MoviePass to MoviePast
Assumptions and failures
“What if we created a subscription plan that allowed people to watch one movie per day, in theaters, for a mere $9.95 per month?”
The assumption was — from the founder’s perspective — if we build it, someone will buy it, then use it, and then the users will be happy and us? Well, we’ll create something viable, desirable, and feasible.
Enter, stage left, MoviePass.
Founded by Stacy Spikes, MoviePass launched in 2017 and allowed movie lovers to watch one movie per day at a mere $9.99 per month. Subscribers would be able to conveniently book movie tickets online. According to Spikes, the idea of MoviePass was born when he realized that there was a downward trend in the popularity of movie theatergoers, and subsequently assumed that there was a true opportunity to modernize the movie-theater industry.
When MoviePass gets ready to flesh out assumptions, it must consider the IDEO’s trifecta of the innovation process.
Desirability
- Who are MoviePass’s target subscribers?
- What problem does MoviePass solve for these subscribers?
- Will it be a big problem without MoviePass’ all-you-can-watch subscription model?
- Why is the current solution, if any, not awesome?
Viability
- Who are MoviePass’s competitors?
- How will MoviePass generate revenue?
- How will MoviePass acquire its subscribers?
- How will MoviePass attract more subscribers?
- How will MoviePass retain its subscribers?
- How will MoviePass ensure that its subscribers will remain active subscribers?
Feasibility
- Is there enough funding for MoviePass?
- What is the biggest technical or engineering challenge?
- Do we have access to the right skills required to make/keep MoviePass successful?
- Is there any internal bureaucracy/hurdle that we need to address?
Exit, stage right, MoviePass.
The assumption that MoviePass could be sustainable and profitable was a catastrophic mistake. So many questions regarding desirability, viability, and feasibility could not be answered. If you miss any one of these, implementing even just the idea is risky and costly. To this day, those questions remain unanswered. MoviePass focused more on growth than profits and dangled irresistible subsidized prices in front of consumers. Eventually, MoviePass had to pay the ultimate price.