(1) What is the reason your company exists (and what problem(s) are you looking to solve)?
So far, investment in Virtual Reality has gone to content creation and headsets. That’s natural. The industry first had to build cameras and production tools to create the content, and build devices to consume it. The headsets are ready, and there’s a flood of content coming. Now the industry needs distribution capabilities. Every content creator we talk to is looking for solutions and destinations to distribute immersive content. When you look at the TV industry, distribution is by far the biggest business. And distribution in VR requires a completely new line of thinking. Storytelling and the economics of content will change with VR, and new platforms will emerge. Littlstar is hands down the best place to discover, watch, and share the best in Virtual Reality and 360 video, and we saw a huge opportunity to go win market share at the perfect time.
(2) How are you different from your competitors?
Depends on whom you consider a competitor. Early industries like this, there are a few companies doing lots of things and people compare us to companies we think we’re very different from. We’re focused solely on distribution. We’re not building a camera rig, we’re not doing production nor opening a studio. Distribution is an enormous opportunity and challenge, and it requires a dedicated focus. One big thing that differentiates us is that we’re a true platform for distributing and building VR/360 experiences. We offer very simple ways of distributing content, as well as developer tools for content creators to build direct-to-consumer experiences on mobile, web, and in VR headsets.(3) Why will you succeed (and what is your single most important ingredient for success)?
Team. Team. Team. No need to say much more than that.
(4) What makes your company unique (and what do you enjoy most outside of building your business)?
An incredible combination of the best in strategic vision, experience, execution, engineering, and straight up hustle. Our team is incredible. Repeat entrepreneurs with successful exits, VR/AR experts, math geniuses…and we have fun together. That’s what we do outside of building our business. We have fun together! We’re building some of the most important building blocks of technology for the VR industry, and will be helping to establish the fabric of how content gets distributed in this new medium.
(5) What digital media trend is most interesting to you (and what is the least)?
Virtual Reality, of course! But also the breakdown of the incumbents and the control they have wielded for a long time. These monopolies and even some of the newer platforms are feeling heat from content creators. Cord cutting is real, and cable companies and television networks are under serious pressure from content owners who want a more direct relationship with their consumer. Adding to this pressure is the nature of content consumption by millennials – short form is dominating in a society where attention is short and people simply don’t sit around their television as much as previous generations. The fragmentation of content distribution is creating opportunities for newer platforms.