This Week's Startup - Frograms
Frograms <Watcha>
Yes, We are "Crazy"- Frograms
"We believe that best company is where you have best co-workers. We always try to be best co-workers to each other. We are fun and happy and we make amazing products." That's all about their company presentation on their official website. Frograms, unlike other traditional Korean companies, focuses on the efficiency and quality of the work rather than working-attitudes.
What Frograms believes
Amazing Products
Good products seems not good enough for them. Frograms aims to provide only "Amazing Products" beyond good products. To achieve this, Frograms is ready to going through whatever it takes. One of the beliefs Frograms have to achieve their goal, is people who fall in love with what they do. Frograms team members are saying they are crazy about what they do now like a dog chasing after a tennis ball.
Team Play
Frograms's team building is very interesting to talk about. Koreans take a serious consideration of how they are being called like young people have to use esteemed title for the elder. Yet, Frograms does not use any organizational titles instead, everybody calls each other however they want. Mostly, they call each other brothers and sisters lessening the stress of the work environment and build strong intimacy in the team.
When it comes to a project, if the project manager is confirmed, everyone respects the project manager's decision by giving him/her full responsibility and trust.
"There are too many movies out there you are missing out"- Watcha!
Frograms released its Watcha service since August last year and became the #1 movie recommendation engine in S. Korea to date. Watcha let you rate movies in minimum of 20 movies to determine which films you want to watch next. After all, you get a huge list of movies you might like to watch based on your previous movie preferences..
If previous movie recommendation engines were only showing the general movie ratings from all different people, Watcha focuses on "you" the "Individuals".
Watcha is now serviced through Web, iOS and Android.
We are growing!
Naver (네이버), the biggest search engine in S. Korea has numbered around 4.5milion movie reviews followed by Daum (다음) 1.1milion reviews. Watcha already became a leader by having 5milion reviews in January, 10milion in May and 20milion to date.
From this April, Frograms' Watcha has started cooperation with Google Korea. Cooperation service includes Watcha's movie reviews when a google user searches a film.
Watcha, as a free movie recommendation service, does not make any profits still. However, by using its popularity it will most likely get commissions by providing "movie playing service" to allow people watch directly movies recommended on Watcha. Also, their business model can be extended to books, and dramas.