Starting a startup is scary. Actually, fear of the unknown is part of what makes entrepreneurship so exciting and rewarding. It is like a conquest, a victory over your inhibitions and insecurity as you blaze a trail for “making the world a better place“, “being your own boss“, “proving your mettle” – pick your reason!
Steve Jobs said, “An idea is worth nothing unless executed” and what I’m saying is that without proper exposure, both idea and execution behind a startup runs the risk being forever stuck in obscurity or even shelved. You can ask your friends to share and promote your startup on Facebook, Twitter but that is akin to testing a Ferrari in city traffic! DiscoveReel provides a proper platform for entrepreneurs to connect with other entrepreneurs and people who are actually interested in their product, offering more than lip-service equivalent of clicking the like button!
About the Founders
DiscoveReel is a made in Bolivia product. The four co-founders, all from the city of La Paz (meaning, The Peace) are – Franco Vargas Golac the designer, Alejandro Monasterios Rios the developer, Rayner Valdes Padron the illustrator and Andrea Ibañez Pantoja the facilitator. The team had worked together on a branding agency that served as a spiritual parent to DiscoveReel. Says Franco, “Branding is about why you do something as an entrepreneur, and why your startup exists. We’ve been helping many entrepreneurs from all over the world with their startup’s brand strategy and noticed that most of them start a project without a clear purpose. It is difficult for them to know where and how to start, and if they get their project out it’s even harder to connect with their audience.”
This is how the team decided to evolve their branding agency to something more holistic with focus on collaboration, “We knew that collaboration was key to creating startups that will survive, adapt and contribute to their ecosystem.”
About the Startup
DiscoveReel is a platform where entrepreneurs are discovered by their potential users and backers thanks to an algorithm that matches relevant backgrounds, common interests and compatible philosophies.
Franco explains the service, “We use game mechanics to motivate and challenge entrepreneurs. The first level is where they are encouraged to discover their purpose. On the second level, DiscoveReel connects entrepreneurs and their projects with potential users, thanks to the algorithmic special sauce which tracks users’ interest as they explore projects on the site. This is where co-creation happens and can offer immense opportunity to these startups. On the third level, if projects get enough traction, the platform will connect Entrepreneurs with mentors, investors and brands. Again this connection is through relevancy calculation.”
Collaboration isn’t just something that is done for fun on DiscoveReel but it also gets you points which translates to rewards that unlocks premium features on the site. Co-creation could last for as long as the entrepreneur decides, even after becoming a successful brand. A noble deed that DiscoveReel endorses is when startups become economically successful, thanks to a continuous collaboration, they provide the option to collectively to fund social projects.
About their Plans
Entrepreneurship covers a wide range of fields but DiscoveReel is currently focusing on tech startups and plans to scale up to encompass others as well. The platform is in beta phase but already has people from 59 countries.
The company will implement a freemium model – all features will be free to use but with limits on usage. An entrepreneur can have unlimited private projects and up to 3 public projects. When you have a public project then users will be able to follow your project. A public project can have unlimited number of followers, but only 10% of them can co-create and participate actively with feedback, collaboration tools, funding tools, development and promotion tools . If the entrepreneur wants to collaborate with all of the users following their project then there will be a monthly fee. Other methods to monetize the service will be through affiliate marketing and merchandising.
Special Offer!
Startup Dope readers are a perfect match for DiscoveReel and they have a special offer for us! Just email this article to [email protected] and you will get 50% off on a premium account for 3 months. Calling all entrepreneurs and startup dopers!
