1) What led to the creation of OwnZones?
I
came up with the idea for OwnZones after working in Digital Rights
Management (DRM) and server-side solutions for some of the world’s top
tech companies. At the time, a shift in the digital media world had
started; major publications such as the New York Times were beginning to
put up paywalls. Although their subscription-based model made sense to
me, I thought that the way these subscription sites were operating would
make them unmanageable for consumers. I imagined that, when each site
put their content behind a separate paywall, consumers would eventually
have to manage a huge number of accounts, all requiring a credit card
and login credentials. My big idea was to simplify the subscription
content consumption proposition without the interruption of ads. Flash
forward to 2014, we have closed $5.9 million in series A financing and
have signed on global partners including Reuters and The Guardian UK.
2) Why did you decide to gather a variety of topics instead of focusing on just
one?
My
goal with OwnZones is to fill a content need that hasn’t been met. I
started the site to give all consumers a single place to find content
they are passionate about. Whether they’re looking for text, audio or
video, they can come to OwnZones to find and enjoy it - all with just
one log in.
3) How does a feed get included?
OwnZones
offers publishers of every size the ability to reach a wider range of
customers by adding their content onto the platform. Large publishers
such the Financial Times, Reuters and The Guardian UK are currently
using OwnZones to upsell their content. The
platform is perfect for small publishers who cannot afford to get their
content on a Netflix, Hulu or other aggregator sites. Small publishers
such as Basketball Times that have a repository of content and are
looking to digitize for free can benefit from partnering with OwnZones
and begin making money off their online library. Since joining OwnZones,
the subscribers of Basketball Times can now receive their favorite
print magazine online the minute it’s ready, as opposed to waiting for it to come in the mail each month.
4) What types of people is OwnZones suitable for?
OwnZones
is suitable for basically anyone. We provide subscribers with one
convenient place to view specialty and niche content without ads,
starting at just 99 cents per month. We organize the content into
channels, which allows consumers to subscribe just to the topics they’re
interested in. Some of these include YogaSessions.TV, Dilbert Cartoons,
DeliciousTV, PlaySports.TV, Comedy Times, I Love Cats Magazine, DogTV
and The Pose Method of Running.
ABOUT DAN GOMAN:
Dan
Goman, Founder and President of OwnZones, is a recognized technologist
and leader, with a strong professional history of strategic leadership
at leading companies including Lucent Technologies, Microsoft, and
AT&T Wireless.
Goman's
startup consulting experience, DRM expertise, and realization that a
paid content solution will succeed only if it favors all parties
involved led him to found OwnZones in 2010, offering media companies a
personalized digital content platform through which they can access new
revenue opportunities for their original content while serving the right
content to consumers when they want it.
Prior
to creating OwnZones, Goman spent 15 years in the computer sciences
industry as a technical engineer, consultant, and manager/leader
directing large cross- disciplinary teams. While at Microsoft, Goman
developed in-house tools for managing Microsoft's internal network, and
managed software teams. As a program manager in the Windows Media
division, he coordinated with content and hardware partners to develop
and enhance digital rights management functionality for the company's
device-independent PlayReady DRM product.
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