This is interesting. Ben beat me to one of my central questions (again!). In a market with so much stiff competition, how do you feel you can differentiate yourself? I'm not sure that it can't be done, but I think that there needs to be something covered or featured in your publication that goes beyond the traditional tech reporting and interviews. What that might be I don't know yet, but then again there are always unique angles to cover in journalism. What is different in your vision than you see in the other competing publications?
@adammarx13 Hey Adam, thanks for writing. One of the key ways we want to differentiate ourselves is to maintain our lightning pitches section. It won't matter how big we get, the startups we cover there will be small, new and arguably in greater need of media attention. As well as covering the traditional bases of media publications, we hope to foster a community for startups, their founders, and those who like to follow the early beginnings of startups. It's not that we plan to wilfully ignore the important stories of large businesses, we just want to make sure startups get their voices heard, first. In a previous life writing about accountancy, I was covering a lot of smaller practices which in turn generated more attention from similar sized businesses. I would hope to see startups supporting each other by being engaged with the news and updates from early stage businesses in a variety of shapes and sizes. This is something I hope to drive with our coverage.
Very best,
Oli
Hey everyone, I'm Oli, the new editor of StartUp Beat. We're looking forward to reporting on all the news and views regarding startups from across the world. We think it's important to look beyond the confines of Silicon Valley and the Bay Area (though obviously those startups will be important news stories too!). Anyone checking us out with an interesting startup story, please contact oliver@startupbeat.com - we'd love to hear from all of you.
I agree with the overload of information issue, but I do think there is room for a dominant early-entry-centric pub. I'm always interested in what new companies are popping up, but who would you say is your target consumer? Investors? General startup enthusiasts? Eventually you will sell advertising- who do you expect them to be advertising to?
I like the concept but I wonder if you can really create a publication that covers startups everywhere outside of Silicon Valley and still cover enough stories in the specific locations to get people interested. For the bigger stories, the existing tech media sites already cover things internationally/outside Silicon Valley.
I follow a bunch of location specific newsletters (techjuice.pk, the nordic web, etc.) because I'm interested there and want to keep up with what's going on there.
@alikafridi Hey Ali, you raise a good point. We want to cover innovative launches no matter where they are in the world. For us, an exciting launch will trump any news from established players. We want to help startups spread their own message.
For me, personally, the international picture has always been the most interesting angle of any topic so hunting these news stories will be a hobby as much as it is a vocation.
Additionally, we want to publish stories that startups can take advantage of. For example, in the past week we have covered a number of new incubator launches, hoping to alert smaller startups to the opportunities available to them. These opportunities can and will transcend international borders, and so will the attention that follows them.
Thanks for asking and please follow up if you would like more clarification.
Very best,
Oli
Congrats on the launch! The site looks nice but above all, it's good to see a new site featuring entrepreneurs and innovators from around the globe. Keep it up!
Awesome, the editorial approach is interesting. Wondering how it will mantain in time fresh as people generally like to read "big" news and tend to think that it's only worthy to read about the actions of their referents (Apple, Google, every major startup in SV)
@leonfhl Hi León, you're right, they do. We also think people have a passion for underdog stories, which is the side we're hoping to appeal to. What sort of startup news would you like to see covered?
Report
Looks really neat! The existing posts look really great. One suggestion: would love a email subscription box! It's much easier to get it in my inbox then click through to the site :)
@abhiagarwal Hey, we will definitely be working on this in the near future! In the interim, I use tweet deck columns as cheat sheet. Any more suggestions please drop me a line on oliver@startupbeat.com
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