Thursday Business Showcase : Usheru

By @SimonCocking

Meet our cinema app, it's called usheru. It wants to be friends, download in App & Play store http://t.co/AQZGMNEXl4 pic.twitter.com/8pbXXFcgGz

— usheru – cinema app (@usheruHQ) July 6, 2015

Describe the company – the elevator pitch …

usheru is a cinema app for booking cinema tickets, exclusive events and complete cinema listings for the UK and Ireland. We guarantee the best price.

usheru's Top 5 most interesting London pop-up outdoor cinemas http://t.co/EEKbiCejd7 Get into it this weekend! pic.twitter.com/jLUqMqJkgV

— usheru – cinema app (@usheruHQ) July 17, 2015

How are you different?

3 things. Its personal to your tastes, we give you first access to content and you can book in 3 clicks.

Its personal: We aim to make cinema as personal as possible. Every film synopsis or trailer you watch in our listings page or cinemas you view will help us understand what you like. When your local cinemas have a special offer for a film you will like in your local cinema, we will let you know. It’s always evolving as your tastes evolve.

Get exclusive access: If someone loves, for example, comic book films and sees a lot with us. We will get you access to preview screenings and premieres. This is great for consumers and helps distributors create a buzz for upcoming films.

Why will the company / product do well?

75% of cinema tickets go unsold. The problem is cinemas and distributors struggle to understand who you are and why you go to see a particular film. usheru personalises cinema for you. We learn what types of films you like and where you like to go to the cinema and then make recommendations for films you could go and see. What’s more we will give you a sweetener for going.

Where are you based, how is the broadband? How long will you stay there?

We are based in StartLocal on Baggot S which we love. Lots of great Irish companies and we are getting great support from the Golden Pages who run StartLocal. They have connections throughout Ireland which really helps. We also have an office in London near Covent Garden. We are part of Telefonica’s incubator in the UK called Wayra which runs until December.

When was the company launched?

We launched in April this year as a beta app.

usheru is having a Latin Love Affair! 25yrs of the London Latin American Film #Festival! pic.twitter.com/5ndW0bcugr

— usheru – cinema app (@usheruHQ) July 17, 2015

What have been your biggest wins to date?

We now have listings for every cinema in the UK and Ireland. We have signed up 30 cinemas to sell tickets for London including Curzon, BFI and Barbican cinemas. We are rolling out to more cinemas every week. We recently got ranked in Europe’s Top 12 Start Ups by the European Union as well as been nominated as UK’s Best Designed Start Up App. Our second launch city will be Dublin later this year.

What type of people are you trying to attract to your product?

Our app is made for guy or girl who goes to the cinema no more than twice a year. Someone who loves film but rarely makes it to the cinema because they have a busy life. They tend to say they want to see some film in the cinema and forget to go. Based on your preferences, we will alert you when films you will love are about to leave the cinema and we will give you some incentive to get you to go before it leaves.

Tell us about your team?

My name is Ollie Fegan and I am CEO. This is my second start up, my first was Temptster, a number one selling restaurant app based in Dublin. My background is in management consultancy. We poached Catherine Downes from Google to head up marketing. She was previously global head of their Adsense Affiliate Program. Andres Macias is our CTO and previously ran Simulty.com and was an early disruptor in the eTravel space. Alex Stolz has joined us from the BFI as our Head of Film. His previous role was as Head of Distribution in the BFI.

What are you long term plans for your product / company?

In the short term, its all about listening and understanding our customers better. In the long term, we will use this experience to rollout operations internationally. We are also piloting working with film distributors on creative ways to get more customers into cinema.

Rumour has it that NBA superstar LeBron James could star in the new Space Jam 2?! Fingers crossed on this one! pic.twitter.com/m7xCEQ7xmy

— usheru – cinema app (@usheruHQ) July 22, 2015

What are your favourite tech gadgets?

My phone(s). I am on planes every week travelling around Europe and to America. My phone is the only constant by my side. To think 10 years ago, we used this little computer to only make phone calls. It now organises my life. I have a Samsung Android (UK) and an iPhone handset (Ireland). The jury is out on which I prefer.

What tech gadgets do you wish you could use to help you?

A teleporter. We have offices in London and Dublin as well as having work commitments in Berlin and Asturias. Having a quicker way to get between locations would be great.