The BookSmarts Podcast, with Joshua Tallent
Arts:Books
Thad McIlroy, an electronic publishing analyst and author who writes about publishing technology at his site, The Future of Publishing, joins me to talk about publishing startups. Thad has been working for many years on a database that provides interesting details on these companies, and the list has now been published by Publishers Weekly.
Thad describes how he got started with the list, and how he defines what a startup is for the purposes of the list. The list includes key information about each startup, including a mission statement or description about what the startup does, and a description of how successful they have been. The list provides publicly available details on investments into these companies, as well as information about whether they have exited via acquisition, merger, etc.
The list now includes about 1300 startups, around 10% of which have exited, and at least 37% have shut down. There a many vulnerabilities a new startup encounters, but one of the biggest is being "a solution in search of a problem." Thad says that the real metric for success is being able to innovate and having a clear definition of the problem the company is offering a solution for. Market research and solid marketing is key to the success of any startup endeavor.
We also talked about trends in the startups that have started in the last few years, the lack of innovation in startups focused on helping publishers, and the potential opportunities available to publishers who are looking to innovate.
Thad's article at Publishers Weekly provides a great overview of the startup database, and a link to the list itself.
--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/booksmarts/messageEpisode 42: Marika Flatt on Book Publicity
Episode 41: Jane Friedman on Spotify Audiobooks and Author Earnings
Episode 40: Tom Richardson on ONIX Best Practices & Standards
Episode 39: Kathi Inman Berens, Ph.D. & Rachel Noorda, Ph.D. on Gen Z and Millennial Survey
Episode 38: Miriam Warren on International Mergers & Acquisitions
Episode 37: Victoria Sutherland on Reviews and Opportunities for Independent Publishers
Episode 36: Klaus Krogh on Sustainable Typesetting and Bible Design
Episode 35: Mary Carlomagno on Book Visibility
Episode 34: Laura Brady on Accessibility
Episode 33: Michele Cobb on Publishing Associations and Awards Programs
Episode 31: David Marlin on Royalty Management and Company Security
Episode 30: Emma Watson on Subscription Ebook Sales Models
Episode 29: Angela Bole on Independent Publishing
Episode 28: Charles Watkinson on Open Access
Episode 27: Kevin Franco on Book Marketing Strategies
Episode 26: Pete Larson on the Current Supply Chain Situation
Episode 25: BISG - Future Proofing Your Workflow
Episode 24: Cory Verner on the Growth of Audiobooks
Episode 23: Mark Herschberg How Books Might Escape the Page
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Lit Society: Books and Drama
Ex Libris
Write The Book: Conversations on Craft
The Turn of the Screw
Anne of Green Gables
Fresh Air
Myths and Legends