Movin’ On Up
These guys are riding the Internet to the top—in elevators.
A quick ride in an elevator was all Michael DiFranza needed to
get his creative juices flowing. Three years later, DiFranza, 38,
is president and CEO of Captivate Network Inc., the first media
company to bring the Internet to the elevator. Sound a little over
the top? Ten of the nation's largest real estate companies
didn't think so. This April, they signed Captivate Network as
their exclusive provider of Internet programming in nearly 500
high-rise office towers. With $40 million invested and a
10-plus-year agreement, Captivate will install screens and provide
customized media feeds in all major U.S. cities.
With corporate offices in Westford, Massachusetts, DiFranza and
partners Todd Newville and Ray Pineau had no idea their little
start-up would get off the ground, much less succeed. DiFranza
admits that because this was such a new technology, he faced a lot
of uncertainty. He and his partners didn't take paychecks for
the first eight months of their company's existence, instead
pouring all their income into working capital and research.
The idea came to DiFranza in October 1997 as he was riding the
elevator in his office building. He noticed that as more passengers
got on, the tension level rose. "They looked at their shoes,
at their watches, at the [floor] numbers and then back down at
their shoes," he says. "It was very awkward." It
dawned on him that, with an audience of businesspeople guaranteed
to be there every day, offering Internet services in the elevator
just might work.
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With average elevator rides lasting 30 to 60 seconds, Captivate
will run silent, 10-second feeds on 10- to 12-inch flat-panel
screens. Media feeds will include traffic, sports and weather from
such sources as The New York Times and CitySearch.com.
"If we do a good job, people will focus on the
screen," DiFranza says. "If we don't, they'll
continue to look at their shoes, and shame on us."
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