Public figures--be they artists, athletes, gamers, or celebrities--have a treasure trove of information at their disposal, numbers from nearly a dozen sources that chronicle everything from reach to income streams. Brands and companies, seeking a way out of the choke hold of platforms and programmatic ads, want to access audiences with verified interests and predictable engagement levels.

What unites them is data and a need to learn how to wield it. Quantified Culture, a Philadelphia and Los Angeles-based company bringing together veteran programmers, data scientists, and entertainment professionals, crafts AI-driven software products, advises on legal matters related to the data rights of Influencers, and offers a powerful toolkit to visualize and understand their data. It’s designed to help influencers, entertainers and athletes get a handle on where their income is coming from, how to maximize those opportunities, and discover corporate partners.  

“Our goal at QC is not necessarily to introduce new tools into the market, but to actually work with managers who increasingly want in-house data science teams to better use the tools already available,” says Investor and Chairman  Jon Gosier. We feel every entertainer, and definitely their managers, can benefit from more data-driven expertise in-house. QC offers services that help them better understand their world.  Sometimes it takes hands-on support. Nothing about working with all these data sets is ‘set-it-and-forget-it’.”

Data can inform after the fact, letting a marketing or management team know what’s working and what’s not. “We combine all the data coming off these various platforms, like Instagram,Twitch, YouTube, even the cash flowcashflow statements, into one handy dashboard,” explains Gosier, who has been applying data science to the challenges of healthcare and entertainment for more than a decade. “We correlate these trends with news items or other happenings that shed light on, say, why sales spiked in a certain week...or where conversions are coming from. This makes it far simpler to grasp what’s been effective and why -- and what the effect was. We use our artificial intelligence models to ‘learn’ from the past to better anticipate future audience trends.”

And, thanks to AI’s ability to synthesize large and diverse data sets, QC can suggest possible future outcomes, giving a team focus among myriad possibilities. “We take historic patterns in audience engagement and revenue, for example, and offer insights that can help clients time a campaign optimally on social media, or figure out when it makes the most sense to unveil that new release or initiative,” Gosier notes.

“For instance, how did a basketball player’s last game, big endorsement, and most recent social media posts all add up to benefit or hurt his or her merchandise sales? Knowing this helps both the athlete and their team make smarter marketing decisions.”

In addition to insights, Quantified Culture can give rapid response legal advice to teams on content and other related matters. This instant access helps resolve thorny problems fast, before any opportunities are missed. Legal counsel is being provided by Jordan Rosenberg, Esq. and Simon Rosen, Esq. of the Law Office of Simon Rosen. Their legal team has over 30 years of experience and has provided many artists and entertainers with counsel around intellectual property, contractual negotiations, and related litigation for record deals, film distribution and ownership of rights. Their intricate understanding of the entertainment business and media landscape will help provide clients with advice on how to both protect and develop their brands. “Quantified Culture enables clients to better understand what new technologies can offer and how to maximize their ownership of communications with their audience,” explains Jordan Rosenberg.

“A big part of the new data economy is understanding all the nuance around legality and ownership of new data rights. It’s almost even more important than the technology. That’s why Jordan and his firm were the perfect group to collaborate with on this,” says Gosier.

On an unlikely street in Philly, Southbox is building a haven for business startups. Part fund, part studio, it aims to go beyond co-working or accelerator, incubating and building new ventures in the medical, entertainment, and other tech fields.

Southbox is hosting a small preview of their activities at a meet-and-greet happy hour on May 22, 2017. To RSVP and get more information, click here.

Multi-industry entrepreneur, investor, and data scientist Jon Gosier is the driving force behind the endeavor. “The idea for Southbox came because over the years I’ve realized I’m good at connecting the dots, pulling the right individuals together to form fast-growing companies that can be successful even after I work myself out,” Gosier explains. “I’ve done this successfully more than a few times with companies that have gone on to be really successful.”

Startups often need the same things in the first few months of their existence, from an office to administrative support. Gosier knew this all too well. He had been through the startup process countless times, from multiple perspectives. “As a fund manager and VC, I started to notice that most startups spend the first 6 months to a year of their lives trying to solve for the same things: getting investors, closing customers, hiring talent, administrative staff, office space, utilities, learning best practices, lead generation etc.  This is what I call the ‘trough of starting’, the lowest most painful point of a startup's life where each mistake is existential and early wins seem far between. It’s a take on the ‘trough of sorrow’ investor Fred Wilson often references.”

“Southbox companies are not always traditional tech startups. Some are focused on making money the old-fashioned way (versus raising money from VCs). As a result, we have many deal structures: equity-based, debt-based, revenue share or a combination of the three,” Gosier notes. “There is no cookie-cutter approach for us. Some of our ventures are not even located in Philly and are only using the Southbox office for an address, or are remotely using our software developers and other resources.” Some of the ventures at Southbox may also count Southbox staff as co-founders (Wounds A.I.) or advisors (Red Queen Gaming). 

Southbox is launching with 8 startups in its portfolio: Wounds A.I. (which uses machine learning to improve medical imaging and chronic wound care), Garvey Labs (a political data gathering company), TimeStamp (a mobile time-tracking app for nurses), Paramount Health (a home-healthcare service from Boston expanding to Philly), Quantified Culture (A.I. assisted talent management for influencers, musicians and entertainers), PhillyNext (a location-based event and venue discovery mobile app), Red Queen Gaming (which enhances video games with automated scripts), and CrashSpot (app-based micro-rentals of residential spaces in 15 minute blocks for people who are traveling and need a place to rest, change clothes, have meetings or nap). 

“My leadership style is very team centric. It has felt very intimidating and unaffordable to build a team that can help me move from concept to revenue generating business,” says CrashSpot founder Chantelle Bateman. “Southbox has become my squad! I’m learning from entrepreneurs at varying stages in their growth and having access to such well vetted resources has eased a lot of my anxiety.”

Philly has become a hotspot for tech and venture capital, especially in the medical and biotech space, notes Roshini Thinakaran of Wounds A.I., which is focusing its efforts on the global problem of wound care and patient management via new data and AI-driven tools for clinicians. Southbox’s model adds to this existing environment, creating the conditions for businesses like hers to thrive. “My background is in real estate and finance. When Jon  told me about Southbox, I really understood the concept,” Thinakaran says. “It was a model that I had considered with some investors. It’s shaping up to be a supportive environment.”

In creating a supportive, welcoming environment for non-traditional entrepreneurs and seasoned startup veterans alike, Gosier thought hard about where to locate Southbox. “Initiatives here related to startup investing are usually in metropolitan areas which are unquestionably gentrified, or off in the suburbs. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it doesn’t help with outreach to underrepresented communities,” reflects Gosier. “We feel our location helps keep South Philly a part of Philly’s tech success story and gives difference voices the chance to get involved.”

Websites:
southbox.io
redqueen.us
wounds.ai
myparamounthealthcare.com
quantifiedculture.com