StartUp Monday: Minly - The Ultimate Platform for Connecting with Your Favourite Celebrities

STARTUP MONDAY

Editor’s Note

Hey there African Entrepreneur!

We are in a hustler’s economy. No doubt about that!

Well, we don’t really call it that, do we? It is more formally identified as passion or creator economy.

So what is a creator or passion economy?

The passion economy is an economy built around “creators with a purpose” -people who are powerfully motivated to start a brand, business, or community, usually on digital platforms, around a shared passion.

This very newsletter and blog are examples of this type of economy.

Some of the most popular creator platforms are YouTube, Thinkific, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, OnlyFans, and Substack. And Beehiiv of course: the platform which hosts our newsletter.

Globally, there are more than 300 million total creators and 50 million plus creators and influencers who monetize courses, vlogs, blogs, subscriptions, memberships and products across multiple platforms.

The whole creator economy is valued at over USD 100 billion. Pretty lucrative, isn’t it?

Today we have for you an Egyptian startup that is revolutionizing business communications by connecting creators with thousands of celebrities to help grow their businesses.

I strongly believe today’s startup will show you that not every idea needs to be sophisticated. It’s also something you can either utilize to grow your business or replicate in different parts of Africa.

What is your hustle, what are you creating?

Be inspired and happy hustlin’

STARTUP OF THE WEEK: MINLY

Startup Spotlight

Imagine being able to get a personalized video message and a shoutout from your favourite celebrities. Or maybe attend a live online event with them and interact in real-time!

Those are the offerings by Minly.

Minly makes impossible connections possible. It helps bridge the gap between celebrities and their fans. Fans get access to unforgettable authentic and intimate experiences. These experiences include personalized video messages, voice notes, direct messages and live interaction.

There is a very impressive list of regional celebrities on the platform. These mostly include tier-A actors, singers, athletes, influencers, and more.

Founded in 2020, Minly has seen massive organic growth, with currently more than 50,000 registered users on the platform.

Celebrities can share their stories, passions, and talents with their fans and create a loyal and supportive community. They can also earn money from their fan base and support causes they care about. Minly is a win-win situation for both fans and celebrities.

The journey for Minly is just starting. In 2021 it closed an oversubscribed USD 3.6 million seed round, amid expectations to extend its products and services to become a full-stack passion economy platform.

According to their website, Minly enables the spread of positivity from a celebrity to their fans.

It also has an awesome feature, Minly Live which is an online interactive experience that enables virtually anyone to attend online events from anywhere in the world. The events are performed live by celebrities.

Founder Spotlight

A quick web search identifies the founders of Minly as Mohamed El-Shinnawy, Khaled Zaki, Kamal Nazha, Tarek Hosny, and Bassel El-Toukhy, with industry partners such as Tarek ElGanainy and Ahmed Abbas.

Minly’s team brings together decades of experience from top firms in technology and entertainment, including Uber, Careem, MBC’s Shahid, Emerge Technology, Microsoft, Disney, Apple, Netflix, IBM, Amazon, and Vodafone.

Khaled Zaki has diverse work experience starting with his most recent role as co-founder and CEO of Minly, a position he has held since July 2022. Before that, he co-founded Ripple Egypt in 2016 and served as its CEO until June 2022. Prior to his entrepreneurial ventures, Zaki gained experience in various roles at Vodafone.

Tarek is a veteran leader, who is passionate about marketing, strategy, media & entrepreneurship.

Shinnawy brings more than 15 years of media and technology experience to the table. He sold his first company Emerge Technology to a media and entertainment company based in Los Angeles. He also managed a team of 85 engineers that delivered work for Hollywood’s top studios, such as Sony Pictures Entertainment, Universal, Disney, Fox, and Warner Brothers. Shinnawy played an instrumental role in Apple TV+, Disney+, and Netflix’s global expansion to reach hundreds of millions of users worldwide.

Board Members: Peter Orth, Mohamed Shawky, and Omar Barakat.

Minly has 17 listed investors which include 4DX Ventures, Global Ventures (Dubai) and B&Y Venture Partners.

Our Analysis

As of 2018, there were almost 600 million people in the MENA region. One out of three are between the ages of 18 to 30. This demographic group has a deep connection to social media and is fast contributing more to the global creator economy. Hence Minly is strategically positioned to optimise its solution to capture a budding audience.

Technology

Minly uses various web technologies to create and deliver its services. From a visual check and analysis of the website, Minly offers the following features:

• A platform that enables celebrities to create and send personalized video messages, shoutouts, and live calls to their fans.

• A dashboard that allows celebrities to manage their requests, pricing, availability, and earnings.

• A marketplace that allows fans to browse and purchase experiences from their favourite celebrities.

• A mobile app that allows fans to receive and share their experiences with their friends and family.

• A world-class audience analytics and insights tool that helps celebrities and businesses find the best match for their target audience and budget.

• A business solution that helps brands and organizations leverage the power of celebrity endorsements and influencer marketing.

Minly's website uses core web technology tools, such as CMS, framework, SSL, and others. It also has a social media presence on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

Prospects

We believe the competitive advantage of Minly lies in its unique value proposition of connecting celebrities and fans through personalized experiences. This creates a strong emotional bond and loyalty. It is also a cornerstone of many successful global enterprises.

Minly has raised a total of USD 3.6 million in seed funding from various investors, such as 4DX Ventures, Anthony Saleh, and Arieh Mimran. Good money attracts good money!

There are hundreds of celebrities on its platform who have collectively helped create thousands of experiences for fans across the Middle East and North Africa region. Who doesn’t want a tailored celebrity experience? We all are potential customers so the global appeal is unprecedented.

For those reasons and more - much more, the prospects appear to be very exciting.

It can not be emphasized enough that the market of digital entertainment and social media in which Minly operates has been growing by leaps and bounds. To quote a report by Statista, “the global social media revenue is expected to reach $102.6 billion by 2023, with a compound annual growth rate of 10.5% from 2018 to 2023.”

Moreover, as highlighted earlier on, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region has a large and young population, with a voracious and insatiable appetite for online content and entertainment.

Additionally, a report by Arab News, notes that the region has over 400 million internet users, and over 200 million social media users, with an average of 3.5 hours spent on social media per day. In all honesty, this is a market you’d want to tap into too if you were a tech-savvy entrepreneur. The figures are mouth-watering.

Further, Minly benefits from its network effects. As more celebrities and fans join the platform, more value and opportunities are created for both sides. Win-Win situation!

As a last point, it is prudent to note that Minly faces some challenges. Some of them include but are not limited to, maintaining the quality and authenticity of its experiences, ensuring the security and privacy of its users, and expanding its reach and awareness beyond the MENA region.

AND THAT’S A WRAP