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Clubhouse founder: “We grew too fast”

In front The founders of Clubhouse are not afraid of Facebook, Twitter or Spotify. (Photo: Shutterstock)

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Paul Davison and Rohan Seth are the inventors of Clubhouse. You want to build a “different type of network” with your social audio app and now you want to take your time. They are not afraid of Facebook, Twitter or Spotify.

The frame is stylish. The conversation with the founders Paul Davison and Rohan Seth takes place at Clubhouse, of course, but in a private room. Davison and Seth are in a good mood, or at least that’s what they convey. And they like to talk about their baby, which has made quite an impact on the digital market worldwide. After all, with their social audio app Clubhouse, the two founders ensured that virtually all established networks chased the developers on extra shifts in order to set up a similar offer. There are now more or less public Twitter Spaces, Reddit Talk, Facebook’s hotline and, as the latest addition, Greenroom from Spotify

The difference? Full focus on audio

Much enemy, much honor, much fear? Apparently not with the clubhouse makers. For example, the launch of Spotify’s Greenroom simply means “nothing” for Clubhouse. They are not at all surprised by the audio offensive on the other platforms. Davison and Seth are relaxed about the matter, themselves and what they offer have an advantage in many areas. On the one hand, the Clubhouse founders believe that there is enough space for several platforms, on the other hand it makes a difference whether you also do audio or whether the topic is completely in focus, as with Clubhouse. Last but not least, they want to create a different type of network. Clubhouse is not built around advertising, but around the creators on the platform, explains Paul Davison in a very friendly tone. The message behind it can, however, be understood as a tip against Facebook, for example.

The founders counter the impression, which is often shared in the media, that the run on clubhouse is long over, with a lot of enthusiasm and a certain amount of transparency. Davison and Seth openly admit that they were surprised and overwhelmed by the run on their app. “We grew way too fast,” says Davison, looking back. That applies to both the infrastructure and the team itself. Last year the clubhouse team did not even consist of ten people.

“Product and Community first”

In the past few months, growth has therefore not been the focus. Instead, the focus was on infrastructure – from a technical point of view and with a view to the team – and product development. “For us, product and community come first,” says Davison. Only then are you ready for great growth. There is already a relatively specific plan for this. Clubhouse wants to be ready by the end of summer. Then the at least officially applicable invitation hurdle should also fall. Even if the days when clubhouse invites were traded on Ebay are definitely over, the app is not yet freely available on iOS or Android.

By then there should also be a team that takes care of the marketing of the platform. There is a lot to do, Davison admits and adds with a laugh: “So far we don’t even have a real logo.”

In the long term, of course, the business model is likely to be even more important than the logo. Here, too, there is still some need for development. It seems clear, however, that it will not be an ad-supported model. Instead, everything points to a variant with revenue share. That would also go well with the focus on creators, which the clubhouse founders emphasized several times. This should be able to offer its listeners subscription offers or the possibility of tipping and direct payment. According to their own statement, Davison and Seth do not yet know exactly in which way the clubhouse wants to benefit from it.

Business model is still in progress

One thing is clear: if creators are to be successful, then they need an audience and they have to be found. The latter is not so natural when, as Seth describes, there are now tens of thousands of rooms at Clubhouse. That is why the subject of discovery is the absolute focus of product development. Navigating through the rooms and making the right recommendations are crucial points, explains Seth.

Of course, the sheer number of users is also essential. Clubhouse does not want to come out with very specific figures for the German-speaking area any more than with detailed growth figures. Davison only says this much: In the past few weeks, Clubhouse has booked six million new users. But growth should really start again when the platform is “available to everyone in the world”. Davison wants to leave no doubt about one thing: “Clubhouse is a long-term project”. Obviously, it doesn’t matter who comes around the corner next with a competing offer.

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Sallie Anderson
Sallie Anderson
Sallie works as the Writer at World Weekly News. She likes to write about the latest trends going on in our world and share it with our readers.

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