Why Your Consumer-Oriented Hyperlocal Startup Is Going to Fail

Posted by SeanBarkulis under Startups
From http://streetfightmag.com 4107 days ago

I’m sorry to say it, but if your hyperlocal, consumer-focused start-up’s business model is driven by local business sales and marketing dollars, it’s most likely going to fail. I know this because I have spent the past several years dissecting and analyzing every consumer-focused, hyperlocal app imaginable. In an effort to build my own “awesome” hyperlocal app, UPlanMe, I was not only figuring out our own business model, but I was analyzing all of the potential competitors and their business models’ around us...

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Comments

Written by SeanBarkulis
4106 days ago

I can't speak to that article, Heather, as I haven't read it. However, all of the hyper-local news properties I have been hearing of recently, haven't been successful. This includes Everyblock (which shutdown in February), Patch of course, and The Daily Voice (which shutdown all of its MA and some CT sites in March). If a small hyper-local site is able to thrive, it may be because they are located in a small town where there is no other way to advertise ones business. Either way, it's clear this isn't a scalable model and individual local news properties are not the types of consumer-oriented start-ups I was speaking to.

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Written by HeatherStone
4107 days ago

Hi Sean,

This may be a bit far afield, but a recent article in Ad Age noted that, while AOL's Patch is struggling, many small hyperlocal news sites that rely primarily on local business advertising continue to thrive. They simply aren't easily scalable. I'm not sure whether you saw the post but would love to know how you think this might fit in with the discussion. I'm leaving this comment on the BizSugar website too and would love if you could leave a response there for the benefit of the whole community.

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