What comes around goes around
I was reading on TechCrunch today that 5min raised another big round of funding for what is in essence a syndication platform for instructional, knowledge and lifestyle videos, both professionally produced and user-generated.
Sometimes, timing is everything. Back in 2000 there was no YouTube. We tried to do a video aggregation play for “special interest” and instructional videos just as 5min is doing today. But, the problem was that broadband and video consumption in general just wasn’t pervasive on the internet. We were too early. There was no existing content on the web to just link to so we had to dredge it up from video reels and encode it all! So, we merged Rocketvox with another company to become thePlatform and focused on video technology instead.
There are two key lessons I took away from that experience. First, was that timing is as important as your idea itself. If your timing is wrong you have two choices. One, is to buckle down and slog it out for years. Or, you can change your strategy. You know your timing is too early when you talk to big companies who obviously should care about what you are doing but who don’t yet have a developed strategy and team dedicated to working that particular initiative. In such cases you have to make the tough call. Do you put your head down and ride it out in hopes that you are right? Or, do you shift your model to try and demonstrate shorter term successes. It’s a personal question only you can answer. In retrospect, I think we made the right decision. However, it wouldn’t have been a dumb idea to resurrect RocketVox as a content play several years later. I never did and probably should have.
Sometimes old ideas done better and with fresh perspective are the best ideas going.
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