Building a Social Network for Collectibles
WorthPoint CEO Will Seippel (left) and members of WorthPoint team
As a self-proclaimed “old guy” who prefers Atlanta to Silicon Valley and a father of 5, including quadruplets (age 11), Will Seippel is not your typical social media CEO.
With around $5 million in the bank from his own pocket and from friends, WorthPoint is not your typical startup.
Worthpoint is an online database and networking site for collectors. Think PBS Antiques Roadshow Meets Wikipedia, Wisdom of Crowds and Long Tail. (There is value all the way down the supply chain because what is somebody’s garbage is another’s treasure.)
In fact, Seippel doesn’t see WorthPoint as “the premier Website for collectibles and antiques.” Instead, Worthpoint is a “data company,” and social media is a way to monetize and manage information.
To Seippel with a 25-year track record of successfully turning around more traditional companies (he came in and helped AirGate PCS boost its stock price from $0.64 to $36), the world of collectibles represents a “data conundrum.” He is working to create more efficiency in the marketplace so that a buyer can find a desired object more directly. He is building a giant taxonomy to organize the vast amount of stuff that humans have created and stored over time.
He hopes to create a legacy to improve the world of collecting – and that world is a $150 billion a year industry. He rejects the idea that the antique business is a dying business.
WorthPoint’s motto: “We are here to help people make money.” It’s particularly ironic that in an age of bits over atoms and the “everything will be free” model that physical objects are commanding record prices.
There are stories like the one where WorthPoint helped a woman sell a painting she found in the trash for $103,000 at a Sotheby’s auction. But Seippel also understands how a lack of knowledge can cost someone dearly.
Seippel tells the heartbreaking story of a woman he knew who regularly struggled to make ends meet. After her mother died, she rented a giant dumpster to cart away the bulk of her mother’s belongings and sadly the means to help her live comfortably for the rest of her life. Among the objects thrown away were highly valuable copies of Ebony Magazine with Martin Luther King on the cover.
Unassuming and grounded, Seippel married his high school sweetheart. He admits he is avid collector, an interest that began in college. He sees WorthPoint as a huge opportunity to attract dissatisfied users who want an alternative to EBay and to auction house giant Sotheby’s that according to Will has no plans to leverage the Web to drive growth.
EBay proved there is a market. The long tail showed there is money to be had in the seemingly obscure; and Wikipedia demonstrated that knowledge can be collective and expertise need not be hierarchical.
And who drives this growth engine – a community of users – growing at a rate of 300 to 400 members a day. It’s a giant data undertaking. With 2 million page views a month and 2 million pages of data, WorthPoint is by Will’s estimate the largest implementer of Drupal, an open source application for building online social networks.
WorthPoint is a global community where registered members can post questions about their collectibles and antiques. According to Seippel, many can pay as much as $500 to $700 for this information on other sites.
It is also a paid service where registered members can get unbiased expert opinion from individuals known as “Worthologists” (ages 11 to 80 plus) that have passed background checks and yearly conflict of interest assessments. It’s a site where there are plans for individuals to earn “WorthPoints” (based on how much people like their answers) and suggest changes to the WorthPoint’s taxonomy on a “semi-wiki.”
WorthPoint’s business model is based on premium subscriptions, advertising, appraisals, and transaction fees. He hopes to be profitable next year.
In addition to making money for collectors and investors, Will wants WorthPoint to help Atlanta tell its technology story. He understands the fear that surrounds many Web based models. He for one turned down California incubators that wanted to fully fund the company. He rejected recommendations to change the name and partner with a younger guy to give the company a more youthful image. He has an East Coast sensibility and wanted to keep his kids in school here in Atlanta.
The idea for WorthPoint came to Will 4 or 5 years ago, but the company was actually started last year at George Mason University in Virginia where he was vice chair of the business school. He could have kept the business there near the Dulles-Reston high tech corrider, but he was drawn to the Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC) in midtown Atlanta. He was attracted to the feeling of community of entrepreneurs it fosters and the spirit of giving back.
In chronicling Atlanta’s social media efforts, I have talked to some really talented individuals who have been drawn to Silicon Valley. They are smart, young and ambitious. At 51, Will is at least two of those things.
Candidly, I was drawn to his vision that sees a world of dusty objects in closets, garages, attics and prized possessions on living room mantels through the prism of web 2.0. Hopefully, his track record and ability to embrace a fresh way of thinking will spark executives of all ages to reassess antiquated ways of doing business.
Let me get back to you.
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