These past 3 days, I got a chance to go to the Affiliate Summit West in Las Vegas. This is a biannual conference where a lot of people in the business of selling things online go to exhibit, network, get drunk, and squeeze secrets out of each other. As one of my colleagues put it, it’s where one really gets to “swim amongst the sharks” without trying to actually be one.

This was a very good first conference for me – for my consultant it was his 17th one. I got to meet all of my suppliers, partners, and vendors for the FIRST time since we had begun business. It was pretty eye-opening for me to see all of these folks, mostly kids in their late 20’s and 30’s (yes I’m old) – and by any measure, I was a senior citizen in this crowd. A bunch of smart, sly kids making millions of dollars- and you wouldn’t know any the better if you encountered them on the street. I tried my best not to look like a deer in headlights.

As I sit here in the Las Vegas airport to capture a rare calm amidst my busier than ever schedule, I’m reminded of all the little steps it had taken to get to where we are today. The startup capital that I had come up with by living in a 10X10 box for 3 years and saving every penny. The spider web of partnerships we had forged along the way. The 5 month stint at DirecTV I had to undertake to keep the business alive when it was out for the count. The countless meetings I had with our partners. This past year in many ways was a seminal year for our business. 2016 now stands to be a breakout year, where multiple expansion efforts are well under way.

This year is slated to be different in many ways. Stability of cash flow, and increased overall volume is the name of our game this year. Let’s see what pans out over the next few months.