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Free lessons on building your viable media business, from Splice
ALAN: Welcome to the School of Splice. I’m Alan,
RISHAD: And I’m Rishad.
RISHAD: And in this series we’re going to help you build a viable business by exploring the problems faced by other media entrepreneurs.
[music change]
ALAN: Our world depends on healthy ecosystems to function correctly. Just think about nature. Without bees or water, there would be no crops, and without crops, there would be a shortage of food. Some crops could certainly grow, but for a healthy ecosystem we need all the elements to function correctly.
RISHAD: And the same is true for media. We know that media startups need support, especially in some markets which are more challenging than others. That’s the whole reason we’ve been running the School of Splice, and also Splice Beta. Having these support networks allow media entrepreneurs to grow and develop their businesses, network, and learn from each other. Ultimately, if we network and learn from each other, we can build the whole ecosystem.
ALAN:
Duuya [1 - 7:22]: I want to form an Alliance of media organizations or media startups in Mongolia who are re developing a rebuilding media as a business.
RISHAD: This is Duuya Baatar, who runs the Nest Center for Journalism Innovation and Development in Mongolia.
Duuya [1 - 6:12]: I need help creating some success stories where those media entrepreneurs that I can, that I can influence.
Um, I want to call, build, um, viable. Media like business models, um, so that smaller or newer, um, media organizations can look at it and learn from it and kind of see, oh, it's possible. Oh, that's how you do it.
ALAN: Going into the School of Splice - Duuya had a vision for how to support media entrepreneurs across Mongolia. And a lot of that vision centred around building a database of information and case studies that other founders could look at and realise the possibilities of starting a new publication.
RISHAD: This information could take many forms, from written articles to podcasts. But one idea that Duuya had was creating a way to cut down the time freelance journalists have to spend going over the same research.
Duuya [1 - 08:12]: So, uh, nest center is building this platform for freelance journalists, um, where they will be able to save time from, uh, that they normally spend searching for information that is already there.
It's not the news, but a background information. Um, Many journalists that are spending a lot of time searching for information that is already out there, just because it has to be added as an, as a background information to their new stories. So we want to save that time for like new research, um, or.
Working on the format of the story and such. So we're developing this platform from freelance journalists called Uzeg. Um, that is one, um, thing that we are building and we are starting to rethink how we conceptualized that. Product. And, um, so we are almost all the way we are year and a half into building the platform.
Like the technological solutions has, have been there, but, um, we are looking back at the. At how we've conceptualized the model of that platform, um, to better serve like journalists who are our target audience. So that is, uh, one thing, uh, one product that next century is building. And I want to apply the knowledge to especially wa um, when, uh, better understanding the audience or, or the market who are journalists.
ALAN: Duuya also had plans to help journalists by creating podcasts and vlogs to help provide some of that base level of knowledge that reporters need.
RISHAD: Nest’s business operates a bit like a consultancy, where they work with news organisations to solve issues. And one of the core problems that Duuya identified in Mongolia, was that media companies are very reliant on traditional advertising, or on grant funding.
Duuya [1 - 19:35]: And what, what we're lacking now is, um, we are creating everything that I'm like absorbing now are all knowledge at a kind of theoretical level. Um, and one, we, we actually need like a practice, um, like things that we have actually succeeded on. So by applying those theoretical knowledges, Can we actually succeed or is it just some learnings from like international other countries?
That probably doesn't apply for Mongolians. So that's a big question, mark, that every media entrepreneur have in Mongolia. So with stepping forward project, what we have that we might not continue to have is the grant money. So with that grant money, um, media organizations who are applying for the grant and working with us on this project, in the incubation, they have this.
Trust and they actually, the risk is actually not there yet. So even if they, if they succeed, it's good. If they fail, they don't have anything to lose because it's already funded with the grant. Um, so we, we, those are, so we want to create success stories, using the resources that we now have from, from, from our donor organization.
And it should be strong enough for other news organizations to actually invest the time that they have the resources that they have not, not funded with the grant. To try and do it. Um, so that's something that we don't have now.
RISHAD: But while it’s great to create resources, and have a lot of ideas you want to work on, when you’re building a media startup it’s also important to find a north star - something to focus on. Because you can’t do everything, and if you try to - you may not succeed at any of the things you want to focus on. For Duuya, initially she thought that podcasts might be the best area to focus on.
ALAN [1 - 14:19]: So. you've described A couple of formats here. There's podcasts, there's blogs, there's newsletters. if you could choose only one to work on uh, for this year, what would it be?
Duuya [1 - 14:25]: Podcasts
ALAN: Yeah, what, What's interesting What podcasts do you. do?
Duuya: Um, I just think people times are more cramped and podcasts. There's one format that allows you to do something else while listening to the, the, the content. So like for instance, if it's a newsletter is still, you still have to sit down and devote a certain amount of time, whether it's five minutes or 10 minutes only to the newsletter to read it. Um, so podcast is something that you can do along with something else.
ALAN: So when you’ve got all these problems that you’re trying to solve, and a lot of ideas for how to solve them, how do you actually decide what to focus on?
RISHAD: Talha Ahad, who started The Centrum Media in Pakistan, has a great way to think about this problem, because ultimately your focus as an entrepreneur should be on your WHY.
Talha Ahad [2:10] - One of the most, most important thing is why are you doing this? I think your why is the biggest thing to understand. And then build the whole strategy around your why and what is the gap and what are you trying to fill in that gap? And that way, I think you can build a very successful company in a way that no one is giving that sort of information or value to people and you are then cutting out basically that gap.
ALAN: If you ask yourself WHY, then you can focus on the core elements of your business. For Duuya and Nest, after asking WHY - ultimately the focus was on building support for the media ecosystem in Mongolia. And while there's a bunch of different ways to potentially do that, through new platforms, or podcasts, or other forms of media - you always need to start with the basics.
RISHAD: Yes, the basics - like do you have a clear mission statement. And do you have a website that tells people exactly what it is you do?
ALAN: During School of Splice, Duuya decided to focus on one core problem that was fundamental to the way Nest presented itself to journalists around the country. That is, building a website that would clarify the mission of Nest, explain what it is trying to achieve, and help support the needs of media across Mongolia. So how did that go?
Duuya [2 - 00:34]: I feel I've somehow accomplished that, um, as a result of this, uh, program, but many things have changed in the way, um, how I thought I would approach that, how I thought it would, like at the other end, um, so many things have changed. Uh, my expectation going into this program was literally just. Having a website.
And what I thought a web website was at the beginning of the program was just digital presence. Like when I tell somebody I work work for Nest Mongolia, uh, and they searched for it and it just should be there. That's what I thought it would be. Um, and during this program it changed. Totally. And I started looking at a website as if it was my employee.
Um, Uh, wrote a job description for this. Um, and one of the questions while doing the job description was very interesting to me was how much would you pay your website for doing what it does? So that's really a turning point for me because, uh, I mean, what I would expect to pay for a website was the cost for the domain and that's it.
But if I'm expecting the website to serve certain goals, um, speak for us virtually to our clients who we have not yet met in person or who we are not able to meet in person, then I should be able to, uh, spend certain amount for. And on the other hand, expect results from the website's performance. So that was really like a very how to say like important question that I had to answer while doing the job description.
ALAN: So for those, who've not had a chance to look at your website. What would you say are the top three functions that it does right now for you as a business? What does it do?
Duuya: It knows it lets everybody know what we can do?
Um, it lets everybody know how they can contact us. Um, also it lets everybody, uh, subscribe to us if they want to keep in touch with us.
Rishad [2 - 3:36] : Uh, how do you, how do you, do you have deliverables also, um, in what, what do you want this website to deliver? Or what do you want? Your virtual communications and marketing manager today?
Duuya: Okay. Um, that is like, I'm not going to say it's already doing that. Um, cause I haven't been able to, um, like. Measure the results of its performance yet. Uh, but its main deliverables are we, I want, um, the website, uh, I'm going to refer to, I want him to. Yeah, bring us certain customers. Um, and also its deliverables is, um, for instance, one of our main, um, consumers is Grantmakers.
And even during the period where we would have been asking them questions, uh, about what problems we can help them solve. Um, grant makers were the most interested stakeholders or type of consumers for us, for our services. Uh, it came before. Um, Mongolian media startups, and it came before Mongolian journalists. So it's first deliverable is to help Grantmakers no of what we do and how we can partner with them and what we have already done. Like the, the, the audit that you just mentioned. So that's, that can be seen at the top of the website. So, um, that's what it's performing at first. Like letting them know what we have already achieved, uh, in terms of, um, understanding Mongolia's media market in terms of, uh, introducing a product-based approach in Mongolia.
Um, and after that, uh, the second deliverable of it would be, um, making it easy for them, for Grantmakers to understand how they can partner with us. And if they want to just send us any.
ALAN: So what are the characteristics of a good website? What do you need to make your website the home for what you do? Well here are a couple of quick tips to help you build the perfect website for your media startup.
RISHAD: Right at the top, a good idea is to start out telling people what you do. But you know what's an even better idea? Telling people what you do for them. Take a minute to write down this statement that answers your core user question: "What does your company or product do for me?" The point is: don't tell me what you do. Tell me what you do for me. And make sure you put that front and centre on your website.
ALAN: You also need an about section that details the people in your organisation, what user problem your organisation solves, and how it solves it. About pages are great for telling people what you do, but can also be important for SEO. Other good things to have on your About page are your story. What makes you unique — different from anybody else out there?
RISHAD: Your organisation's story and the way you tell it is going to be the most vital thing you will do for the rest of your working career — aside from your actual work! — so get it right. Angel Investor, Jenny Hsu says storytelling is vital in the early stages of any media business.
Jenny Hsu [00:31] - For companies that are starting off, I would say PR is extremely important, right from the get- go. Before people care about your product, they will be enticed by your story. So make sure you have a compelling narrative that could capture people's attention.
RISHAD: Remember that your story will continue to evolve as you understand your mission and the problem you're trying to solve.
Jenny Hsu [00:47] -Some of the things to think about are what are the major differentiators between you and your competitors? How are you an outlier in industry? What is so irreplaceable about your company? What are some of the must have instead of the nice-to-have about your company? And most importantly, what is that problem you're solving that has not been solved yet?
And those can be great fodder for your storytelling. A common mistake I see amongst startup is sometimes they're so eager to tell their story that they end up unintentionally pestering the reporters. They end up sending multiple emails or call them multiple times. I understand many startups want to reach for the stars right away, which is a very noble, motivation.
But I would say, start with your target audience first, identify the publications, your existing and potential clients to find trustworthy and credible and target those. Also, is there a particular trade group, a business association chamber of commerce that you could target. Those should also be your first priority when you start out. Eventually you will get the attention of the top- tier media, but start small. That's what I would say.
ALAN: The other thing to consider is how people will get in touch with you. Make sure you have a contact page, or better yet - contact information that can be accessed from any page or story. If your mission is to connect with people in your community, then you need to make it easy for people to connect with you.
Rishad [2 - 08:32]: What is next for your website? What's next on, on the job description.
Duuya: Figuring out the KPI, uh, how I measure if his performing, what he's supposed to be performing. I mean, I know I have been getting feedbacks from people. Um, so I know it's somewhat like making us more visible, uh, and helping us people understand what we actually do. But in terms of like numbers, um, That is something I have to work on a little bit more like what is a reasonable, um, goal, uh, for like monthly signups.
Um, what is a reasonable goal for monthly visits? Um, and where should I get them from? Uh, domestically or internationally? Sorry. So I'm figuring out the KPI and making it more clear, um, and maybe do some more additions because, uh, there's a lot of things. Um, we had already done that is they're not still on the website because we wanted to keep it, um, Like to the point without much distractions, but we'll have to figure out a way to include those on the website without making it a distraction as well. So that is step two, um, going forward.
RISHAD: If you focus on developing the homepage for your business, you will be well on your way to connecting with customers and ultimately building a sustainable business.
[change music]
RISHAD: This season on School of Splice - we’ve explored a range of different media startups from across Asia. And heard from experts who have been there before. We’ve heard about their big wins, and some of their failures. So we hope you’ve found it valuable.
ALAN: As media entrepreneurs we need to be prepared to try new ideas quickly, measure those experiments, and then fail. And we need to do this over and over until we get it right. Steve Jobs once said that ‘If you’re afraid of failing, then you won’t get very far.”
RISHAD: If you are open and vulnerable enough to put yourself out there and start a new media business - hopefully you can learn from what everyone else you’ve heard from in the School of Splice has tried before. And Duuya has some great advice to end on, which will make sure you’re giving your idea the best chance of success.
Duuya [10:21]: Keep an open mind because coming from a country as small as Mongolia and, uh, within the Mongolian, like, um, ecosystem, uh, what nest is doing is very innovative. So with that, um, it's easy to get kind of lost in what you have already accomplished versus how much far you have to actually go. In the beginning, as I said, the hardest part part of this program was in the beginning because I had a lot of assumptions and I had to escape from that.
And I had to really have an open mind and listen to you guys and do, as you said, but it's not as easy as it sounds like in a very shallow level. I knew it. But to realize it it's very difficult. Like I hear you, I noted down. I try to do exactly as you said, but there's this like assumptions that is kind of heating in my head and reminding, no, this is what you wanted in the beginning.
And like dragging me back to where I was. So keeping an open mind is very important and what we're trying to do, and what you're trying to build with school of splice is also not very like. It's not an established like science field. It's also failing you so we can be, can be easy to get lost in your. assumptions.
And like, so it's very important to have an open mind.
OUTRO
ALAN: Thanks for listening to the School of Splice. This episode was hosted by me Alan Soon and Rishad Patel. Production by the team at Lawson Media.
That’s all we’ve got for this season of School of Splice. If you want to catch up on the season, or learn more about the startups visit schoolofsplice[dot]com.
And a big thanks to the Meta Journalism Project for sponsoring this podcast!
We’ll speak to you again soon.
[ENDS]