Reece Pacheco

Bio:

My mom's an immigrant and my dad's a chef. I grew up on Cape Cod (year round) working in the family restaurant and spending as much time in the ocean as I could. I snuck into and graduated from Brown University, but along the way I took classes at Bucknell University, the Rhode Island School of Design, and the University of New South Wales (Australia).

I saved up my bartending tips in college to backpack all over the world. I've been to 25 countries, but I still have a lot left to see. I got as far as Vietnam, but got an offer I couldn't refuse and came back to the US to work on a Hollywood movie (The Heartbreak Kid, 2007) as the director's assistant to one of the Farrelly Brothers. They're great guys.

Then I dropped out of Hollywood to play professional lacrosse (yes, there is such a thing) for the Boston Cannons. I've been an athlete my whole life and it was amazing to play at the highest level of the game. This inspired me to start Overtime Media with my partners Dan Spinosa and Joe Yevoli. Together, we bootstrapped TeamHomeField.com - a video platform for sports - to a successful SaaS business.

Then we got into TechStars and started developing Shelby.tv - the most amazing way to discover and enjoy web video - with our new guys Henry Sztul and Myles Recny.

At the end of the day, I consider myself really lucky to work with awesome people, in a fun industry, in a great city.

• Title: Founder/CEO, shelby.tv
• Age: 28
• Location: Williamsburg, Union Square
• Contact: @reecepacheco

Your profile on the shelby.tv blog mentions that you are the son of entrepreneurial parents.  Do you consider today more like your mother or father?  What are some lessons that they’ve taught you while growing up that you have helped you get to where you are now?

Tough question... I grew up working in the family restaurant starting at ~age 8 - my dad ran the kitchen, my mom ran the front of the house, and I worked in both - so I really am an even blend of each.  

My dad always taught me the little practical lessons "always work your hardest," "use the right tool for the job," and "if you want to figure out the fastest way to do something, give it to the laziest guy in the kitchen." [He was a chef.]

My mom, on the other hand, taught me the intangible lessons of working with people and building community.  She's so thoughtful and conscientious and it permeates everything she does with this extreme attention to the details that make people feel special.

At the end of the day, I'm really lucky to have learned so much from them and have their continued support... even if they barely understand the internet.

You’re currently following 731 people on twitter.  Can you suggest to us 5 people to follow and why you’re referring them?

@kmaverick a.k.a. Kristin Maverick - she's always on top of the trends/cool projects floating around the web... just ignore her obsession with Boo.
@csavage a.k.a. Chris Savage [Wistia] - a buddy from college and a great entrepreneur who has built a killer company.
@mattraoul a.k.a. Matt Raoul [Nestio] - dude is a total cool hunter. always shares great (read: weird) videos. example: http://shel.tv/lSIvnz
@rbeccazhou a.k.a. Rebecca Zhou - rising star in the tech scene who just graduated from NYC, while being a HackStar for us during TechStars.  like the pretty Shelby.tv interface? thank Rebecca.
@spinosa a.k.a. Dan Spinosa - my cofounder and CTO who "won" the #NYTM last night.  How can I not have fun working with this guy?

You recently participated in New York City’s first class of TechStars.  The obvious question now is, which Dave do you prefer?

If I don't say Tisch, I think he'll cry, but the dude is seriously helpful.  I was honestly blown away by how much Tisch cares about startups, wants to and does help.  Cohen a.k.a. "The Oracle" (our nickname for him) is amazing because he always says exactly what you need to hear.  Combined - the Davids make an awesome team... particularly on the ping pong table.