MovieLaLa -- a community for movie lovers (and the marketing to, and data aggregation about, them) -- is a company I have tracked for nearly two years. In fact, our Manatt Venture Fund is an investor. And, MovieLaLa's founder/CEO Dana Loberg is one of my favorites. Talented, passionate, tenacious. I previously featured Dana and MovieLaLa in my exclusive continuing "5 Questions With" series 18 months ago. So, I decided to check back in with her for an update on how things have changed and progressed since then.
Here are my new 5 questions to that end -- and Dana's unedited answers -- exclusively for you. For you startup entrepreneurs, pay particular attention to Dana's refreshingly candid answers to question (4) below -- i.e., how she manages balance in her life and the overall stress and inevitable highs/lows that come with having chosen the entrepreneurial life she/you have chosen.
(1) How has the world changed? (meaning, media and entertainment world)?
When my partner and I first started MovieLaLa in 2013, everyone was still talking about Netflix -- the reigning disruptor to the entertainment world. Fast forward two years, and we now have several new competitors in the space, including Amazon and Hulu, who are coming up with their own original content, just like Netflix. There are also a few up-and-coming studios that are maturing, like Legendary, Skydance and STX who are focused on digital and technology from the ground up, and are finding innovative new ways for distribution and marketing.Content continues to be the most important aspect to entertainment as it’s the driving force of people’s engagement and time spent on the internet, smartphones, etc. Companies are starting to build content at different lengths to keep up with the mobile era in which we live. Studios are really making an effort to try new opportunities when it comes to marketing. Some are excited to work with a startup like ours, who’s solely focused on movies and movie marketing. The more we work with their teams, the more we build and refine the tools they need and want in the long term.
Overall, it’s been a exciting experience for both parties. My engineers get super psyched to work on Hollywood films and see it all come to life in front of them. Who wouldn’t?!
(2) How have your opportunities changed?
The opportunities in mobile continue to grow. When it comes to building awareness and generating interest, mobile is still the driving force. As far as new technologies and backend development, things continue to change rapidly.
For example, we saw how Meerkat and Periscope broke loose this year and really changed the paradigm in a major way. I look at them as YouTube for mobile. For me, the live video streaming feature, the scheduling of the stream, and global access to video are really compelling. When you think about it, these platforms could have a major impact on Hollywood and help film studios extend their marketing efforts into the “production” phase of their films. Can you imagine gathering fans as early as “in production” -- then and carrying them through to buying tickets and DVD/streaming?
Also, I really love the feeling of voyeurism these two apps create and the accessibility and interaction they facilitate with whomever is filming or being filmed. The pace at which we are living, and the new creative ways technology leaders are building and releasing new tools, are constantly creating opportunities for all markets.
(3) How has your company changed?
MovieLaLa has made a lot of traction with movie fans via our new app, as well as with key players in Hollywood. Since MovieLaLa is a niche company working 100% on movies and movie marketing, we’re able to come up with specific solutions that only the movie franchises and film distributors are grappling with. For instance, we’ve been able to provide the following:
- Better engagement and share rate than existing video tools
- Seamless transitions from pre-theatrical, in theatres, and post theatrical actions
- Content updates and notification reminders for movie fans
I think being able to specialize in a vertical, as a startup, and staying focused has really helped us see success; we’ve gained access, trust and growth in both our user base and with our studio partners.
We can now implement and really showcase new ways to streamline studios’ marketing, help them build stronger engagement, achieve virality with their content and build a relationship with the movie fans who are interested in their releases. Through our partnerships with the studios, we are always finding new opportunities to improve and simplify their efforts through technology that we’re able to build on the fly. And optimizing everything for mobile consumption is a big part of where we’re playing. Beyond that, we always have the movie fan in mind when it comes to convenience and seamlessness.
And among the highest compliments: I've met a lot of people along the way at Apple, Google and Facebook who are really supportive of what we're doing. We’ve gotten interest from really talented engineers from all over the world who want to join our company. When you start getting inbound requests from people who really want to work with you, you realize that you've created something exciting that people want to be part of.
(4) How have you changed?
Ha. I think you’d have to ask my investors and parents for the real answer to this one -- but I’d say I’ve probably changed quite a bit. I’ve taken up meditation and yoga to stay balanced. I’ve also been more selective with whom and where I spend my time. Time has become much more valuable to me throughout this process.
As a female founder and entrepreneur, I feel like I’ve accomplished a lot over the past two years. The majority of the goals I’ve put in place while building MovieLaLa I’ve succeeded in completing and I’ve become more confident in direction and goals of our company. Personally I’ve learned a lot of lessons, the most important one: managing the extreme highs and lows of a startup. Everything passes and comes and goes quickly, so keeping a level head about your business and emotions is critical.
(5) What's next for you and MovieLaLa?
We’re continuing to work with studios, building and extending partnerships with mature mobile companies and building a community around MovieLaLa. We’re working on some really cool new features that are compatible with what movie fans want, which all center around “bringing Hollywood to movie fans.” There are events like ComicCon that can really get our company in front of hyper-fans and spread awareness towards MovieLaLa. We have a couple new features in development that are complimentary to both studios and movie fans. That’s all in the works for now.
Overall, I’m very proud of the MovieLaLa technical team and my cofounder who’ve really dedicated themselves to building a beautifully designed movie app. We’re all so happy with what we’ve accomplished as a team in the past year and I’m happy with where it's at, where things are going for our company and what’s ahead for us.