The Trending IT Startup Model These Days: 'Pre-order Then Production'

Online lecture platform Class101 survey page. Photo by Class101

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Hyewon] As active consumers who prefer products reflecting their individuality and tastes over ready-made goods increase, the IT and startup sectors are embracing the ‘pre-order then produce’ model as a new trend. This approach, which confirms consumer demand first and then produces not only products but also online lectures, product planning, and service development accordingly, significantly reduces failures and opportunity costs, earning praise within the industry.

The online lecture platform ‘Class101’ decides whether to open a course by conducting a demand survey beforehand to see if prospective students want to take the class before producing the lecture content. To date, about 570 courses have been launched using this 100% pre-demand survey method.

Because the response is predicted first and then created, online lectures opened on Class101 are consistently evaluated as successful upon release. This translates into income for the creators conducting the lectures. The average first-month income exceeds 6 million KRW, and the top three creators earn an average annual income of over 160 million KRW. According to Class101, the total cumulative settlement amount for all creators has reached approximately 18 billion KRW.

Lee Seungah, PR team leader at Class101, said, “Since Class101 only offers lectures that consumers want, the satisfaction rate for courses is also very high, exceeding 97%. During the content creation process, the voices of consumers surveyed in advance are actively reflected, resulting in content based on open communication.”

The pre-order then produce model has begun to penetrate even transportation services and the performance market. The shared shuttle mobility startup ‘Moduui Shuttle’ offers a unique service that matches office workers with similar commuting routes to charter bus drivers and vehicles when they post their commuting routes on the website. If a commuting route already exists, users can apply to participate, and if there is no established route from their home to their workplace, they can propose a new route. Currently, about 1,400 members commute across the Seoul metropolitan area during peak hours using 120 charter buses.

The performance planning platform ‘MyMusicTaste’ features a reverse approach compared to agencies that plan and promote concerts first. It predicts actual concert demand based on fan requests to successfully organize performances. Using big data, it forecasts demand factors such as artist selection, expected audience size, anticipated ticket prices, and preferred concert locations to plan events. This provides fans with opportunities to invite their desired celebrities and helps agencies secure stable revenue through pre-demand surveys.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.