22 March 2012
There is citizen journalism. And there is user-generated content. And between the two lies the hurdle of access.
Large media organizations have institutionalized systems through which they solicit, accept and process leads, news and content from their subscribers. At the other end of the spectrum, of course, are the blogs and social media, through which the people make their voices heard.
Now, for what is probably an unique initiative, a pair of Dubai-based entrepreneurs have created a platform on which a community can interact with individual media professionals.
"We wanted to make that process easier for that 'little guy' and so the first step was to provide them with an open directory where a person can browse through our database and find the relevant media professional who can help him get the word out," David Haddad, one of the founders of Presspass.me, told Zawya.
After having funded the launch phase of Presspass.me for over a year now, Haddad and his partner Valencio Cardoso are looking at external capital for the next phase of growth.
"The start-up was raised from our personal savings. We do bankroll as per our need, as keeping a site online costs money. And so now we are planning to raise funds. We are going for a round of seed capital," Haddad said.
"We have approached some people... We are talking to them... But there is nothing to declare yet."
Since Presspass.me was launched just over a month ago, Haddad and Cardoso have burnt the candle at both ends to put together a database of more than 5,000 journalists from 250 media organizations, mostly from the US, the UK and Canada. The database covers media professionals from the global print and online media outlets, as well as TV and radio stations and bloggers.
They say they are now willing to look at adding the Middle Eastern media fraternity to the collection.
"We have received requests from Middle East journalists who want to be part of our directory. Both organizations and journalists have been approaching us," said Haddad.
The two partners split the massive volume of work involved in this enterprise right down the middle. Haddad looks after product and business development, while Cardoso manages the website and interacts with the customers: the journalists and the community.
The start-up operates from The Shelter, a free community workspace based in Dubai's Al Qouz area, thus keeping costs to the minimum.
The endeavor behind the start-up is to allow small and medium-sized businesses, artists and the common man, who has a story to tell, to get in direct contact with the journalists, bloggers or others who have an audience. In this way, every person's story gets a voice and be heard across the world.
In most cases, people who believe they have a story to tell appoint public relations firms to get their voice out into the media. "That's because people are a little intimidated by, or don't know how to reach out to a journalist," said Haddad.
Does the website result in journalists receiving a lot of spam? The founders of Presspass.me say they are totally against that. "So, when journalists receive the message, they can do one of three things through our system: they can say 'I want to follow up'; or 'I want to pass'; or 'this is spam'," Said Haddad.
Refraining from giving any revenue target for the next three years, Haddad admits the company will adopt an approach similar to the one used by public relations firms - the advertising value equivalency tool, which is a marketing metric for PR measurement.
Unlike other internet companies, Presspass.me's founders are open to experimenting "early and often" with their business model, until they find the "sweet spot".
Talent acquisition is among of the challenges they face. "We are looking to grow our team but we have seen there is little internet start-up related talent in the UAE. But the positive thing is that many Arabs are doing a great job outside the UAE, and this could be an opportunity for us to bring them back as co-founders," said Haddad.
And consumer adoption is the greatest risk. "Any product idea can be built. But is that product idea solving real customer problems? So, as part of our approach, we try to stay as close as possible to the customer," said Haddad.
"In building a start-up, there are ups and downs; and what better to withstand those moments than a community that is supportive," he added. "In Silicon Valley, you don't feel lonely; there is a huge community that supports start-ups. Here, people are supportive, but there are less of them."
Haddad and Cardoso are attempting to generate that community feeling by organizing events where start-up founders meet at least once every three weeks.
© Zawya 2012
There is citizen journalism. And there is user-generated content. And between the two lies the hurdle of access.
Large media organizations have institutionalized systems through which they solicit, accept and process leads, news and content from their subscribers. At the other end of the spectrum, of course, are the blogs and social media, through which the people make their voices heard.
Now, for what is probably an unique initiative, a pair of Dubai-based entrepreneurs have created a platform on which a community can interact with individual media professionals.
"We wanted to make that process easier for that 'little guy' and so the first step was to provide them with an open directory where a person can browse through our database and find the relevant media professional who can help him get the word out," David Haddad, one of the founders of Presspass.me, told Zawya.
After having funded the launch phase of Presspass.me for over a year now, Haddad and his partner Valencio Cardoso are looking at external capital for the next phase of growth.
"The start-up was raised from our personal savings. We do bankroll as per our need, as keeping a site online costs money. And so now we are planning to raise funds. We are going for a round of seed capital," Haddad said.
"We have approached some people... We are talking to them... But there is nothing to declare yet."
Since Presspass.me was launched just over a month ago, Haddad and Cardoso have burnt the candle at both ends to put together a database of more than 5,000 journalists from 250 media organizations, mostly from the US, the UK and Canada. The database covers media professionals from the global print and online media outlets, as well as TV and radio stations and bloggers.
They say they are now willing to look at adding the Middle Eastern media fraternity to the collection.
"We have received requests from Middle East journalists who want to be part of our directory. Both organizations and journalists have been approaching us," said Haddad.
The two partners split the massive volume of work involved in this enterprise right down the middle. Haddad looks after product and business development, while Cardoso manages the website and interacts with the customers: the journalists and the community.
The start-up operates from The Shelter, a free community workspace based in Dubai's Al Qouz area, thus keeping costs to the minimum.
The endeavor behind the start-up is to allow small and medium-sized businesses, artists and the common man, who has a story to tell, to get in direct contact with the journalists, bloggers or others who have an audience. In this way, every person's story gets a voice and be heard across the world.
In most cases, people who believe they have a story to tell appoint public relations firms to get their voice out into the media. "That's because people are a little intimidated by, or don't know how to reach out to a journalist," said Haddad.
Does the website result in journalists receiving a lot of spam? The founders of Presspass.me say they are totally against that. "So, when journalists receive the message, they can do one of three things through our system: they can say 'I want to follow up'; or 'I want to pass'; or 'this is spam'," Said Haddad.
Refraining from giving any revenue target for the next three years, Haddad admits the company will adopt an approach similar to the one used by public relations firms - the advertising value equivalency tool, which is a marketing metric for PR measurement.
Unlike other internet companies, Presspass.me's founders are open to experimenting "early and often" with their business model, until they find the "sweet spot".
Talent acquisition is among of the challenges they face. "We are looking to grow our team but we have seen there is little internet start-up related talent in the UAE. But the positive thing is that many Arabs are doing a great job outside the UAE, and this could be an opportunity for us to bring them back as co-founders," said Haddad.
And consumer adoption is the greatest risk. "Any product idea can be built. But is that product idea solving real customer problems? So, as part of our approach, we try to stay as close as possible to the customer," said Haddad.
"In building a start-up, there are ups and downs; and what better to withstand those moments than a community that is supportive," he added. "In Silicon Valley, you don't feel lonely; there is a huge community that supports start-ups. Here, people are supportive, but there are less of them."
Haddad and Cardoso are attempting to generate that community feeling by organizing events where start-up founders meet at least once every three weeks.
© Zawya 2012
