Venture Concept No. 2

Opportunity

Netflix and other such services have steadily increased the rate at which people watch through television series. Waiting week by week per episode is a thing of the past. People find a series that they are interested in, and proceed to binge watch it in a matter of a couple weeks or even days. This is leading to an emerging problem that has really always existed but never on this scale: the feeling that one has run out of things to watch. This applies to basically every form of modern media; books, movies, video games, people are burning through them at a faster rate than ever before. Traditional methods of discovering new material are no longer sufficient to satisfy this overwhelming demand, and I believe that my product is aptly timed to answer this emerging need. The window of opportunity is currently wide open, but it will only remain so while there is no other service that addresses this. If this idea is to be acted on now, there is no telling how huge the possible payoff could be. This is essentially the opportunity to introduce a completely new service to the American market, the largest demographic of consumers in the world.

The need I am referring to is very real. Ask just about any college student, movie buff, or avid reader. Everyone has had a time in their life where they simply felt like there was nothing to read/watch. This is a problem of perception and awareness; one that can be easily solved if only there was an organized system for achieving that purpose.

Innovation

The product that I am offering meets the aforementioned need. My idea is Storybored.com, a website and app that will revolutionize the way that people watch, read, and play through story media. The idea is simple and proven to work. Very much like how Pandora had such a massive impact on the music industry with its Music Genome Project, we hope to make an impact through a similarly functioning algorithm. When creating an account, users will input genre interests and a few past favorite series of theirs. The system will then generate some suggestions, and as users work their way through the suggestions there will be a rating system available to provide feedback. The system will take into account the feedback and use it to increase the accuracy of future suggestions. The best part is that this venture requires little in terms of building a database or getting licensing; we are not providing the media, merely suggesting it. 

I think the only difficulty in implementing this innovation will be to convince users that it is worth their time to check it out. This means that streamlining the signup process as much as possible will be of the utmost importance. Furthermore, we will need to attract the attention of the “early adopter” demographic. This will mean advertising on services that already employ similar structures (Pandora, Spotify, etc.) and possibly on places like YouTube. We need to target the young demographic first, and then expand outward.

This is a prime opportunity as there are currently little to no competitors in the market. My ideal team would mostly consist of those that I have already worked with on the project, and I do not foresee the need for a larger staff until the idea really takes off. As what we are selling is not a physical product, packaging, transportation, etc. are basically a non-issue.

Three Minor Elements

The main element that sets this venture apart is that, as stated above, I believe it meets a need that is not currently being met at all. People rely mainly on friend’s recommendations and general hearsay to decide what they want to read/watch. There is no organized system quite like this on the market at the moment.

Another key advantage here is my team. I believe that between the coding skills and network connections we have, my team is aptly prepared to meet this new market with a product that would stand out regardless of it being the first. I think I have a uniquely talented group of individuals to collaborate with.

As far as what next, the direction that Storybored will be taking if it takes off, is to expand into the actual story media industries. I believe that if we can establish enough brand recognition, that if consumers begin to associate our seal with quality material, we can begin doing some sort of “editor’s choice” program, where books that we find of particularly high quality, have universal appeal, or is highly rated on our app/website.  I believe this to be the most logical expansion of our brand into a household name.

Depending on the success of this venture, I could see myself staying with the company for quite a while. After ten years or so, I see myself possibly exploring other options. In all honesty, I do not see my career as being defined by a single company, and would probably like to switch avenues after an extended period of time. I envision myself as a successful agent of business, in whatever form that may take. I envision this company as my starting point, not my endpoint.

Conclusion

To reiterate, I believe that Storeybored is tapping into a huge potential demographic due to the meeting of an emerging unmet need. The technology to create such a website has existed for a while now, as evidenced by companies such as Pandora, but no one has applied it for this purpose. The opportunity is there, we have the technical prowess, and the business model is viable. I see no reason not to give this venture a chance.

Feedback:

The feedback I have received has not really lead me to change anything. Overall response to the idea in its latest iteration has been overwhelmingly positive, and I think that most people agree that it is an innovative idea for a venture. I did take a moment to add some clarification as to the database, and where/how we will be making these suggestions.  The responses have definitely reinforced my ideas about where the strength of this venture lies (it is a completely unmet need in an emerging market).