Michael Albertshauser co-founded an erotic audiobook startup with his wife Hannah.Albertshauser. And then I went all in at the startup.
This similar essay is based on a transcribed conversation with Michael Albert Schauser, COO of erotic audiobook startup Bloom Story. Business Insider has written review of Albertshauser’s employment and finances. The following has been edited for length and clarity.
For the past five years I have lived a exhausting double life.
I worked 9-5 for a high-tech company. After that, I went home and worked late into the night at a startup I co-founded with my wife Hanna in 2019.
These long working hours were not sustainable, especially with two young children, but I was hospitalized in October 2023 and realized that I had to quit my day job and join a startup. Ta.
I decided to build an audiobook business
Hannah and I came up with the idea for Bloom Story, an erotic audiobook startup, while searching for couples’ audio content.
Towards the end of 2019, we were looking for something we could enjoy together. Everything dealt with men or women and it felt like one of us was being ignored.
“What happens if you do this yourself?”
I’m not a good voice actor, so I started looking into narrators who can share recorded fantasies. I realized that if I find a good person, I can publish this content on my website. I looked into using Patreon, but I wasn’t sure if adult content would meet community guidelines.
I’ve finished a startup before, so I thought I could build my business beyond creating content. I knew I needed to control the process. I didn’t want to resort to third-party platforms that could change rules at any time.
A founder friend recommended our current CTO. The first Bloom Story was very easy. I found a trusted freelancer who can write, speak, and mix content. We order it from them and update the website when it’s ready. Every few weeks I talk to the CTO and discuss what else I need to build.
I uploaded 3 or 4 “episodes” for free because I didn’t add payment functionality. Seventeen people downloaded them immediately. A few days later, in April 2020, we added a payment mechanism for a subscription of $2.99 per month. By the end of the month, it had earned $700.
I started a new full-time job in February 2020, which seemed easy to manage as a side project. Initially, Hannah and I juggled the story of Bloom along with our day job, our tech company, our job where Hanna runs the design business.
Growing faster than we expected
By the end of 2020, there were thousands of user sign-ups per week. I worked with freelancers from Fiverr and Upwork. The best of these freelancers have finally joined the core team since 2022, but today there are around 15 people.
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Hannah defeated the design business in 2021, fully committed to her role as CEO of Bloom Story, and has been paid since 2023.
At the same time, things were going well on my day job.
I was promoted three times and had made six figures by the end of 2022. A higher salary was the best for financial security with two children and one mortgage. But it came with more responsibility and late-night calls with the San Francisco team.
My day wakes up, prepares the kids, checks in Bloom Story for breakfast, spends the day at my tech work, gathers the kids for dinner, and puts them in bed. After that, I’ll be working night shifts for Bloom Story. Sometimes I work until 2am.
I thought I could manage both until I crashed and burned
In October 2023, I was unshakable. I walked through it until I woke up and my neck was completely swollen. I met the doctor.
I had an infected lymph node, but the antibiotics didn’t go down, so I needed surgery. I was in the hospital for a week and had to remove everything from work for November to recover.
I have gained a new perspective on life, work, and family. Hannah and I initially brought the income from Bloom Story back into the business. I found myself cheating on myself by giving my labour to make my labour bloom free of charge. At some point you need to invest in yourself.
We decided that things had to change and we made plans to come to Bloom Story full time.
I chose Bloom, so I love building companies and feel more fulfilling than corporate jobs.
I also love working with my wife Hannah. We complement each other perfectly. She is a creative force and I bring a data-driven business perspective.
I cut my salary to do the job I loved
We created a list of financial goals that Bloom had to hit by the end of 2024, allowing us to invest in my salary as COO.
I was willing to accept wage cuts of over 50% compared to high-tech jobs. I also wanted to make sure the launch of the Pride & Prejudice 13 Hours Erotic Audiobook was fully funded before I got my salary.
To begin the transition, I called for demoting to my previous role in the tech company. There was also a salary cut. In October 2024, I officially resigned.
January 7th, 2025 was my first day at Bloom Story and I received my first salary at the end of the month. I’m a little less than my tech work, but dramatically it’s not. The plan is to charge for the evening. I have not had a hobby for the past five years.
I look forward to going back to video games and going for a gig again. I also look forward to spending more time with Hannah, but that’s not work-related.
The next step is to solve how we communicate what we are doing to our children. But hopefully, it was a few years ago that we had to have that conversation.
