We're starting today with a mini-series on the LIFT blog, a couple of interviews in which we'll be having a closer look at what's cooking in the startup kitchens in German-speaking part of Switzerland, the "Dütschschwiiz". In the series we're going to talk about business models, technology and, of course, people. We'll be looking at motivations, attitudes - and handwritings. In each case we'll leverage Osterwalder's et al's Business Model Canvas as an interview tool.
Today's guest is Dorian Selz, co-founder of Memonic, a promising startup with the catchy slogan "Memonic: Keep the essential". The following text is an unabridged transcript of the conversation between guest author Hannes Gassert and Memonic's Dorian Selz.
Hannes: Dorian, let's start this interview with a look at your Christmas video - it has cookies, cats and carton, so we must not miss it:
Hannes: So Dorian, obviously Memonic is great tool for collecting recipes.. what else it is good for, what are users doing with it?
Dorian: In Argentina teachers use Memonic to prepare course work for their pupils, an office of architects researches its projects, a group of students in Berlin prepare their next term paper and in California a guy is using Memonic to keep track of his clients leads for his small business
Hannes: Cool! So it's all about bringing some personal order into the web, right? You use your browser, you collect all sorts content and then bring it into a meaningful structure?
Dorian Selz: Right, it's all about digital things you deem essential. Memonic is an easy way to capture, organize and share & use these digital gems.
Hannes: Digital gems - nice! "Digital" can mean a lot - does this mean that you're going beyond the web as well?
Dorian: Sure. With the Windows clipper you can clip any content from any Windows application. We're in the process to port that to other operating systems, too. So far we haven't though found a way to digitize a real gemstone... :)
Hannes: I see, but there's certainly lot's of precious information to be collected out there. So then let's talk about the business you're building around this idea. If we look at the business model canvas for Memonic we see a triple value proposition for three different groups of users, with publishers at the top. Has it always been your plan for Memonic to come to the rescue of the ailing publishing industry? How can you help them?
Dorian: No. The publisher case kind of made its appearance this year... It was from the beginning our plan to position the product for research driven businesses with a strong focus on end users. What is important to see here that regardless of a research driven business, a publisher or a end user the process once you found something worth keeping is always the same: Capture that digital gemstone, organize your collection, and make good use of your information.
Hannes: You recently went touring through Europe presenting this new approach to what you call `reader retention`. How did things go, how does your market react to this new approach?
Dorian: Our whirlwind tour of Europe went great! There was a lot of positive feedback from bloggers, journalists and publishers alike. I guess really because this a true novelty.
Hannes: You already have a first working case with a very prestigious publisher, right? Can you already say something about that?
Dorian: Sure. It is Switzerland's leading quality daily NZZ. Together with their recent relaunch they include a "White Label" Memonic solution in their online offering. Go to any article (like that one ), click on "merken" ("remember") and the article is placed into your personal notebook, which comes with all the gimmicks of Memonic. And this is just a start. Much more is to come.
Hannes: So can you tell us a bit where do you think things are heading? What's next?
Dorian: We think about three areas mainly: Social, Devices, Recommendations. Let me explain:
Hannes: Great plans indeed. The recommendation engine would tap both into my social graph and the interests you can derive from the content I clipped before, I guess?
Dorian: You're surely with me with keeping cards close to my vest? It's about making educated guesses based on your collection, interests, and more.
Hannes: aha .. :) So let's then take a look at your business model canvas once again. We see that your principal customer segment are "information workers with a desire to get his/her unstructured information under control" -of which there a quite many around here-, and that your cost structure is dominated by the cost of maintaining your team. Is Switzerland, is Zurich a good place for doing what you do? No plans to move to Silicon Valley, London or New York?
Dorian: All these places have a lot for themselves. In our case we're a bunch of friends who love to work together and we happen to live here in and around Zurich. Relocation would have a negative impact on our cost structure and beyond.
Hannes: That's good to hear, your "people first" approach does seem to be working pretty well too. Speaking of people, why don't you tell us a bit about yourself .. perhaps the personal background first: where are you from, how old are you, what did you do before Memonic - and how is it to raise a family while launching such an ambitious startup?
Dorian: Yes my family with my little baby daughter are my most precious. I haven't known before that you can love so intensely.
Taking good care of two babies - one at home and one at work - is a bit of stretch, but a question of getting your priorities straight and right. I learned that a little over the years.
My mostly unremarkable existence started in Zauggenried, a little farming village in the middle of Switzerland. In '91 I moved to Geneva attending University and selling sandwiches on trains to finance my studies. A few hops later I was at namics, Switzerland's leading web agency building its German business. Then I founded and built local.ch. And now I am at my third startup.
Hannes: And you have all my respect for that. Let me ask you one more thing: you used to be in the professional services business, but now you're running a product company - you're not solving a client's specific problem, but build a tool that you hope will help many many people in a whole range of situations. In what ways did you have to adapt your mindset? Was that difficult? Or is it all the same anyway?
Dorian: It's the same coin, it just has two different sides. In each case it's about building something useful. What differs sharply is the underlying business model: The agency model is built around selling time, the product model is built around selling well the product. That needs some adjustments when writing and executing a business plan. And there's no secret but one: Get people on board who are smarter than you and as hard working.
Hannes: Ok! I see that as an encouragement to all LIFTers that are thinking about starting new ventures, too. So Dorian, thank you very much indeed for sharing your insights, it was a pleasure! I hope we'll see you at LIFT in Geneva, and I wish you, your family and the entire Memonic crew all the best for the new year!
Dorian: Thank you Hannes, a happy new year to you and all Lifters too!
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So, dear Lifter: what do you think? What changes would you propose to Memonic's model? What do you think works here, and what doesn't? And how would your canvas-remix look like?