5 Questions with LittleCast’s Founder & CEO Amra Tareen -- My Exclusive Q&A

Today, I start my new column -- “5 Questions With ....” -- and in it, I will ask the same five questions of founders, CEOs and other top execs from digital media and technology companies that I have come to know and find to be of interest (and, as a result, hopefully interesting to you).  Each of these companies pass my “MUST CHECK OUT” test based on my own personal early diligence.  Importantly, this Q&A is exclusive to my blog -- this is a all fresh content.  So, my hope is that you will gain new insights by reading them.  Further, I want to keep the insights “pure” -- meaning that the answers come directly from the executive (and have not been altered in any substantive way).

For my inaugural column, I have chosen founder and CEO Amra Tareen of LittleCast, a cool new company that gives video producers (think comedians, physical fitness gurus, etc.) a new direct distribution path to monetize their own content online and on their own terms.  Amra is great -- passionate about LittleCast’s mission (an absolute “must” for me with any founder/CEO).  And, my own company, Manatt Digital Media Ventures, believes in her and her company’s mission -- so much so that we recently invested.

So, on with the questions:

(1) What is the reason your company exists (and what problem(s) are you looking to solve)?

We're here to help content producers sell their works where their audience already is: on facebook and their mobile phones. We take content marketing to the next level and encourage producers to make money from their content.  We don't agree with the notion that producers have to spend money creating content to engage their audience.  The content does that.  We're here to help them make a living from their passions. 

(2) How are you different from your competitors?

My competitors believe in having established brands and destination sites. LittleCast believes in the publisher’s or producer's brand and not diluting that.  You'll never see us ask a producer to drive their traffic to someone else's site.  We give producers the tools to make the most of what they have.  Our commerce video player can be embedded on their properties like their facebook page, website or blog.  They don't have to tackle additional burdens of promoting  content and pushing their audience to someone else's property.  Another differentiator is our personalization and discovery abilities.  These are difficult propositions for video, YouTube hasn't figured this out yet.  But, people you follow and like probably know what you like, so LittleCast makes it easy to discover and participate in the conversations around content your network is engaging with at any time. 

(3) Why will you succeed (and what is your single most important ingredient for success)?

In a word?  Experience.  We have started companies before!  We know the market is going mobile, embracing paid content, integrating social with real peer-to-peer commerce and watching more video than ever before on every type of device.  Our job is to execute well. We have to execute and hang in there until the product and solution becomes obvious to everyone.  We can't predict market timing (although we believe we're in the right place at the right time) but we have the stamina to make LittleCast a success. First-time entrepreneurs fail to recognize how much of a marathon a start up really is--this is not a sprint. We've done this before and know what it takes to succeed!

(4) What makes you unique (and what do you enjoy most outside of building your business)?

I'm a product of my upbringing, which was very global.  That, and my long-term perspective, empathy and a deep longing to change the world around me!  I also love the sound of the ocean and simple things in life: my family and friends.  These keep me grounded and very focused. 

(5) What digital media trend is most interesting to you (and what is the least)?

Without a doubt it's paid content. I believe people should make money from their efforts regardless of which industry they are from: journalism or other types of media.  If you put effort into creating content, you need to be paid for it.  Period. You deserve to make a living from you creative pursuits.