The Grab

What people need and want in a weather forecast is not being offered. There are two reasons someone looks at the forecast- to see what's happening outside (most weather site are very good at this). The second, and more relevant reason, is that the forecast helps people make personal decisions about the day (weather sites are horrible at this). Weather is important. Weather plays a role in where we go to college, live, work and retire. Even smaller decisions like what we eat, our physical activities, where we vacation, and even what we wear, are made with the influence of weather.

Drizzoo is the belief that weather should be more-it should tell you whatÕs happening outside, but it should also help you make decisions and be more relevant. What if your weather site could tell you the perfect day to go golfing, but based on what you perceive as perfect. What if it could set a tee time for you? What if Drizzoo could pick out your wardrobe for the day, but based on your schedule and what you have in your closet?

The Problem

Online weather is broken. Most weather sites are perfect examples of information overload paired with "screw you" design. On many sites ads take precedence over the forecast, with some still using pop-ups ads. An average forecast will display the dew point and barometer pressure, while the users scream, "Who cares!" If the short history of the Internet has taught anything it's that most offline services don't translate well online, but that's happening with weather.

In a world that is becoming more specialized to the user's needs and personalities, why is there one forecast for tens of thousands of people? Weather is something that affects each individual differently, shouldn't the forecast imitate that?

The Solution

Drizzoo offers a one day and weekend forecast for every zip code in the United States. This will include temperature, wind speed, sunset and sunrise times, and humidity and wind chill (if applicable). Questions will be offered to the users, which will help add value to the forecast. Weather hobbyists, enthusiasts and meteorologists can request to take over a zip code. When this occurs their title becomes "Fauxologists". These Fauxologists will have a substantial support system. This includes their own network, a vast grading system, and wikiÕs and other programs geared toward these passionate people (think Poilane and Wedgwood). In addition, they will be responsible for a more detailed forecast, which is short, concise, relative and fun.

Users have the option of creating their own page. They can add "modules" from Drizzoo. Each module represents a unique offering. One module may be for golf, another for restaurants or even snowboarding and barbequing. These modules create a new "forecast" that fits the userÕs needs and lifestyle. Drizzoo has secondary modules, such as one for Amazon, Travelocity and 30 Boxes (Google). Eventually we plan to have enough modules that every person has at least two to fit their life.

Drizzoo is also changing the format of the weather forecast. We ask the personal questions. You can change weather keywords (like partly cloudy) to words you associate with them (like Chocolate and Vanilla). The same can be done with the color of your page-Partly cloudy could mean green to you, so your page will be green (instantly knowing a part of that days weather). We ask what 72 degrees mean to you. To me it's perfect, to you it may be cool and to your wife it may be warm. That's the basis of Drizzoo-different elements mean different things to different people. No distinction is being made.

The Opportunity

We know weather is something people want and need, but don't want to be bothered with. The best we can do is create a site that has a great design, easy to navigate and is built with the user in mind. We must offer an easy forecast without pointless figures (what is barometer pressure?)

The online weather market is comprised of over 380 sites (this number includes NOAA and NWS sites, plus TV stations and Universities, which take up half that figure). Our top three competitors are Weather.com, Accu-Weather and National Weather Service. Weather.com, Wunderground.com and Accuweather.com claim $1-10 million in revenue per year-ad revenue. For the past year and a half the larger sites have been experiencing a decrease in viewers. We believe this can be attributed to a number of things- people arenÕt happy with online weather, people want their weather fast and easy so they get it through homepages and the market for traditional weather is flooded.

Recently Simpleweather.com and Cumul.us have emerged with offering different programs. Cumul.us is a slighter take on Drizzoo-what people are wearing that day. Simpleweather.com offers weather stats from Weather.com.

Competitive Advantage

Our competitive advantage comes from designing the best system for our Fauxologists. This will help attract top meteorologists, enthusiasts and hobbyists, while ensuring that they stay with Drizzoo. This will be a deterrent from people coming into the market and our competitors. Another competitive advantage is our modules and is two-fold. Firstly we are starting alliances and programs with other companies and services that benefit from our modules. Secondly, these modules, paired with the users parameters, use algorithms, which are protected under the software patent laws. Such a patent would create a slight advantage over like-minded competitors.

The Model

Drizzoo may include several initiatives to generate revenue. Firstly, weather is based on 43,000 geographical locations and will give local companies an opportunity to reach potential customers. Secondly, users can sponsor their favorite local non-profit, which is then highlighted on the local page (the non-profit receives half of the sponsorship). Thirdly, businesses pay to use our modules. This gives them the added benefit of knowing who is more likely to use their service that day-permission marketing on steroids. Fourthly, is something we call Adriffs. Users can tag elements of an ad, make comments, poke fun or create a funny tagline. Our last is Adsense based on a person's modules, schedule and so on.

Metrics of our revenue will be: average daily revenue per zip code. Our three year goal is to average one dollar in revenue, per day for every zip code ($15,695,000 per year). Our five year goal is upwards of two to three dollars in daily revenue, per zip code. ($31,390,000-$47,085,000 per year respectively)