Analyzing the impact of a pandemic on the global economy, it is often observed that the challenges and constraints caused by the pandemic have opened up new opportunities or become an inspiration for some of the businesses. This trend is perfectly illustrated by Idooru startup created by four Kaunas locals and launched this spring. The platform allows people to order personal video messages/greetings recorded by various celebrities.
The idea, born in January, was turned into a product and introduced to the market in April. Through the Idooru platform, people can order greetings from actors, athletes, well-known TV personalities, writers and other inspiring Lithuanian individuals. According to the founders of the startup, in their case, the quarantine period was productive and contributed both to the emergence of the idea and the creation of value. People have missed cultural and sports events, so the platform had become a great way for celebrities to interact with their fans and grow their decreased income.
“We set up the business remotely and the whole team met live only in May, when it was allowed for two family units to meet. And the very idea was born when trying to figure out how to organize a memorable birthday for a daughter in the face of quarantine restrictions. For a long time, through various acquaintances, we were looking for ways to get to the girl’s favorite artist. We soon realized that the process is both long and unpleasant and that there is no simple form of payment, so we decided to solve this problem,” Austėja Dzidzevičiūtė, the founder of the company, tells us about the beginning.
The rapid development from the idea to its implementation was not accidental because one of the company’s founders, Justas Šidlauskas, already had valuable experience, which he gained from previous startup projects where he managed to attract both venture capital investments and participate in international accelerators. It is interesting that Justas’ journey to the world of startups began with Kaunas Startups project curated by Kaunas IN, where his Dear Deer Eyewear startup took the second place and attracted the interest of local and foreign investors.
“All the founders of the company happily call themselves Kaunas residents. We have at least one Žalgiris T-shirt in our closets and we remember the times when we went shopping with friends to the Merkurijus shopping center. The city of Kaunas is great because of the active support for young businesses and especially startups. Because of that and due to such projects as Kaunas Startups, we can proudly say that Idooru is one of the fruits of Kaunas startup incentive system’s labor,” A. Dzidzevičiūtė claims.
Vigorous team and a courage to act
Why Idooru? Because it is a combination of four English words: I adore you. The double o in the name came from the English word “door”, since the platform is like a door between a person and a celebrity. According to the creators of the startup, by combining these words and their meanings you get a beautiful and meaningful name.
Only a half year in operation, the founders of the startup say that they learn new lessons every week. And the biggest lesson they try not to forget is the courage to make quick and big decisions and constantly look for new opportunities to improve.
The founders of the startup consider the team to be its main strength and value. All of the team’s members are experts in their respective fields, so their shared experience has become the key to Idooru’s growth and success.
“From the very beginning, we have told ourselves that the only thing we will stick to is the team and the rest we will change or remake if the situation will demand,” A. Dzidzevičiūtė says.
And one of the biggest challenges – to persuade Lithuanian celebrities to join the platform – has become one of the biggest strengths of the startup. None of the team members had any personal contacts with celebrities, so we started establishing the relationship through formal calls and correspondence through social networks. The fact that we managed to establish professional, mutually beneficial and valued relationships from scratch, has led to a very favorable assessment of this startup by potential investors.
As Kaunas residents who continue to work on the platform say, over time, the processes of attracting both new celebrities and customers ordering their greetings has become increasingly easier. “We collect data and analyze it, and that helps us understand better what type of dialog celebrities require and the data of our service buyers are increasingly highlighting the type of people who order a personalized video greeting from celebrities.”
Were there any surprising and unexpected moments or celebrities whose greetings’ popularity exceeded the expectations of both the platform creators and the famous persons themselves?
“Absolutely. All the celebrities who joined us were carefully selected based on their various public data. However, the uniqueness of the celebrity video greeting service has shown that the number of followers in social media is not paramount. We have very beautiful and inspiring examples that prove otherwise,” A. Dzidzevičiūtė notes.
Currently, the goal of the entire team is to analyze the available data and use it to create new, even more, efficient processes that will help attract new celebrities and customers more accurately and quickly. Calculations, reports and plans for potential investors for a period of 18 months are also prepared. During this period, the team has a clear goal: to establish itself in the Lithuanian market and then the time will come for the European markets, which, the ambitious team is also seriously considering.