At some point, most of us have come to accept that if it’s free online, you are the product. The data that each of us generates across Facebook’s (NASDAQ:FB) stable of apps or Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX), and the like, makes money for someone … just not you. That is, until Streamlytics came on the scene. Here’s how to invest in Streamlytics.
The Los Angeles-based startup wants to democratize access to streaming media data, with a particular focus on providing data that better reflects usage by people of color.
The technology is built around a group of users who share their data through a content platform, say Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) Prime Video, Spotify (NYSE:SPOT) or Hulu. Streamlytics takes that data, anonymizes and enhances it, then issues a “data license” that makes the user the owner of the data set, which the company then purchases from them. It disrupts traditional audience analysis tools, like those provided by Nielsen Holdings (NYSE:NLSN).
Analysis of data sets, in general, helps businesses gain insights into their customers. Those insights help them optimize their products. Analytics provides the objective, quantitative data they need to make better, more informed decisions and improve their offerings.
Less Tolerance for Data Privacy Issues
Data ownership is tied up with privacy issues and portability. It underlies regulatory worries both in the U.S. and across Europe. And if you wondered what it is that seems to befuddle Mark Zuckerberg, when he trades in his hoodie for a nice suit and goes before Congressional panelists, it’s that consumers and politicians are becoming less and less tolerant of the lack of transparency at internet companies over terms of use and privacy policies.
Streamlytics solved that by enabling its users to opt-in to share their streaming data across platforms, then compensating them for sharing their data. Because it tracks the data by streaming account, rather than the device used to consume the content, the platform accurately pulls data directly from the source.
Any personal identifying information is stripped out in the process, which enables Streamlytics to sell media consumption data in aggregate. Ultimately, consumers retain control because they can download all of their data from the service and use it however, and with whomever, they want.
Potential Users from Madison Avenue to Hollywood
The potential customers span from those you’d expect, including brand marketers who want to better understand their audiences – not only what they’re watching and listening to, but how they are doing it. The upshot is that the marketer can optimize their spending with big data tools that have a wider, holistic take on audience consumption.
Those customers present a total addressable market of more than $260 billion annually, according to Streamlytics’ own analysis. However, add on the potential of $13 trillion from artificial intelligence demand, and even addressing 1% of that potential is significant.
Enterprise customers pay as much as $120,000 a year for a subscription to data from Streamlytics. On the other end of the transaction, consumers who’ve enabled their data to feed into the analysis can track their earnings on their smartphones. That “partnership” with consumers is a defining difference that leads to better quality datasets – broader and more accurate – for those high-paying enterprise customers.
Streamlytics describes the startup as “obsessed with analyzing data to uncover unique insights” and with its user personas, those insights do seem unique. Part of that obsession shows in a proprietary data standard – Universal Data Interchange Format – which it hopes will become the future of data transfers between individuals, the products/platforms that they use and business organizations. Think of UDIF much as CSV or PDF files have become standard transfer wrappers.
How to Invest in Streamlytics
Streamlytics is the brainchild of founder and CEO Angela Benton. With her background, it’s no surprise that the company’s first consumer app, clture, released in April, helps minority consumers own and monetize their data.
Before founding the company in 2018, she started NewME, an accelerator that helped minority tech entrepreneurs raise more than $47 million in VC funding. She and her experienced team have a string of relevant successes behind them.
The company’s own funding got a bump in September 2019 when actress Issa Rae took a minority stake.
When it listed on StartEngine, the $20 million-valuation company set out to raise $1.07 million in a little under three months. It was quickly oversubscribed by more than 2,400 investors, leading to the creation of a waiting list on the crowdfunding platform, with 60 days left in the offer period.
Robert Lakin is a veteran financial writer and editor, following fintech, agtech and property tech startups. He was previously emerging markets editor for Bloomberg News in Tel Aviv. He is a contributor to the Powered by Battery blog. As of this writing, Robert does not own any of the aforementioned securities.
Investing through equity and real estate crowdfunding or asset tokenization requires a high degree of risk tolerance. Despite what individual companies may promise, there’s always the chance of losing a portion, or the entirety, of your investment. These risks include:
1) Greater chance of failure
2) Risk of fraudulent activity
3) Lack of liquidity
4) Economic downturns
5) Dearth of investor education
