1 Second Everyday

Post-pitch story

Cesar Kuriyama's pitch was built on an idea he'd already proven on himself: record one second of video every day, and you'll never forget your life. After the show, 1 Second Everyday became one of the great bootstrapping stories in consumer apps. Rather than chase venture money, Kuriyama grew the app on subscriptions — reaching millions of users and millions in annual recurring revenue, with only a modest $1.25 million angel round in 2019 along the way. The recognition piled up: Apple named it one of the Best Apps of 2019, TechCrunch called it a favorite, and on January 1, 2021 — the one day a year everyone resolves to document their lives — it hit #1 on the entire U.S. App Store. Kuriyama is still CEO, leading a fully remote team spread around the world, and the app's core promise hasn't changed: your life, one second at a time, stitched into a movie you'll actually watch. For a founder who once quit his job to travel the world and film it, the pitch more than worked out.