It was kind of a fun thing.  Him and a friend were kind of pretending like their cats were famous.  Then suddenly one of the blog posts went viral and tons of people wanted to buy t-shirts.  Mike’s entrepreneurial spirit kicked in and his love for Bub became a vehicle for everyone else to love her too.  Lil Bub is in charge, Mike is the facilitator.

The Story of Lil Bub

As the person who’s been there from the beginning, Mike truly believes Bub is in charge.  His job is to control the train He employs strict rules about how things work if someone wants to do an event, show, book, or whatever with Bub.  He’s seen that saying “No” to people is actually a great way to get exactly what you want.  They really don’t need to do any of the things their asked so they only do it if it fits perfectly.  Mike just lives life with Bub (and photographs it of course).  He tries to follow Bub’s lead and see where they go.

Lessons Mike has learned:

• Passion and will power are great but you’ve got to understand the numbers too
• Various sources of income is important
• You can’t give all your money away
• Be Authentic!
• Going viral never happens on purpose

Special thanks to Mike Bridavsky for taking the time to share the Russian Recording & Lil Bub story with us.

Mentioned in the episode:

Russian Recording

Lil Bub’s Big Show

Lil Bub Animal Planet Show

Lil Bub Book

Lil Bub on The View

YouTube Big Live Comedy Show with Jack McBrayer & Workaholics

Sponsored by Shine Insurance - https://www.shineinsurance.com/

Music by Mark Vinten

Learn more about us at:

Our Site -  www.shineinsurance.com

Our Blog - www.shineinsure.com/blog

Our Podcast - www.scratchentrepreneur.com

Our Course - www.newhomebuyersguide.net

Katie meets with Lil Bub and her owner, Mike Bridavsky, in Bloomington, Indiana.  Lil Bub is one of the internet’s most famous cats.  She has used technology to secure millions of social media fans and a new app funded on Kickstarter. Lil Bub has also raised over half a million dollars for charity.  And, in the midst of playing a cameo part in the new film, “Nine Lives,” Bub took some time out to take part in a new genome sequencing project. Bub’s owner Mike talks about Bub's current adventures and what's up next.

If you've somehow managed to live your life thus far without knowledge of Lil Bub's existence, welcome to the next level. Lil Bub is a beautiful and magical space cat who lives with her dude (recording engineer/musician Mike Bridavsky of Russian Recording) and his family in the lovely burg of Bloomington, Indiana. Lil Bub is a special needs cat, a "perma-kitten" who has an extreme case of dwarfism and who will forever stay tiny and adorable. She is arguably one of the most famous cats on the internet (hanging out with Robert Deniro, Whoopi Goldberg, Michelle Obama and a cast of musical royalty like Steve Albini, Kim Deal, and Andrew W.K.), and she uses her incredible powers to help other animals in need with Lil Bub's Big Fund, and has raised over $300,000 for the ASPCA in her career as a famous cat. 

In late 2015, Lil Bub joined the elite ranks of "cats who have made records" with the release of her debut LP (Science And Magic, on Joyful Noise). It's a kaleidoscopic joyride through the world as Bub sees it, with some bubbly blasts of chiptune textures and epic, uplifting sweeps of color that paint the experience of Bub's journey to Earth in all of its giddy glory.

We sat down with composer/producer/performer/best dudes Mike Bridavsky and Matt Tobey (both of the criminally underrated Memory Map) and Lil Bub herself when the crew was in Seattle recently for an appearance at Silver Platters and talked about the making of the record and Bub's plans for 2016. 

Thanks so much to Mike, Matt and Bub for taking the time to chat! Go pick up Science and Magic at any store near you or grab a copy here.