Startup interview: Rayhan Perera, CEO and Founder, OneDash

RTIH: Tell us about OneDash

RP: OneDash provides interactive technology to help brands make an instant return on their content investments. By directly connecting the point of inspiration and transaction, the platform creates faster, easier, and more valuable shopping experiences from every perspective.

Consumers can immediately access what they want; going straight from initial product interest to browsing and buying, in just one click. For retailers, the ability to simply monetise media and increase interactivity drives better results. 

As well as boosting engagement, cutting out extra steps such as re-directs to external sites helps to shorten journeys and reduce the risk of drop-offs. In the long-term, that means higher sales, greater brand loyalty, and a sharper edge over competitors.

RTIH: What was the inspiration behind setting the company up?

RP: Succeeding in the online retail environment isn’t easy. Not only do today’s consumers have an endless range of content to choose from, but the number of brands vying for their attention and spend is constantly multiplying.

Several years ago, I came up against these issues myself and this experience is what formed the foundation for OneDash. Keen to move on from the oil and gas sector, I sold my business and focused on fashion.

But after launching in Singapore, I realised how hard it can be to enter new markets. It became clear there was a wider need for efficient and affordable technology to help companies in the same position, which is exactly what I decided to build.  

OneDash started life as an interactive solution for fashion brands - used to add shoppable ‘hotspots’ in fashion show content and live streams - but it has expanded rapidly.

The power of interactive video to enhance cut through and fuel action makes it a vital tool for any company, and our reach has grown to cover multiple industries. In the near future, our aim is to explore further opportunities, looking beyond video to make all forms of media more interactive and effective. 

RTIH: What has been the industry reaction thus far?

RP: At the start of 2020, the increasing appeal and maturity of shoppable video had already taken us to the point of daily conversations with major media and direct-to-consumer clients. But with the global Covid-19 situation has come an exponential surge of interest in both the advantages it offers and our streamlined solution.

Businesses are recognising that providing real-time interaction and purchase options is vital to meet the rising consumer need for close brand connection and instant gratification. As a result, they are shifting from consultation to action at speed - with some large agencies accelerating discussions from weeks to days - and setting their sights on multi-faceted implementation.

For instance, recent months have seen a sizeable uptick in demand for interactive video that runs across both native channels and social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook.

At an internal level, the influx of new and diverse enquiries has also helped improve our insight into business requirements across sectors; enabling us to better identify how OneDash’s tech can be reshaped to meet specific needs and deliver more value.

“Many bricks and mortar retailers are heading for deep attrition, especially those with big investments in physical restaurants and commercial property. To sustain their businesses, it will be more crucial than ever to support high street outlets with stronger online activity”

RTIH: What has been your biggest challenge/setback?

RP: Recent trends have worked in favour of interactive video, but we are still a new company that is working to revolutionise shoppable media and that is our greatest ongoing challenge. While appreciation of the need for change is growing, there is still some way to go before we reach mass global adoption and establish a new standard for sophisticated video advertising. 

This mix of positive and negative also applies to many other obstacles. Because our work is about enriching digital content, we have been affected by the pandemic-driven disruption to media budgets and planning; with declining content production causing a knock-on effect.

Yet the ability to monetise pre-existing video has also meant companies struggling can use OneDash to bolster ROI across social, programmatic, and native environments.

Personally, I have also had the challenge of an unplanned stay in London. Just when lockdown came into force, I happened to be stopping over after unveiling OneDash tech at DX3 in Canada, meaning the changeover turned into four months away from my family and home.

This time in the UK, however, had beneficial outcomes; allowing me to dial up local sales activity and focus more energy on building client relationships. 

RTIH: What are the biggest challenges facing the online retail sector right now?

RP: Many bricks and mortar retailers are heading for deep attrition, especially those with big investments in physical restaurants and commercial property. To sustain their businesses, it will be more crucial than ever to support high street outlets with stronger online activity. 

Of course, this brings difficulties of its own. Key among the problems with the digital segment is that consumers tend to be loyal to convenience first, in addition to what they already know. 

This means that simply dialling up their online presence isn’t enough; retailers must master the basics of seamless online service - from financial fulfilment to last mile delivery - and rapidly give shoppers what they want. 

There are varied tactics retailers can deploy to deliver the smooth and speedy shopping experience consumers expect, but one of the most impactful is going interactive. By adding clickable elements to videos and leveraging advanced direct in-cart integration they can satisfy consumer needs and present them with relevant products, before their competitors do.

RTIH: What’s the best questions about your company or the market asked of you recently by a) an investor and b) a customer?

RP: A San Francisco-based investor recently asked us: “what are the potential artificial intelligence (AI) applications for AB testing and content recommendations before a creative is released?"

This query wasn’t just important because it had a critical bearing on their willingness to invest; it also opened up new avenues for OneDash. The idea of using AI to give a content creator simulated feedback on a creative before serving it aligns perfectly with our emphasis on innovation and cost saving. What’s more, we also have the data collection and behavioural analytics necessary to make it happen. 

Improving data evaluation is a rising priority for customers too. One question from a client about how to find the optimal channel for video ads has also led to developments in our analytical capabilities. 

Where we had previously enabled clients to track creative performance across channels, introducing unique tags has made it possible to collate and compare data in a more granular way. 

For instance, clients can now use smart algorithms to assess data in real-time and determine how their ‘master’ ad should be adapted for different channels and markets, such as cutting it to 30 seconds for display or 15 seconds for social. 

RTIH: What can we expect to see from OneDash over the next 12 months?

RP: In short, branching. We’ve made considerable headway with driving the transition to truly interactive video, now OneDash is ready for the next phase of shoppable progress. 

The release of our branching module will allow companies to tell an array of amazing stories via any distribution channel. With segmented video they can enable individuals to pick their preferred narrative, giving them greater control over how they interact with content and an even more tailored experience. 

The added bonus being that it has the capacity to increase personalisation while keeping spend at a minimum; instead of building numerous creatives, brand marketers can showcase their entire product range in a single video and let the viewer decide which ones they would like to discover more about.

Alongside several other projects for improving multi-team collaboration and centralised creative management, this branching solution is set to make for an exciting 2021; for our clients and OneDash.