Startup Reading List - Startup Digest - Who needs Algorithms? - October 30th - November 6th

Startup Reading List October 30, 2015 This week we feature an article from an early stage startup entrepreneur, Shannon, that favors human curation versus algorithms with interesting results including 3,000 active users. We embrace the "fake it until you make it" concept so we asked her some additional questions below. She was a good sport and provided some answers. SuD: At one point will you have to add an algorithm or at least automate some part of the curation process. You are using forms and spreadsheets now, correct? SB: We're currently operating in Google sheets and Mailchimp. Eventually will fund the development of a product that would streamline the song-sending process. Curators would simply submit their song info and notes, We would QA, and then the right emails would go to the right people at the right time.  This database/product would also allow curators to see their subscribers preferences in real-time instead of me updating them in sheets periodically. After that, we could add features like weekly options, playlists, etc., but songs will always be hand-picked.  SuD: Any thoughts on monetizing beyond advertising? SB: Sponsorships / ads will be the first step just to get money in the door, but I want to test different versions of a freemium model. We have a ton of interesting data on our users - I think we could continue to offer the service for free as it runs now, and then offer super personalized one-to-one songs for $5/month or something like that. SuD: Big data is in vogue right now. Are you capturing anything, everything, so you can get better insights and eventually build a better product for your users? SB: Capturing so much. The additional info column of our spreadsheet is fascinating - that's what that post I sent is all about. We also have a lot of one-to-one convos so qualitative data for days + location, etc. I'd love to integrate with BandsInTown or Songkick one day. Currently our open rate is 40% and our click rate ranges between 17 and 20% but many people have told us that they just type the songs into their streaming service of choice, so I don't think click rate is very relevant. The most interesting metric is how many people respond to the emails. I don't have the exact number right now or the time to really calculate it this weekend, but I'd guess 3-4%, maybe higher, which isn't that bad.  Startup Reading List Startup Digest is curated by: Zubin Chagpar - @phylosopher Contact Zubin Chagpar at zubin.chagpar@startupdigestmail.com Chris McCann - Community @ Greylock Partners Contact Chris McCann at chris@startupdigest.com Global Startup Battle is back for 2015! Global Startup Battle 2015 is happening Nov 13-23! Host a Startup Weekend and add your city to the world’s largest startup competition with over 30,000 entrepreneurs, mentors, and judges: globalstartupbattle.co. A Year of Sending Personalized Song Picks Shannon Byrne "Naturally, these listeners start singing a different tune (haha, see what I did there?). They're so happy to get a human response, that they apologize and thank us for our hard work." Homejoy at the Unicorn Glue Factory Christina Farr "The key problem is that we weren't making enough money on our customers," recalled Daniel Hung, the second full-time engineer to join the company. "We were spending a lot of money to acquire them, but not really retaining them." Drone Startups and Investors' Landscape Rodrigo Martinez "Drones are still in their infancy. Therefore, like the computer industry 40 years ago, most of the money is still being invested into the hardware companies that are manufacturing the devices." Write Like You Talk Paul Graham "Before I publish a new essay, I read it out loud and fix everything that doesn't sound like conversation. I even fix bits that are phonetically awkward; I don't know if that's necessary, but it doesn't cost much." Manage Subscription Submit Event View in Browser You are receiving this email because you believe that the best startup articles and videos are made by active members of the startup community. Startup Digest, © 2009-2015 by Techstars Central LLC. All rights reserved. Startup Digest is a registered trademark of Techstars Central, LLC. Privacy Policy.

This email was sent to startupdigest@joff3.com why did I get this?    unsubscribe from this list    update subscription preferences Techstars · 1050 Walnut St #202 · Boulder, CO 80302 · USA