I had a genuinely bizarre call today. Or maybe it was incredible. I’m still not sure. A guy named Steve called and asked me if I was the owner of Southern Web, where I work.
As soon as I told him I wasn’t the owner he said “well I guess that’s ok” and began to pitch me one of the most bananas ideas for a website I’ve ever heard, and I’m writing it down now so that I don’t forget any details, but also to capture the moment in time when I decided I didn’t want to be a billionaire.
Twenty-four hours after the fact I’m still not sure if the idea is completely off-the-rails or a true goldmine.
Here’s Steve’s initial pitch as I remember it:
Steve: Ya know that TV show Big Brother? Well imagine keepontruckin.com or whatever the name would be and when you go there, it’s like Big Brother but with long haul truckers. People would pay $9.99 a month and they could watch the inside of my cab while I’m out on the road.
Steve Continues: I don’t really know how to get internet in the truck but I’m sure we can figure that part out. I’m willing to buy the webcams to get us started I just need someone to make the website.
I still haven’t said a word.
Steve: And I’ve been trucking for 30 years I’ve definitely got the personality and experience to entertain an audience while I’m out on the road going from place to place.
Also, it’d be an 18 and over website only because that’s the kind of lifestyle a trucker lives. And sometimes my girlfriend comes out on the road with me and ya never know what’s gonna happen when we’re out there together.
Also, she’s insisting on keeping 33% and I’m keeping 33% so as our partner you’d get to keep 33% of everything! Again, I’ll cover all the webcam costs for the truck!
I still haven’t said anything aside from words of acknowledgment like “mmhmm” and “ok”.
Steve: I know the website would need a lot of video features but really all we’re looking for is a website that lets people subscribe to our private video feeds for $9.99 and we can also have a premium tier where I can do 1-on-1 calls with people from the truck. I know the website is probably like $500 or $1,000 but honestly that’s super cheap considering how much money we’ll be making from the site. And again, I’m gonna be paying for all the webcams so you don’t even need to worry about that!
Trudy does get final say on the design of the website too she has some great ideas around that.
So anyway what do you say?
Me: I’m not sure we’re gonna be the right part–
Steve: cutting me off I’m not sure you understand how great I can be on camera. People are gonna sign up just to hear me ramble on the road. Anything else that happens is gonna be a bonus for them!
Me: I’m really flattered you thought of us Steve but we can’t take on this project right now.
Steve: are you the owner though?
Me: I’m not but we’ve never done a project for equity like this before so I’m pretty sure we wouldn’t start now. If I can think of another person or company that might be interested I’ll be sure to let you know.
Steve: yeah just give em my cell number. I wanna get this thing up and running ASAP!
Me: Sounds like a plan, Steve. Keep on truckin’!
Steve: til the day I die!
I’m genuinely torn about whether this idea is a complete disaster or genuinely brilliant. Maybe people don’t pay $9.99 to see Steve and Trudy, but $9.99 for access to dozens or hundreds of trucker live feeds sounds like the next natural progression of Twitch to me.
Did I just pass on my mealticket?