Elizabeth Aris a former Telstra Executive responsible for Strategy and heading up two business units made the move to the US from Australia in 2013 with an idea and a bunch of Powerpoint Slides. Read more to find out about her journey.
Tell us about MOSH and what inspired you to come to the USA.
MOSH. is a digital platform purpose built for Brands to engage with their customers / fans / audience by sharing any form of content – video, live stream, words, pics, podcasts, magazines etc, have a social interaction and gain detailed customer data, to monetize their customer base. It overcomes the serious limitations of existing social platforms and traditional marketing.
I moved to the USA to start MOSH. I stopped in San Francisco for the first few weeks but people I spoke with didn’t really understand the concept. I made a few trips to NYC and almost everyone I spoke to understood it completely. I guess it is the major market for media, brands, agencies etc so in hindsight it makes sense. I found investors here, built the platform, launched it, found brands to use it and are now building the traffic. We are doubling traffic each month.
What has been your ‘Ah Ha’ / ‘I’ve made it in the USA moment’
I haven’t had it yet, but doubling traffic each month tells me we are on the right track.
What have been the hardest lessons in starting a business in New York and how does it differ to Australia?
I moved here without a network or any support and found people here to be incredibly supportive and willing to take a risk. I tried to raise seed capital in Australia and despite having a broad network, couldn’t get off the ground. The lesson is in NYC you have to get out there and meet people and you never know where help will come from.
Where have you been most successful in marketing your business?
MOSH. is purpose built for Brands to engage and monetize their customers, and we work closely with them to build traffic and engagement. They promote MOSH. in a range of different ways depending on how they can best communicate. We have a wide range of Brands on MOSH. like former CNN News Anchor Rick Sanchez who posts content to MOSH. and then tweets about it as he has a large twitter following. He does it because he is limited to 140 characters on Twitter but there are no content limits on MOSH. including video which he posts every week exclusively to MOSH. And he knows he gets all of the customer data so he can use that for many other marketing purposes.
Photo: Rick Sanchez
Other Brands like Ms Beautyphile, aka Trina Espinoza, has 2M YouTube followers, but again, no one ever make any money on YouTube and she understands that to build her brand she needs to get the customer data.
Other Brands are travel bloggers, Sports publishers, Music Artists and Merchandise companies, Playwrights, video series and soon to the TV show Justice Woman (think an edgier Dora the Explorer), Artist Peter Eastman, Not for Profits, Professional Organizations and more. The platform is as varied as the Brands that use it.
Photo: Ms Beautyphile
We also use other social platforms to promote MOSH., ironically. It serves us and the Brands on MOSH. very well. We have world class expertise at both paid and organic social media and know how to drive strong traffic at a very low cost. This is something the Brand’s on MOSH. appreciate and most don’t know how these platforms really work, so we get a lot of stories of Brands trying Facebook advertising for example, and running up unexpectedly large bills. We don’t have those problems.
Do you have any mentors, and how have people been with sharing information and their networks?
My mentor is my Chairman, Sol Trujillo. I have worked for him for around a decade now on a range of projects and deals, since time as an executive at Telstra. He is a visionary who values innovation and sees opportunity and knows how to go after it.
People here are amazing at sharing their networks. I have had friends proactively call or email other people they know asking them to meet or help me without my even knowing about it. That level of support from friends is not uncommon in NYC and it is of course invaluable.
What advice would you give someone thinking about starting a business?
Have a really strong POV on what your business is and how you will put it in to practice, and then just try stuff. You never know exactly what will work and what won’t but try things out at a small scale until you figure out the formula.
What is next for MOSH?
More Brands signing up to use MOSH. more people coming to engage with the Brands, more interesting content from Brands. Lots more growth – I hope!
Is there anything else you’d like to say here?
Come and sign up at MOSH.US and follow your favorite Brands. If you have a Brand or a business and would like to use MOSH. find out more at MOSH.US/Why-MOSH/
Do you have an offer or promo code you would like to share with AWNY members?
MOSH. is offering Special Introductory Pricing right now. Find out more at MOSH.US/Why-MOSH/
Follow MOSH on social media to keep up to date with this wonderful business.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MOSH.US/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MOSHUS1
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mosh.us/
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