I didn't know there was a term for it, but I've been running a "startup studio" (http://prontotype.us/) for the last two years. Our terms are a bit different - we take only take a minority share and don't (currently) work on the marketing side of things, but the concept is the same - building software for early-stage entrepreneurs to validate their idea & market.
Startup Studios – are they a thing?
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Re: Startup Studios – are they a thing?
#12I quit my job a month ago. Started a startup studio with a few buddies (business, sales, marketing, artists, developers, designers, product engineers). In our first month we made 50k~ish. We have a vodka brand we did videography for, a few startups we did product design for, UX, mobile apps, websites, everything. Also allows us to exponentially build our portfolio and spend capital on expanding rapidly into new areas…
Sounds interesting. I'd read it. At my company Makeshift we had a similar idea (the shovels) - hence our strapline 'we make tools for startups'
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Re: Startup Studios – are they a thing?
#13Earlier quoted context omitted.
Looks like they want to take the concept of a movie studio maybe. There are some similarities, I think, between the two industries, mainly in that they are both really about producing hits, but I dunno, it's also a bit of a stretch. Once you're done with Post-Production, you're pretty much done. Stories don't require much maintenance.
There's a lot that happens with the artifacts after post production but it's not very glamorous. Initial distribution, licensing, merchandising, negotiating rental and streaming windows (i.e. more distribution), disc releases, special editions, etc etc. Stuff like that for franchises like The Hobbit or the Twilight series can easily last a decade. There was recently an article about how The Shawshank Redemption is st…
Yeah, but you're talking about Operations, not Production. You don't just keep adding new scenes to a film once it's done, or fix bugs. You make sequel if people really want it that bad.
Re: Startup Studios – are they a thing?
#14I quit my job a month ago. Started a startup studio with a few buddies (business, sales, marketing, artists, developers, designers, product engineers). In our first month we made 50k~ish. We have a vodka brand we did videography for, a few startups we did product design for, UX, mobile apps, websites, everything. Also allows us to exponentially build our portfolio and spend capital on expanding rapidly into new areas…
we have had a similar model: startupgiraffe, its been a great way to build a team, play with different technologies/verticals and invest (discount rates for equity) in startups. there are definitely a lot of pros/cons of the approach though.
Re: Startup Studios – are they a thing?
#15I quit my job a month ago. Started a startup studio with a few buddies (business, sales, marketing, artists, developers, designers, product engineers). In our first month we made 50k~ish. We have a vodka brand we did videography for, a few startups we did product design for, UX, mobile apps, websites, everything. Also allows us to exponentially build our portfolio and spend capital on expanding rapidly into new areas…
Wait, how is this different from a web design/development firm? I don't consider what you're doing as a startup studio, unless you guys are building and marketing your own ventures.
Re: Startup Studios – are they a thing?
#16I consider IdeaLab http://www.idealab.com to be the ultimate Startup Studio. Science ( http://science-inc.com ) also labels themselves a startup studio.
If your "studio" is doing design/development work for other companies, that automatically disqualifies you as a startup studio (in my book)
Re: Startup Studios – are they a thing?
#17The Melrose Center in Orlando has an interesting model. They provide tons of infrastructure and space for all kinds of creative and technical work: video, audio, electronics, 3d printing, along with workstations loaded with all kinds of software:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxkyuXAzAIg
All for free for county residents :) http://tic.ocls.info/
Also in Orlando - http://starterstudio.com/
Re: Startup Studios – are they a thing?
#18I quit my job a month ago. Started a startup studio with a few buddies (business, sales, marketing, artists, developers, designers, product engineers). In our first month we made 50k~ish. We have a vodka brand we did videography for, a few startups we did product design for, UX, mobile apps, websites, everything. Also allows us to exponentially build our portfolio and spend capital on expanding rapidly into new areas…
What's your email? I'm cjbarber@stanford.edu and would love to ask a question!