Basel: Hi, this is Basel with TechSparks. With me today is Woody Sears, the co-founder of Zuuka, the largest publisher for children`s books on mobile and tablet. Woody, it`s great to have you today.
Woody: All right. Thanks for having me today.
Basel: So, let`s start with some questions. Talk about your company. How did you go about creating your company?
Woody: We started out to scratch our own itch. We had children when the iPhone first came out, my child was two at the time and my partner had a two-year old as well. We were early adopters of the technology, and the kids really gravitated to the touch screen. The only content you could get on there was either games or videos. We wanted to be able to offer something that had more of an educational slant to it. Our kids loved books, and we love books in our house. So, we started taking some independent titles and making them available on iPhone. It was really a night and weekend operation in the beginning. And then, it grew into something much bigger.
Basel: So, tell us about the merger with the German partner. How did it come about, and what was the aftermath of the merger?
Woody: We merged with Zuuka in June of this year. It was really a great opportunity for us to expand our international footprint. We were primarily just doing English and focused on the American market. We saw a lot of growth in both Europe and the rest of the world. So, they had a rich history with both children`s applications as well as localization services for over 40 languages in books. They really brought a great sense of design and animation in-house to our operation, where we were more focused on the software side of things here in the U.S.
Basel: Tell us about the deals that you have in place with the largest publishers and the largest entertainment companies. How did you secure those deals?
Woody: We were actually very fortunate. We had the first mover advantage with the iPhone. We were the first to create a library of children`s books for kids. Dream Works actually called us and said, "We love you guys` platform; we love your brand and what you`re doing with it. Would you be interested in one of our movie storybooks?" We jumped on the opportunity, and we launched the first ever digital movie storybook with "How to Train Your Dragon" in April last year.
Basel: Can you tell us about the app that you mentioned about Kuwait? It`s pretty bold.
Woody: Oh, yeah. We have some entertainment apps. They`re not storybooks; they`re basically characters you can interact with by touch and voice. They`ll repeat what you say, and we did it for the Smurfs. So, it`s the first time there has ever been an interactive character based on a branded character. It`s been done with characters people don`t know, but never before with the Smurfs. It`s been phenomenally successful in Kuwait. It`s the
number one app overall in the app store, the number one entertainment app for several weeks. It`s exciting to see some of that growth in the Arab nation, but also it`s really popular in Lebanon. It`s just phenomenal.
Basel: Talk about monetization models. I know that you guys have paid apps. Do you guys see a challenge with the freemium model when it comes to this demographic?
Woody: Yeah, it a big challenge because there`s a lot of concern with advertising to kids. We`ve done some sponsored books. They don`t have banners in them like the traditional advertising model, but just a Splash page at the beginning of the book sponsored by Yoplait yogurt. What we`re starting now is some free reader apps. You get one book included. We have a series and you can purchase subsequent titles for the full price. I think that`s the best way we see right now to get a large audience and give them the ability to get more content.
Basel: So audience-wise. What`s your biggest market? What do you see as your biggest opportunities when it comes to pretty much all over?
Woody: The biggest market is certainly the U.S. for us. IN over 60% of our business, English is the first language. But we see great opportunities in Korea, Spanish, Latin American Spanish, so all through Central America as well as German and some in Chinese. Hopefully, we can start balancing out that success with iTalk and make that … as well.
Basel: So, looking at the mobile versus tablet, what do you see as the biggest growth, and also what opportunities do you see in those spaces?
Woody: They`re both new markets. Tablets even newer and that`s where most of the growth is, but the majority of the devices are definitely still in the phone arenas, specifically iPhone and iTouch. We try and focus on making that go across all devices. We have some leverage on the larger iPads and the capabilities there, but we`d like to give the customers one app that can be crossed over all the devices, that`s still the majority of our demographic is on the iPhone.
Basel: In terms of opportunities, what do you see, pretty much just general growth opportunities?
Woody: In the tablet market, I think there`s a huge opportunity with the Amazon Kindle Fire. I think that it will be a big success in the U.S. I think that they`ll take that internationally and that will be a place to monetize apps for the Android developers. It`s an exciting space, for sure.
Basel: So, looking at all the apps that you`ve published so far, which one is the most satisfying and also successful in your view?
Woody: Well, I`m most proud of the first digital movie storybook that we did with "How to Train Your Dragon" and Dream Works. It also has been our biggest revenue generator and has the most number of downloads. It`s been out since last year. But just a great story and I think that`s a common thread with apps. No matter how interactive they are, you still have to be telling a great story and obviously do a great job with it.
Basel: So lastly, this is kind of an odd question, but what`s with the mustache? Last time I saw you there was no mustache.
Woody: In honor of cancers of men, there was some thing created called Movember. Men grow out their mustache in the month of November to raise awareness of prostate cancer and others so people know about it, talk about it, and be aware of it.
Basel: That`s unfortunate. Like you said, my uncle passed away with prostate cancer, so case in point. Maybe, I should grow my own.
Woody: Yeah.
Basel: That`s a great cause.
Woody: It`s one way to bring attention to this serious issue.
Basel: Absolutely. Well, Woody. I really have a flight to catch so I want to thank you for taking the time to sit down with us today. We look forward to speaking with you again.
Woody: All right, thanks, Basel.
Basel: Thank you.
About the Guest:
Woody is an expert in consumer and mobile technology. He founded Zuuka, a mobile publishing company. His experience grew his company to be the world’s largest publisher of mobile children’s entertainment under the name Zuuka.
Woody earned an M.B.A. from Pepperdine University and a B.A. from the University of Colorado.
