Having Fun At The Cusp Of Technology And Entertainment: Phunware CEO Alan Knitowski (Part 3)

Sramana: Who were the early adopters of your technology, and how did you gain traction during your first few years?

Alan Knitowski: The trigger point for us was when we won the Myth Busters opportunity with Discovery Communications. That was our first large marquee brand. We competed head to head with Digital Chocolate, Electronic Arts, and JAMDAT. The original premise of the Discovery RFP was for a Myth Busters game. We took a risky approach to answering that RFP and answered outside of the original scope; however, we felt that if we answered only in terms of gaming, we would not compete as well. We gave them a proposal based on what we felt they actually needed instead of what they asked for.

They asked for games and we did propose three casual games for the Myth Busters mobile environment based on episodes of the show. We then added the rest of our mobile branded framework so that it featured ‘what is hot now,’ all of the social community aspects, the gaming, all of the media tied to the show, including programming information, and shopping for digital episodes via iTunes as well as physical merchandise. When we made that pitch, we were unaware that Apple had contacted Discovery and encouraged them to think beyond a simple mobile game. In that light our proposal was on a different level from all of the other proposals, and it became the basis on which we won our first deal with Discovery and Myth Busters.

It went so well that when it was launched we got a lot of press. The media described it as the best mobile companion to TV ever created. Apple showcased it as their featured application worldwide for a week. It went so well and got so much notice that we were launched into the entertainment vertical. Simultaneously, it got us on the radar at Apple.

From there we were invited to receive the iPad hardware before it went live, which was a defining moment in the history of our company. We were able to get access to the iPad hardware before anyone else. We had to go to a building on the East Coast where it was chained to a desk. They locked doors and put in white noise makers. They cancelled cleaning service for six weeks. We crafted a Myth Busters experience for the iPad. We completely re-imagined it, and did something that had never been seen before. The day the iPad went live we launched four applications, which was the most of any company in the world that launched with the iPad. That really showcased our experience to our audiences.

After that we were viewed as the company that built premium applications. If you wanted to make a Ferrari in the apps world, we became the go-to shop. We had the most immersive experiences that challenged the resolution and processing power of these brand-new devices. That really became the basis on which we built our business.

This segment is part 3 in the series : Having Fun At The Cusp Of Technology And Entertainment: Phunware CEO Alan Knitowski
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