What is your company name? PaperC

Where are you based? Leipzig / Berlin

How would you describe your company to the head of digital from a publishing company? We developed and now maintain two platforms for digital textbooks - our users can read for a limited time for free, then download and pay for what they really need and want to work with: pages, chapters, whole books.

Why would a publisher want to work with you? What's in it for them? In the last two years we built a user base of about 110,000 registered readers who consume our 15.000 pdf (paperc.de) and 1,700 EPUB files (paperd.com, HTML5 based optimized for mobile devices, social reading coming next). We provide specific tracking on every title and support the 100 publishers we work with so far in all questions of conversion, import and optimization, costumer care and title promotion. We're by now integrating our data via API in 400 university libraries so lead all those to our publishers content who a) do not find the printed book available or b) prefer the electronic version. Our publishers get the main part of all revenues by far and learn a lot about their readers.

In simple terms, how is your company going to make money? Our readers pay for what they need: a page for around 10 Cents, books for the prizes publishers give us. For our second platform we plan a premium model: pay once a month, read and download everything you need.

Where is your funding coming from? We're very thankful to our investors who trust and support us in any way we could think of.

What date did/will you launch? PaperC.com just started in closed alpha 12/2011, PaperC.de runs for two years now.

How would you describe your company to a book-loving friend? .... you know, darling, most publishers will soon get into some serious trouble, because many of them do not have a plan as to how to face the recent changes, even if they understand them at all. We help them survive so they can keep making the books you admire: print books. A future luxury.

What are your plans to give your company exposure? Who is your target audience? At the moment we're focusing on students, IT professionals and techfreaks. Since we provide 15.000 text books, we shall grow within the trend of lifelong learning. Our recent focus on Germany, Austria and the Swiss Republic are to be extended since we now are 3 more people here at PaperC and included enough English content to expand.

Your vision for your company in three year's time? 25 people - 50,000 titles - 500,000 unique users - a bug-free platform [ ;) ]and a team of developers to transfer our users visions into reality.

What is your end game? Running social, safe and giving something back. We're not a charity organisation but we're not here to get rich either. We think about an opportunity to give free accounts to those who can't pay for their education and make those who can pay a little more. That's what we stand for - Education matters.

Three things you've learned from launching a startup? Get up earlier, stay up longer, never think you are too clever to listen to people who want to help. 

Who are you? Katja Splichal

Find out more about PaperC, here.

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