Feb 10, 2014 8 Questions With: Marc Barros of Moment
Go to any event (concert, speech, birthday party, etc) and you’ll notice that the vast majority of attendees, if not ALL of them, are using their phone to snap a quick picture or shoot some footage. The importance of one’s phone has never been clearer in today’s modern technological world. Photos taken with cell-phones are so crisp that they have virtually made point-and-shoot cameras obsolete. However, with higher quality phones comes additional adapters/lenses to further enhance said quality, in the same vein of DSLR cameras.
Meet Moment. The first company (self proclaimed) to fully integrate high grade cinema glass into mobile lenses, resulting in some seriously stunning images (check below for samples). Now, I’ve had a few similar adapters over the years but they were mostly cheap lenses and lacked durability. One in particular actually ended up scratching my brother’s phone lens because of the poor attachment method, so I understand the need for a truly quality product.
Moment is currently fundraising on Kickstarter and just absolutely killing it. There are campaigns that just sort of garner some interest and then barely meet their goal in the last few days, and then there are some like Moment that just dominate from day one, raising nearly eight times their fundraising goal with three days to go.
Check out their site for all of the technical specs and you’ll understand why this campaign has gained so much attention – I sure did! Until then, enjoy this interview with Moment founder, Marc Barros, who gave us a small snapshot into his daily life.
1. What are you working on?
Moment is the highest quality lenses to enhance phone photography.
Our vision is to create a collection of lenses that put photographic finesse in your pocket. Designed from the ground up, Moment lenses are amazingly sharp, portable and easy to attach. Created with the highest quality materials, our purpose is to empower mobile picture takers everywhere to capture everyday life in beautiful ways.
2. Where do you find your inspiration?
Moment came out of our personal passion for taking photos.
We are inspired on two fronts.
First, picture takers and what they can capture is what motivates us everyday to make our products better. The creativity of what people are capturing with their phones is amazing. It goes way beyond just professional photographers to musicians, artists, designers, kits, etc.
Second, as product builders we are inspired by the builders before us. We appreciate the history of Braun, Leica, Apple, and hundreds of lenses created over the history of time. This level of detail drives the work we do.
3. As a kid what did you want to be when you grow up?
A professional soccer player. Being half Brazilian, soccer is part of the culture and a cultural passion you can feel every time you visit. I always looked up to the creativity of players like Pele, Romario, and Ronaldo.
4. what are you reading at the moment?
I love books about entrepreneurship. To me building a brand and a company is the ultimate form of creativity. It requires you to way beyond a great product to create a culture that can stand the test of time.
I just finished Remote by the guys at 37 Signals. A great example of entrepreneurship done the right way.
Credit: Brittany Wright
5. How would you describe your job?
I don’t have a job. I don’t separate work and life. To me it’s all life. You choose to spend time on everything so you have to choose wisely.
I choose to create brands. It starts in what you are passionate about, moves through months of crafting (product, brand, vision, etc) and then years of working with your customers to make everything you do better.
6. What does your work day look like?
I try to keep changing so it doesn’t become stale. It’s hard to be creative when you work at the same place, same time everyday.
Generally I do my best work between 10am and 4pm. The rest of the time I’m spending more time on it than I should.
Credit: Bradley Castaneda
7. Post work destination
Being home with my beautiful wife and new baby boy. Even at five months old he constantly reminds me about the simplicity of life.
On the weekends we go to Crystal Mountain to ride or to the beaches. We love to travel.
8. If you could give advice to your teenage self?
Travel. As a teenager you fall in love with things too easily and can get trapped into the diversity of life. It takes years to really discover what makes you happy and you can’t figure that out until you meet a lot of people, see a lot of places, and fail. From setbacks you learn an incredible amount that makes you better prepared for the future.
Credit: Bradley Castaneda
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