# Dale Backus

> Dale Backus is the founder and CEO of Ohsnap and a co-founder of SmallHD. His career began in North Carolina video production with Wes Phillips, included two winning Doritos Super Bowl advertising entries, and developed into designing on-camera monitors and mobile accessories. SmallHD was acquired by Vitec in 2014; Backus launched Ohsnap in 2019 and later helped develop Josh King’s MCON mobile controller.

- **Role:** Founder and CEO at Ohsnap
- **Organizations:** Ohsnap, SmallHD, Five Point Productions
- **Education:** Green Hope High School
- **Known for:** Co-founded SmallHD, acquired by Vitec in December 2014., Co-created two winning Doritos Super Bowl contest advertisements with Wes Phillips., Founded Ohsnap in 2019.

## Career timeline

- **2006** — Started a video production agency with Wes Phillips.
- **2007** — Their Doritos Live the Flavor advertisement aired during the Super Bowl.
- **2008** — Co-founded SmallHD, developing on-camera field monitors.
- **2009** — A second Doritos contest win yielded $600,000 used to help fund SmallHD.
- **2014** — Vitec acquired SmallHD; management remained with the business.
- **2019** — Launched Ohsnap through crowdfunding.
- **2024** — Discussed building and selling SmallHD and starting Ohsnap on Chris Whyte’s design podcast.
- **2025** — Ohsnap’s MCON Kickstarter finished with $1,776,917 from 16,734 backers.
- **2026** — Ohsnap announced MCON’s purchase availability in January.

## Achievements

- Co-founded SmallHD, acquired by Vitec in December 2014.
- Co-created two winning Doritos Super Bowl contest advertisements with Wes Phillips.
- Founded Ohsnap in 2019.
- Named inventor on the patent application Magnetically Connectable Grip and Connector for Electronics (US20210314430A1).
- Led Ohsnap during the MCON Kickstarter campaign, which raised $1,776,917.

## Latest updates

- **2026-01** — Ohsnap announced MCON’s availability for purchase.
- **2025-11** — Backus discussed international and retail expansion and a conditional future exit in Business North Carolina.
- **2025-06** — Appeared on the I Made This For Crew podcast discussing SmallHD and Ohsnap.
- **2025-02** — MCON’s Kickstarter closed with $1,776,917 from 16,734 backers.

## Links

- Website: https://ohsnap.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dalebackus/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/dale-backus
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-22