OEN Member Spotlight - Jon Shanker of the Big 'I' Group
Q. Name/Name of company (if applicable)
A. Jon Shanker, Big 'I' Group
Q. Please provide a brief description of your company. How long has your product/service/company been in the market?
A. Big 'I' Group is a cross-media studio that specializes in highly entertaining and immersive content, with a unique focus on themes related to global sustainability and the evolution of consciousness. To a degree not yet achieved -- or even attempted -- by others, the Big 'I' Group's Project Restoration™ media franchise leverages and promotes the intersection of technology, spirituality, environmentalism and entertainment via online games, films, graphic novels, and Web 2.0 and 3.0 social-networking satellites, all in creative convergence with "the real world."
The mission of the Big 'I' Group is to offer to a wide and diverse global audience a broad set of options for engagement with the "save the world" meme, through a variety of new and traditional media, utilizing action-oriented "edutainment" as a vehicle to stimulate active audience participation in creating a healthy and sustainable future for the planet. The Big 'I' Group is launching Project Restoration this September. Stay tuned online and in the real world.
Q. What business opportunity or challenge led you to develop your product or service? How does your product or service meet that need?
A. People the world around have an insatiable appetite for epic entertainment. They also yearn to discover who they are and how they can play their part in making the world a better place. The Big 'I' Group uses multimedia 'edutainment' as a powerful vehicle for personal and world transformation. Project Restoration turns the entire Internet into a game, giving players a social-networking platform to use in their quest to "save the world." Project Restoration uses existing social-networking sites like Facebook and MySpace, leveraging their technologies and communities for viral marketing within the game. In addition, the massively multiplayer online computer game,
The Enlightenment Simulator, currently in development, is a subscription-based video game extending into the virtual world space.
Profile O&A
Q. What are your impressions of the entrepreneurial community in the Northwest? How would you like to see it grow/change?
A. Young and pregnant with possibility. We have chosen to have our company headquarters in Portland because we feel the entrepreneurial community in the Northwest has the potential to lead the way to a sustainable future. We would like to see Stumptown grow into the 'silicon valley' of conscious, progressive companies and funds.
Q. How are you involved in the entrepreneurial community and how has it helped shape your business?
A. Having only joined OEN last year, and coming from Los Angeles and New York City, we are just getting to know the community here in Portland. So far, pitching at the Pub Talks and Angel Oregon have helped us refine our story for a less industry specific audience.
Q. How does OEN assist you/how are you specifically benefiting from the organization?
A. OEN been a gateway to meeting local Angel investors and fellow entrepreneurs. It has really made us feel a part of the entrepreneurial community here in Portland, and the Northwest at large, and is giving us the local exposure we need to attract local funding.
Q. What are your favorite websites/magazines/events/ organizations that you read/attend to keep yourself informed about the business community/your specific market?
A. Fast Company, Variety.com, IMDB.com, Gamastutra.com, Wired.com
Q. Do you have any advice for aspiring entrepreneurs?
A. Stay true to your vision. And, as the I-Ching says, "Perseverance furthers."