Last week, coincident with starting a new business venture, I was visited by a magnificent bird. A raptor landed in my backyard, a Peregrine Falcon, with its lunch!  Quite amazing for suburban London. As I contemplated what to call the venture over the weekend that name came to me, Peregrine.  A Peregrine Falcon is not only the fastest bird in the sky, but the fastest living thing. While far from being the biggest of raptors, it’s blazing speed gives it an essential advantage.

Organizations look for a similar advantage in bringing new products and services to market. Innovation is about speed isn’t it?  Being the first to recognize new market dynamics, generating ideas quickly and getting into a new product development cycle, being first in market, it’s all about speed. So, with that value in mind, Peregrine is the working name for this newco.  This is subject to legalities of course. The original panel, and subsequent specialized or private panels and sub-panels will remain nameless for now.  

I see this new social media research services company, Peregrine, as distinctly different than what is currently being offered.  Quick response, very quick turn-around, will be a key feature, but, there’s more.

Yes, there are social media consumer panels in existence already. Communispace comes to mind — they develop private panels.  They are essentially feedback mechanisms. Nothing wrong with that, but Peregrine aims to take it two steps further. I see this new panel(s) as being more interactive and more involved in the entire product development process. Not only do we provide speedy and valuable market feedback, but we also provide ideas for products. We’ll be advising the customer what they should be thinking about pro-actively. Call it consumer foresight, trend-spotting, or “Twutures” it will be valuable in asking the right questions.  

This is a much more active role, not just a passive voice once it’s all been done. So, it’s Research And Ideation And proactive Consultation/Twutures. Our panel will be consumers, and, our panel will be “trained brains” capable of coming up with product ideas based on market insights.  It is hoped the panel will include some of the finest talent on earth, and, we’re going to provide training, guidance, and facilitation that leverages that talent for our customers.

Towards this end, I see Peregrine as using tools like Twitter, Facebook, and other custom made software to help it’s clients. This would include existing idea management systems. We are tool agnostic, but will begin with a general Twitter based panel.

Why should you be part of this start up? Why should you become a panelist in this “Twitter Chorus”? 

If you are an idea person, if you love innovation, if you are passionate about consumer participation in new product development, if you want to have some fun, if you want to leverage your mind to create value, if you want to be involved in a community, a tribe if you will, that is about creative thinking and innovation — then you’ll want to be part of a Peregrine panel.  

As for financial compensation, here’s my current thinking:

The original 1000 panelists will split 10% of the company equity. I could be talked into a smaller number, like 500, but the basic idea is if this company does well the original participants will also do well. We have 35 un-vetted panel participants at the moment. Peregrine would be looking for a committment of time and energy and in return it would provide the promise of:

  – Learning experiences, and engagement with an international online community.

  – Training in various aspects of new product development and ideation, perhaps even a kind of certification as a “trained brain”. I am, as a leader of Peregrine, also convinced that a truly well trained creative panel does not exist.  And who better to create it than a leading creative trainer?

  – Equity as mentioned above. The original panel will Be the company in a very large measure. They will participate in activities normally reserved for “management” — including strategy, planning, fund raising, selling, service delivery, analysis, etc.

  -Small fees, credits, or other spiffs that would happen as a result of specific deals Peregrine would make with its customers.

   – I see the panel as doing things as a community beyond what is required of it by Peregrine. Part of the value of being a panelist is networking with others of like mind, and creating synergies of all kinds. Think of it as a Mastermind group where there is actual training in how to think creatively.

  – Finally, Peregrine will commit to a social cause related to the environment. It may have to do with birds, or reforestation, desalination programs, or something else.  I’m inclined to let the group decide.

If this is of interest to you, follow greggfraley2 in Twitter. You will become part of the initial panel under consideration by joining the Twitterings around that user id. There will be process for becoming a panelist, more on that in blogs to come.

Please comment, this is a fluid process, your input is valued.

For other communications, send me a note — gregg@greggfraley.com, and may the Falcon be with you.