Monday, October 12, 2020
Matt Knox and Joey Lane, Bingie
For today's interview, we have Matt Knox and Joey Lane, the co-founders of Bingie , a new app which lets users share recommendations on streaming TV and movies. We chatted with Matt and Joey on what they're up to. Image: Joey Lane on the left, Matt Knox on the right
Describe the app and what it does?
Matt Knox: Bingie is a social app that makes recommendations for TV and movies, and lets you share them and watch them with friends. It's like a water cooler conversation, where you're talking about what you are binging next, next week's episodes, and an app to basically capture all of the conversations and recommendations with your friends in one spot.
How did you come up with the idea for the company?
Matt Knox: The idea came up, because most people have their own method of figuring out what they want to watch next. I had my own list on my iPhone, writing down what I wanted to watch, and where those shows are. I started protyping an idea of how to do this, across all platforms. Joey is a longtime entrepreneur and friend, and we've almost worked together a number of times over the years, and it happened he was selling his adtech company while we were in Southern Arizona together in 2019, and he asked me what I was up to. I told him my idea, and after he sold his company, we started working on fundraising.
Who is the target audience for the app?
Joey Lane: The target audience is really anyone from 14 to 80 years old. We did a lot of testing before we actually started designing and building Bingie, including running surveys, and started with kids as young as fourteen and people as old as 70. We got incredible feedback on how people woould use an app like this, what they would use it for, and what would be most impactful for their life. The majority of their users end up being between 25 to 50 years old. That group has more time to watch TV, though that's not to say the older generation doesn't have time. The middle piece is where we've seen the most conversions.
Matt Know: It's interesting, because the demographics are the same as Netflix, and it's pretty spread out between those demographics.
Where are you in terms of funding the company?
Joey Lane: We did a seed round in the first, second quarter, which was really crazy to do during COVID. That gave us the ability to build the app and market it, and have it out there. We're excited to watching it grow. We'll be looking for additional funding down the line.
What are you offering with this app that isn't there now?
Joey Lane: What we tell them, is this is a really unique time in the market. There are massive players that are bringing an incredible amount of content, pre-COVID, post-COVID, and even, shockingly, during COVID. There's a lot of new content coming out. The market is global in nature, and there are over 2 billion people in the world with some kind of streaming. Netflix is now in 190 countries. We see the opportunity as massive. Where we see ourselves, is although we certainly have the capabilities of a digital TV guide, what we provide is different and compelling in the social aspect. It's all about sharing recommendations, getting into a debate with your friends on the best things to watch. That's the fun part of it, the back and forth. From an investor standpoint, it's a very unique social application, because it's really fun, and it takes out the politics, the pictures of food, the photos of vacations people are having without you, it really takes the FOMO out of social applications. It's all about streaming content, and streaming television and movies.I know it's early for you, but what's the ultimate business model for this?
Joey Lane: There are a number of revenue models that we're considering over time. We laugh, because we want to grow, and have people excited to use this, but yes, at some point down the line this is a business and we need to create revenue and continue to grow our features and functionality. We're startng with advertising, but we want to do a really good job and not have things look like NASCAR. We think we can do the job with limited advertising and sponsored advertising, with a little bit of programmatic ads. As we mentioned, Matt sold his last company in the ad-tech market previously, so we have a good understanding of how that model works. We think we can get some success there, and there are other things we can do in our app, such as let you opt into surveys, and have you respond to things you've opted into. Some of the other areas we're looking into, and two of the most meaningful ones today, are being able to take new users to streaming services. As you know, there are a wide range of streaming services, all with different specialities and niches, and as Bingie grows, we might make a recommendation for something for you to watch on Crackle, which is free, though you have to watch commercials. You can pay to not have to watch those commercials, and we would get a bounty from Crackle for new users. Across all of the streaming services, there's an opportunity to get a small amount of revenue every time someone joins those services, as well as when we bring new people to different platforms.
How has it been starting your business in a pandemic?
Joey Lane: It was very challenging. We started the company on January 1st, and were super excited about what we were doing and started going to look out for funding in Februray. We had some success, and the COVID really started hitting around March 12th, 13th, and 14th, and things really just shut down. It completely took out any face-to-face meetings, traveling, any handshaking, getting into a room to meet new people. We were really fortunate we had a strong business model and opportunity, with an exciting concept we wanted to bring to light, so that people found it compelling and resonated. It was definitely scary, as COVID comes in first place with people worried more about their health than business. Talking specifically about Bingie, in terms of COVID, it has been a challenge inside the company, too. I'm in Dallas, and the rest of the team is in Southern California, and I haven't seen these guys since February. Though, I probably see them more on Google Meet and Zoom than if I were in the office. It's endless streaming. In fact, it feels like the only time we get a break is when the Wi-Fi goes out!
What has been the biggest lesson for you in the startup process?
Matt Knox: That's an easy one. I've worked on multiple apps and products at Wonderful in Los Angeles, where I am one of the partners. The biggest thing is, which I tell every single startup founder, is no matter what you design and build, be sure that you can pivot quickly the moment it hits the market. No matter what you think is the most important thing about your product, the moment it hits someone's hands, you'll see it changes and you'll figure out what's most important. You have to be able to shift fast. For anyone fundraising, I tell that that as well. Don't raise just enough money for the MVP, because iterations will be guaranteed.
Joey Lane: Don't start a company during a global pandemic! (laughs) I might have to drop the mic after that. The thing I would tell young startups, and I mean this sincerely, is pick the right partners. Pick the right partners, make sure they have the right skillsets, and the right temperament, because not every day is roses and perfume. In fact, most days are not. You really do have to grind it out, you're always wearing every hat and having done a number of startups, you really start at the beginning with the idea nad concept and take that these and do something with it. You have to start with your raw idea and start grinding it out. This may date me, but it's having to be at 4am at Kinko's making copies of your first pitch deck for investors and freaking out. The one silver lining with this pandemic, is you can become incredibly efficient, without ever leaving your room. Whatever room you are in, you can become incredibly efficient without ever leavin git. Though I recommend some Vitamin D, and maybe get out once in awhile.
Finally, what's next for the company?
Matt Know: The next part for us, from now until the end of the year, is pushing the gas on user growth, and really working on making the product as engaging as possible. Fortunately, as Joey said, Bingie become more fun the more people participate. The more shows you can talk about, and there's a level of reality built into it, so the rest of the year we're growing our user base and boosting the stickiness of the product.
Thanks!