Bookselling: READO cooperates with MVB – Interview with READO CEO Jonathan Mondorf

With the help of its artificial intelligence, the startup READO is revolutionizing the way books are recommended to us online or in bookstores. Instead of automated suggestions, the new technology relies on AI-based analysis of real customer reviews. MVB, a subsidiary of the German Publishers and Booksellers Association, has already successfully convinced READO to use this technology. In an interview, READO CEO Jonathan Mondorf reports on how the two companies are now driving the innovative offering forward through cooperation.

Jonathan, at the latest since the hype about ChatGPT, we have all understood that we can no longer avoid artificial intelligence in everyday life and in our jobs. You have been working on the topic of AI for quite some time. How did the foundation of READO come about?

The idea for READO came about through a brainstorming exercise in our family circle. We asked ourselves the question, “What search filters would an optimal platform need to recommend exactly the right book?” This gave rise to the idea of emotional categorization of books: E.g. a novel should not only be categorized as a thriller, but one should be able to recognize how dramatic, humorous, emotional, disturbing, etc. the story is perceived.
Based on this solution idea, AI was not the immediate focus. Nevertheless, we had to solve the problem of evaluating millions of books based on new criteria to generate value on our new platform. To do that, we started developing AI.

READO was named 2021 Content Startups of the Year and subsequently received not only an innovation award but also an intensive funding program. To what extent has this award helped you move forward?

For our project work in the book industry, we were pleased to discover that the CONTENTshift competition has an excellent reputation. Accordingly, it has been much easier for us to find new cooperation partners and to present ourselves as a serious market player.
The sponsorship program was an excellent opportunity to get direct feedback from real industry leaders. As an early-stage startup, the resulting learning process is essential for further development.

In the meantime, you are cooperating with MVB and the Swiss software company bpm. Can you perhaps give us an example of how end customers benefit from this, for example, when browsing in a bookstore?

Everyone knows the typical “Other customers also bought” recommendations that you get displayed on Amazon and Co. when you are on a book’s page. This mechanism leads to popular books becoming even more popular and unknown books remaining unknown. This phenomenon can also be seen by the fact that every year about +60k new releases appear on the market, but only a small number of titles – mostly in the form of bestsellers – are found and bought by a larger readership.

Together with MVB and we have developed a new recommendation algorithm, which specializes primarily in the content commonality of recommendations. The algorithm is based on MVB’s innovative reading motif data and READO’s emotion criteria. End customers can thus discover new books that were not on their radar before.

BPM recognized the innovative potential of the recommendation algorithm and joined the cooperation as a sales partner.

Were there any particular challenges in the context of this cooperation and how did you overcome them together?

In order to evolve as a startup, we have to be fast in our decision making and in the way we work. Startups’ survival is usually measured by the available “runway” – the remaining months for which the money in the account will last. Accordingly, every week is very valuable to us as a startup.

Working with an industry player like MVB, it was challenging for us to work with much longer decision cycles. Nevertheless, I feel that MVB is doing very well in the cooperation to speed up its own internal processes in our interest.

Are there any special features regarding the book industry that startups looking to gain a foothold in this sector should be aware of?

The book industry is a market characterized by tradition, which is highly valued in Germany in particular. Despite economic fluctuations, the book market has proven to be very stable for many years. This can give the impression that the traditional approach is the best – because it has always been done that way and it works.

Startups are driven by a desire to effect change. This pressure to innovate can be met with decision makers who don’t see the need for change.
In this regard, formats like ContentShift are a useful way to provide startups with a stage in the marketplace.

For many years, there has been speculation that one day people will no longer read traditional books at all. Currently, videos seem to be gaining more and more importance over the written word and images. Is this an issue for you that will influence the further development of your product?

I also think that immersive media such as video, but also virtual reality will increase in the future. Nevertheless, I am convinced that reading books will always remain a retreat from fast-moving media – especially on social media. In particular, the printed book offers a pleasant break, from the ever-increasing screen time that surrounds us.

Contact

Website: www.reado.app

LinkedIn: Jonathan Mondorf

Read also: Book trade READO cooperates with MVB – Interview with MVB Managing Director Ronald Schild