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Originally published on 03/07/2002
At Demo last month, I was surprised at the amount of interest in Zinio, a startup that makes technology to put traditional magazines on computer screens. I have had my nose bloodied several times trying to make print and computer-based publishing systems work together. Most of the journalists I know have similar wounds. The technical challenges are hard enough; once you solve those, the marketing and business issues are even more brutal.
Fast Facts:
Zinio
www.zinio.com |
| CEO |
Kevin McCurdy.
Last job: CEO of Bamboo (merged into iPix). |
| HQ |
Brisbane, CA |
| Employees |
37 |
| Market |
Publishing Services |
| Funding |
$8m in two rounds. Largest investor: NEA |
| Profitable |
No; Projected by Q2 2003 |
| Runway |
Sufficient funds to reach profitability. Planning $5-$10m funding round this Spring. |
But Zinio's product is strangely compelling. It really does make reading magazines on a computer screen easy and enjoyable. Zinio works because, unlike other print-to-online concepts, it doesn't pretend it's a new medium. The Zinio experience apes the real print experience.
Which, of course, raises the question: who needs it? Magazines are already easy to read and cheap to buy, and unlike online media, the print advertising business is well-understood and, current recession aside, known to work.
Wise publishers will realize that, aside from a few business travelers who want to scan magazines downloaded to their laptops, the real business for this technology centers on overseas distribution. Sending magazines around the world is expensive and slow, and this can limit the success of potentially international titles. For Zinio, the reader software is only part of the solution; the company also has a system to push magazine files electronically to individuals, to manage paid subscriptions to electronic versions of publications, and also to audit the electronic subscriber base so publishers can sell advertisements appropriately.
If you look at Zinio not as a replacement for print, but rather as an overseas distribution solution, the model begins to make sense. Not everyplace on the planet can be reached quickly by cheap second-class U.S. mail.
- Rafe Needleman
email: rafe-needleman@catchoday.com
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