About HeyJoe

HeyJoe is an all-in-one casting platform for virtual casting and content creation, built to help teams capture “human chemistry” without the tech getting in the way. Designed for casting directors, production teams, brands, and talent, the platform supports real-time, remote collaboration so the right people can connect, perform, and create less friction. With deep roots in casting, production, and creative agencies, HeyJoe focuses on streamlining workflows while keeping the experience centered on people making real things together.

Challenges

• Shifting Market Dynamics: After seeing high interest during the COVID-19 pandemic, the casting industry unexpectedly reverted to pre-pandemic habits. This sudden drop in demand caused financial and operational stress, forcing the founder to consider moving staff to part-time or letting them go.
• Leadership and Personal Pressure: The founder was navigating a high-stress period, balancing the weight of a team looking for direction while having just welcomed a new baby.
• Technological Knowledge Gaps: While the founder recognized the modern necessity of integrating AI tools into their tech product, they lacked an understanding of what it meant to build and manage an AI development team.
• Formidable Odds: As a US startup, the company faced the daunting statistical reality that only about one in five startups survives past the five-year mark.

Solutions

• Exploring AI Integrations: Prompted by a timely outreach from an AWS representative, the company began discussing AI development and eventually met their partner, Commit.
• Strategic Partnership with Commit: Hey Joe partnered with Commit, a firm that provided top-tier AI developer talent and highly skilled project managers.
• Collaborative Workflow: The two teams established a shared vision and maintained close communication through weekly standups during the project phase. Commit's expertise helped make a project work that the founder initially did not think was possible.

Results

• Successful AI Implementation: Commit was able to successfully "unlock" AI capabilities for the Hey Joe platform, providing the technical talent the startup was missing.
• Restored Founder Confidence: By successfully navigating the pivot and integrating AI, the founder feels significantly more confident about the business today than they did two years ago.
• Scalable Security: The company now benefits from the immense peace of mind that comes with having access to highly skilled developers who deeply understand their product and can step in to build at any moment.

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"And so, to have Commit unlock that for us was very exciting. They brought top-tier AI developer talent, top project managers, just really trying to make a project that at the outset we didn't think we could make work. They made it work for us... To know that there are highly skilled people out there who understand your product and can hop in at any moment to help build is just so huge.”

‍Joseph Brundige, Founder, HeyJoe