(1) Describe your startup.
LongPlay is an app for corporate innovation managers, looking for startups and new technologies. Everyone is pitching you on everything, but LongPlay learns from your actions and puts the most relevant early-stage startups in front of you. Our goal is to give you the unexpected, the edge in your field not available in ordinary channels.
(2) What inspired the creation of the startup?
I learned a lot from YouNoodle, where we often sourced and selected startups for enterprise customers, ran competitive selection processes etc.
(3) What differentiates your startup from the competition?
Startup databases and consulting firms find startups you ask them for. LongPlay finds startups you are not looking for – i.e. disruption when it occurs, wherever it may be. This is possible due to hundreds of thousands of founders self-identifying what they are working on, behind the scenes.
(4) Who is the target market?
Traditional companies looking for the next big thing in their market. LongPlay works for R&D departments, logistics, marketing, innovation, etc – new technologies are creeping in everywhere in traditional organizations, and LongPlay helps extract value from such opportunities.
(5) How did you grow your presence in your target market?
We are still early, but YouNoodle’s presence helped a lot.
(6) What stage are you at?
Pilot stage. 10 test clients, small teams in various large corps testing out the platform. Expected to open for public signup towards the end of 2019.
(7) What are some of the biggest challenges that your startup have had to overcome?
Product/Market fit. We have an amazing (insane) startup data flow, but most of our clients don’t fully understand how to put it to use. We are getting better at this, but it is a massive barrier in our market – lack of corporate startup capabilities.
(8) What is next for the startup?
Likely fundraising towards the end of 2019 or early 2020, once we have more predictable traction and metrics. Then growth vertical by vertical.
(9) Where would you like to be in the next 5 years?
The Google for corporate <> startup interactions, globally.
(10) If you had to give one piece of advice to an up and coming startup what would it be?
In your market, what do you know for sure that most people don’t? Technology can be copied, but conviction of an opportunity is hard to beat.
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