Download - How to invest in viral growth companies
Yosemitebear Mountain
Discovered: 7 months after uploadWHY???
Discovered by an Influencer
Lesson: viral growth is often delayed
1 million views
Double Platinum in 5 countries1st Solo Artist to have 4 singles in Top 40 before album’s releaseWHY???? King of YouTube
TALENT + MEDIUM + MARKETING
#7 Most Liked on Facebook: 42,447,186#2 Most Followed on Twitter: 20,684,366
Only person with a 100.0 Klout scoreTHE KING OF YOUTUBE
3 of top 10 most watched videos of all time 729,207,859
Josh Bell: The Anti-Bieber
Train Station @ D.C. Rush Hour 45 minutes
1,070 people passed by7 stopped to listen1 recognized him
Total raised: $32
TALENT – MEDIUM – MARKETING
YouTube Views: 3,635,880
Investing in Viral Growth
Jason JonesFounder & CEO, HighStep Capital
Invest Here
How to go Viral• 3 Keys to Virality – Content– Medium– Marketing
• Medium = strategic– Find the right network– Design for the network– At the right time– Launching the right thing
What to Watch For• Content– Funny, Authentic, Outstanding, Unexpected,
or Controversial
• Medium– Platform Structure and Nodes
• Usage– K-Factor, Influence Zeitgeist, Early
Momentum
• Lasting Power– Network Effect or One Hit Wonder?
Network Effect Models
YouTube purchasedFor $1.65b
Discovered 11 months after launchWHY????
Lazy Sunday uploaded
CONTENT + MEDIUM + MARKETING
Discovered 22 months after launch
BessemerInvested
“we were scouting for [a] user generated content media property
around products… for 6 years”
Medium + Usage + Lasting Power
How to Spot One Hit Wonders
Drawing is difficult and lacks a network effect
Negative virality is just as strong as positive virality
Understand the Network
Access to information
Engagement with friends
Real-time information
Image sharing around pinboards
Branchout: network nodes
#1 fastest growing FB app Feb ‘12Who has more connections,
Branchout or LinkedIn?
400m vs 150m
Dumb Smart
The ultimate viral business
Great content
Popular on Google, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest, even email
$0 marketing but abundantly shared
• I Can Has Cheezburger•FAIL Blog
•Memebase•The Daily What•Know Your Meme
16.5m people have uploaded content
375m page views per month110m videos viewed per month
500k pictures uploaded per monthProfitable since inception
What does it mean???
What does it mean?• Seek platforms that are easy to use, that will
attract great content, and that encourage easy sharing
• Seek businesses that create content designed for the platforms
• Seek management teams that understand the network ecosystem
• Avoid companies that raise too much money
Jonah Perretti, CEO, Buzzfeed
Kevin Alloca, YouTube Trend
Manager
Scott Galloway, Professor of
Marketing, NYU
Jeremy Gutsche, Chief Trend
Hunter, TrendHunter.com
Lou Kerner,CEO, Social
Internet Fund
Justin Beiber – Baby Ft. Ludacris
With You – Chris Brown Cover Song – Justin Singing
Yosemite Mountain Giant Double Rainbow 1-8-10
Stop and Hear the Music
How to go Viral - Infectious Marketing Keynote Speech by Jeremy Gutsche
How to Make Content Go Viral - Scott Galloway
Web 2.0 Expo SF 2011: Jonah Peretti, "The Hidden Secrets of Social Media and Viral Advertising“
Kevin Allocca: Why videos go viral
Pearls Before Breakfast: Can one of the nation's great musicians cut through the fog of a D.C. rush hour? Let's find out.
FROM ZERO TO MILLIONS: The Secret To Making Content Go Crazy/Viral
Thanks!
Twitter: @cardinalrose
www.slideshare.com/jjones23