eLfy Pins founded Supermiro, an online event discovery platform that finds all the events going on around you in real time. In the span of just a year and a half, it has become a must-use platform. The startup has convinced a wide range of partners to integrate Supermiro into their website or intranet, and many of Luxembourg’s tier one advertisers are paying customers. Following the success of the full-scale test in Luxembourg – and the word-of-mouth buzz it has generated – Supermiro is targeting Brussels and Paris next as it continues in its quest to rollout across all of the large European cities. What super growth!
(Featured Image: eLfy Pins / Image Credit: Olivier Minaire)
Please describe Supermiro to all of our readers.
How many times do you tell yourself “I’d love to go out and do something cool nearby, but I don’t really know what to do”?
Eighty percent of the people in the 20-49 age group are looking online for events to go to at least once a week, but 70% of them give up or just go to the usual places after an unsuccessful search on the Internet. They find today’s online event-finding solutions “messy and boring.”
Supermiro uses a subtle mix of technology and handcrafted design to make event discovery simple and fun. We have developed a solution to shake things up and get people out there, to boost their mood, and also boost local businesses. Life is too short to be bored!
Six months after the launch we had already built a community of 10,000 addicted fans in Luxembourg, without paid advertising, generating great word-of-mouth buzz for Supermiro and driving passion around the brand.
How did the launch go?
How did you get the message out? Our target market is all of Europe but we decided to test market the product in Luxembourg. We launched our minimum viable product Supermiro.com in 2015 and quickly realized how viral the product was. We pitched the project to friends who loved the product and they recommended Supermiro to their friends, who then recommended it to their own friends… the number of referrals was crazy! Six months after the launch we had already built a community of 10,000 addicted fans in Luxembourg, without paid advertising, generating great word-of-mouth buzz for Supermiro and driving passion around the brand. Even Prime Minister Xavier Bettel encouraged us on Facebook!
What are the results of your test market in Luxembourg?
Without disclosing sensitive data, we can tell you that today we have 120,000 page views per month and our market penetration in Luxembourg is way above our early expectations. Another key metric for us is that 85% of existing users and 65% of paying customers told us they would be very disappointed if they could no longer use Supermiro. Our market test in Luxembourg has been a big success for the team. Now it’s time for us to expand abroad.
The response from the market has been extremely positive. In one year we have converted 20+ top advertisers into paying customers.
Have you established partnerships?
Right from the start of the project we managed to get the attention of big players. We have developed strategic partnerships to integrate Supermiro on the RTL website and on the intranet of large companies in order to get visibility and referral traffic. As we continue to grow and build credibility around Supermiro, we look forward to landing bigger partnerships to make us better, faster and stronger.
Do you already generate revenue?
Yes, we do! Event organizers can have their events listed for free on Supermiro, and then they can buy boosters ata minimum of€150 each in order to increase visibility of their events. Soon they will be able to unlock additional business features by paying a monthly subscription, starting from €100 per month.
We also sell highly differentiated ad formats to advertisers. We have tested a unique concept where ads are illustrated and fully integrated in the Supermiro experience. The response from the market has been extremely positive. In one year we have converted 20+ top advertisers into paying customers.
The algorithm we developed– the SuperAlgo͟– is able to automagically aggregate 500 events in five minutes from hundreds of sources on the web.
Tell us more about your advertising concept.
We believe we do advertising like no one else in the market does. Our value proposition to advertisers is to associate their brands with the tone and charm of Supermiro to make ads more engaging and more impactful. In pilot tests we organized with advertisers, the advertisers measured up to 10 times higher click-through rates than with traditional ads in other media. Ads on Supermiro are fun and non-intrusive. It’s a win-win situation with happy users and happy advertisers. And in a display advertising world where ad blockers continue to grow and pose a big problem, we trust we have built a good solution.
How many events do you show on Supermiro and how do you collect all these events?
On Supermiro, each week, we show 300 to 500 events happening in Luxembourg. The algorithm we developed– the SuperAlgo͟– is able to automagically aggregate 500 events in five minutes from hundreds of sources on the web, ensuring the variety of our content. We also make sure our content is easy to read so that users immediately understand an event at first glance.
We self-funded the development of the platform, and then our sales allowed us to bootstrap the test phase in Luxembourg and achieve product/market fit.
Your success is also due to your unique graphic design. Where does it come from?
I find the web cold, formatted, and somewhat boring. We created Supermiro to put a smile on people’s faces. This is a critical part of Supermiro’s DNA. We make funny and charming illustrations in order to create a feel-good atmosphere and give the site a local touch. Visit our website and you’ll see that it’s fun and it looks like it’s made in your city. This is Supermiro’s secret sauce for building authentic relationships with the local community.
How are you funded?
We self-funded the development of the platform, and then our sales allowed us to bootstrap the test phase in Luxembourg and achieve product/market fit. Users and B2B customers regularly tell us how much they love the product.
The end game is to cover Europe and become the ultimate personal assistant to inspire and organize the social life of millions of people.
What are the next steps for Supermiro?
Brussels is the perfect market to start duplicating the operations plan that we have built in Luxembourg. We’ve measured similar customer needs over there and primary competitors do not stand out. Right after that, we’ll look toward Paris and a rollout throughout France. The end game is to cover Europe and become the ultimate personal assistant to inspire and organize the social life of millions of people.
We heard you are launching a new product this month?
Indeed! We’ve just launched our SuperNotifs, an email notification service to help you discover the most exciting upcoming events around. The more you use the service, the better customized it will get. You will never miss your favorite events again!
We are currently measuring the impact of this new feature, but already expect our page views to quickly jump to 500,000 per month, in Luxembourg alone.
The more you use the service, the better customized it will get thanks to our recommendation algorithm.
This article was first published in SILICON
