In one word: yes. It is real.
We got the above question from Magie Cook, a leadership and motivational speaker from Clearwater, Florida. Her question is important because if that is not immediately clear, we should probably stop wasting our time.
Here is our reply:
"Hi, Magie
It is very real. The short version of how it works is that I've partnered with bureaus in The US, The UK, The Netherlands, France, Germany, Norway, Denmark, and Sweden - and done some things to their data (to make it comparable). Then I've asked the machine a lot of questions and written three magazines about it.
I share some of the insights in the above group."
(The group I am referencing is the one that can be found here: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/13623533/)
Unprecedented
I think part of the reason people are confused about our concept is that it is a brand new way of working with data. What is funny about data is, that companies tend to treat it like it is a major strategic advantage even if they don't put it to good use. Data just sitting on a server somewhere provides no major advantage over data that doesn't exist.
So when we veer off that path, it is a little unclear what we're up to. We've pulled all our data up, cleaned it, and plan to sell it in actionable chunks to interested speakers. These chunks are our monthly reports.
Is it a daunting task? Yes - of course. It is an entire organization that has to start thinking about data in a new way. That is not easy, nor is it something that should necessarily be easy. It can be as difficult as necessary as long as it is also useful and provide a stepping stone to the future of the speakers market.
(Text continues below)
Learn the average fee-difference between The EU and The US.
Sign-up here:
The five-year plan
I am personally glad that start-ups are not like boxing. One thing that does overlap though, is the sentiment that 'you always have a plan until you get punched in the face.'
That is, you always have a plan until reality sets in. While I assume that the chance of being physically punched in this line of work, there will be punches in terms of poor data quality, lacking sales and server breakdowns. We are finding our way around all that.
In doing so we create the Speakers Loft of the future. We are building a community around data and analysis. Think of it as, well, a loft (that was the initial idea) where speakers can go (online) after they've been on stage and need to chill out in a non-selling environment, with people who understand what it really means to live and work as speakers. Pull up a comfy chair, and sit down among your peers. We'll serve up some insights for you to enjoy while you're here.
