Showman-- A Digital Signage Platform

Wordpress.com for digital signs.

The platform makes it easy to setup and create interactive and engaging displays without the need for huge development or IT staff.  Their goal is to make the whole process of finding your location through a facility or plant easy and painless and was designed with non-tech users in mind.

Dennis Smolek and Tucker McCormack of Showman are both from the Texas Hill country, Austin and Fredericksburg respectively. Dennis has a degree  in Visual Communication from UT Arlington while Tucker studied History at SMU then went on to receive a M.A. in Statecraft and National Security from the Institute of World Politics and an MBA from Schreiner University.

Showman is the digital signage platform used to maintain and control digital and interactive displays, creative and support services, and specialized hardware packages. It is primarily a cloud based management system for digital screens. Think Wordpress.com for digital signs. Showman is for everyone owning a business or space wanting to better engage visitors or customers through great visuals to show off their message.

The platform makes it easy to setup and create interactive and engaging displays without the need for huge development or IT staff.  Their goal is to make the whole process of finding your location through a facility or plant easy and painless and was designed with non-tech users in mind. They also offer hardware packages, creative and development services, and ongoing IT support.

Digital and interactive signage is an exploding market. Retail, restaurants, stadiums, public spaces, and more are starting to capitalize on modern technology to engage and attract visitors and customers. The products in this market though are fractured into just offering hardware, only being a management platform, or just service companies. Then the systems are highly technical and difficult for non-tech users. Interactive systems have even larger growth opportunity but require complex and expensive development teams.

The most challenge aspect of starting up has been bootstrapping a concept that provides reoccurring revenue for the long term. “We have to stay lean and it is challenging to grow with limited people. Everyone wears A LOT of hats, and being flexible, adaptable, and capable of many roles is a must,” said Tucker.

The next step for the business is expansion of the platform and services into other industries and markets. Roam’s CRE Directory focus is too small of a market, and the Showman platform opens the door for the entirety of interactive and digital signage. Moving in this direction opens the door to a rapidly growing market (~14% CAGR) with an estimated $39 Billion value by 2020.

Dennis advises other entrepreneurs to plan before taking the plunge and be realistic about everything. Talk to other folks in the industry you are trying to get into and get REAL numbers.  He also said, “Double or triple how much you think something is going to cost or how much you need to save. Riding razors is not fun and everything takes longer than you think. Consider taking on funding early. Forget equity issues and ownership. 100% of 0 is still 0 and it will take capital to make it happen. Just remember that your investors are partners and money comes with a relationship. Make sure it will be a good one.”

The resource he found most helpful was the book “The Founders Dilemma” which gives many straight forward ideas and examples for setting things up without the common “reality distortion” of most startup stuff.  Strategyzer is another group that really gives good, visual planning for how to create valuable ideas and start to plan on how to capitalize on them.

Also, the program Xero and an accountant are important. Tucker said, “Get one, fast. Don’t waste time.”

His final message “Get a good lawyer you can actually talk to. Legal Zoom is easy but you need humans.”

To learn more about Showman visit the TEN Funding Portal at this link.