WEbook- Catchy!
My initial impression of the WEBook pitch is that it is well presented for a less than one minute pitch. If I would want to know more about any of the 4 examples given, I would incline toward WEBook for the following reasons:
The pitch started by Identifying the company and the industry or terrain they operate in and also identifying it’s niche (target audience). It goes on to mention anticipated impact on industry citing similar examples.
This is followed by their value proposition and the process they intend to follow to fulfill this promise. The pitch mentions their current size and where they hope to be (their growth target), worth and profit share plan and mentioned the team of professionals that would work to make their plans materialise.
Further evaluation using the metrics provided immediately started showing cracks in the pitch That prompted some questions for me. While they identified a pain-point which is to help aspiring writers who would other wise not be published, however, I question the calibre of “millions of writers, editors and reviewers.” Are they industry renown? Or just aspirants? How is WEbook different from the average publishing house?
Having said that, I do think that the platform for providing the solution sounds promising, based on the perceived flexibility of writing alone or with a friend and the community vote which decides which is a popular read and then goes on to be WEpublished. My question here would be, is there a criteria for voting? Who are the voters? What is the sales plan? Is WEbook publisher and retailer?
I would like to know the timeframe it took to get to 1500 books and how that translates to $50 billion business and in how long? What are the overheads? How much of the $50B is profit?
The presenter sounds quite confident though I do not think she looks as confident as her voice sounds.
WEbook does sound to me like it has potential worth investing a little more time to know more.
Posted in: Week 03: Analyst Bootcamp
Everton Walker 6:41 pm on September 21, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I am also interested in exploring webook too. Even though she left a lot of questions to be asked, the conviction with which she presented overshadowed a number of the loop holes. The massive figure and the equal split was a deliberate ploy which caught my attention. Even though it is a workable idea, it will not be that easy and that kind of figure and market penetration will certainly take some getting.
ifeoma 7:50 pm on September 23, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I agree with your comment that “that kind of figure and market penetration will certainly take some getting.”
She sure sounded confident enough to make the figure sound like something that would happen easily which is why I asked the question about how long it took to get to 1500 book projects. Is 50/50 share industry standard? or is it he catch phrase to attract her target audience? I wonder. As an investor if she is giving more profit margin that would the regular publishing market, that’s a plus too.
Angela Novoa 8:49 am on September 22, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
As Everton I am interested in Webook too. About the pitch, I think it is very difficult to succeed and provide all the information that is required about a product in such limited time. But as you, I had the same doubts about the product.
ifeoma 7:59 pm on September 23, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I minute is indeed a short time to provide a lot of information but I must say that she did a remarkable job of it- at least in my opinion. There definitely will be doubts for any EVA I would think; because that is what they are trained to do and that is why the doubts are good as it will help to make the critical decision once properly investigated.
khenry 5:21 am on September 25, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Ifeoma,
I agree with your comments to Angela. An EVA has to be more critial and work with their standardised tools/ guidelines rather than just the romance of the product. It offers standards, credibility and a level plain for critical analysis.
Kerry-Ann