Precision Proco is hoping to tap into the creator economy by taking on a start up technology developed as an incubator by HP.
Found.us enables self publishers to link to print output for books with the software taking care of the entire transaction, including print on demand and shipping. The application was part of HP’s Custom Content Technology group which is being wound up as a non core operation. Precision Proco has agreed a deal to continue Found.us under licence from HP. “It’s about disrupting the traditional publishing industry,” says Precision Proco CEO Gary Peeling. “It allows creators and influencers to create and publish a book making it easy to write and easy to produce for them.”
The pilot project was focused on cookery where an influencer can build an audience of thousands and millions ready to buy books and more from the influencer they follow. A US food blogger, Kimmy’s Kreations, has sold more than 7,000 books in four months from an online following of 4.4 million across Instagram and TikTok.
“The software allows these folks to create and sell a book printed on demand,” says Peeling. This mitigates the risk of printing books and shipping from home as the books are only printed when sold and the author receives a set proportion of the sale. “This is below the threshold where a traditional publisher would be interested,” he says. “We create the book for the customer and provide the platform for the transaction. HP developed the technology to the proof of concept stage, but then considered it non core, so we are looking to take it on.
“The creator economy is valued at $100 billion currently and is forecast to grow ten times in the next three or four years. Many influencers have a large and loyal following that they can monetise through purchasing books and then other merchandise, perhaps branded clothing.
“We will expand to provide these creators where we can create the product for them. This might be a photographer who wants a handful of books to sell at a craft or artisan fair as well as through the online presence.”
It will take off if the application is simple and easy to use for non experienced designers and publishers. It will allow easy upgrades so that the creators can keep their content fresh, he adds. “We want to support and nurture the creators to make it easy for them to publish without having to invest in inventory. And because of the way the model works we can guarantee the revenue share of any sale.”
“By creating an end to end publishing experience, our technology enables these amazing rockstar content owners to enjoy a greater share of the book revenues, compared to traditional publishing where the author receives only a fraction of the proceeds,” says new business incubation director at Found.us Nigel Watson. “Personalised books with variable content can be produced quickly and delivered directly to their audiences. We are bringing online ideas to life and connecting the digital and physical worlds.”
