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Idea feedback: Local events aggregator

Finding something to do with my kids over the weekend is a personal pain of mine. It require me to go through many websites ( local news paper, blogs, social media, city website, google!) to find a suitable public local event (free or for fee). And in many cases, I know about those events after the fact. So I am thinking to start a service that will aggregate all events in one location. Since I am searching this info for a personal use, I can share the list in a specific format with anyone who might be interested.

I can start with a simple Instagram page as MVP then expand it to a portal (and even app eventually) for wider reach.

And since the goal is to make money out of this, after the initial period of testing the market, I can get the event host to market their events through my business for specific fee.

The key here is to make it local but it can be expanded horizontally across cities/states while keeping each one of them independent.
I am aware that there are websites for this kind of listing but most of them are passive in nature (even owner have to list their event) while this one is mainly active (I/we search for local public events and list them on behalf of the host).

I would like to know your thoughts about the following:
1- your thoughts in general.
2- can this become a viable business?
3- are you aware of website that does the something similar?

  1. 2

    1- You have monsters like Facebook that lists all the near/popular events... Google himself lists some of those events... And then you have hundreds of popular websites like eventbrite.com owning the search results or even Meetup.com.

    2 - I would say its extremely hard. Even if you get some views its not going to generate any profit... Only if you sell tickets... however big sites like eventbrite.com own that market...

    3 - There is thousands of apps, thousands of other aggregators similar to your idea like eventful.com and MILLIONS of niche websites... Like for example Festivals, Concerts and other Music events, there is no way you can compete against the Music websites to feature music events... And this is just one example...

    I'm really sorry for sounding a little negative but long time ago i also checked this market and the competition back then was already massive... Maybe you can do something related with events if you jump into a really specific niche... Maybe organize some events yourself? Anyway just aggregation its not going to work...

    1. 1

      Thanks for your feedback.
      1- I am aware of those monsters but my beef with them is that they are either passive in nature (like eventbrite) or lake of for format (like facebook groups).

      2- the endgame for me is sponsored content/ad, getting into ticket selling is not a direction i want to take.

      3- you are thinking about big event, my target is the events hosted by your local library or your local park.

      I appreciate your honest feedback and surely will keep the points in mind if i decided to proceed.

      1. 1

        1 - Actually Facebook don't need the groups to access the events, you can do it directly at https://www.facebook.com/events/ And no, not all websites are "passive"...
        2 - Sponsored content only works if you have the views...
        3 - I get it... but again they are using Facebook and niche websites... If you don't find a really specific niche no one will know you exist... Also picking the "small" and "unpopular" events will also work against you because people are not actively searching for those... So no views, and no sponsorships...

        1. 1

          you raise some good point. I did not know about the facebook event page, it looks like it is doing what i had in mind.
          Time to go to the black board and revise.
          Thanks Mate

  2. 1

    1/3. I think this kind of local content is going to be a new trend. I've actually invested in a company that is in this space (WhereByUs).
    2. I do still think there is opportunity for other super niche lists. The instagram idea is solid, I would just say definitely try to get their emails if you can. That will open up doors for advertising. I really like the newsletter model. Pick a niche (Weekend Events For Dads in Toronto), curate the local events in a weekly email, make it highly relevant to that demographic and if you are successful in getting subscribers that are engaging you will absolutely be able to sell local ads. Local companies are dying to reach local customers, it's their only advantage against the Amazons.

    1. 2

      Thanks for the feedback.
      I love the idea of curated newsletter. It might be the next step after proving the market via the Instagram page.
      it will be tricky to see how niche i can go before I test the market.

      1. 1

        No problem, as a dad and soon to be Toronto resident, I'm excited to see how it goes.

        1. 1

          hey, email me when you come. We can go for a drink

  3. 1

    For your area I would try to find email newsletters. A. They might do this already for different types of consumers (Families, developers, Teens, Colleges) and B. If they have an easy to access archive like Mailchimp does... that could be a credible source of info you can scrape and curate from.

    Every locality should have at least 20 sources... and if they dont superserve you... then make it!

    1. 1

      Thanks for your comment.

      The closest thing i found in my local area is a local facebook group/groups. Some of the local news papers provide the ability sign up for news latter however, they wont share that with me.

      I agree with your last sentence, but what might serve me, wont serve others unless the persona of each target is well defined.

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