Lucid, with AI, aims to push the boundaries on streaming
Not many 28-year-olds can say they were a professional athlete, top of their class at an elite university, an investment bank analyst, and a global business development lead and now have their own company. But Indy Sanders, founder and CEO of the tech startup Lucid, can.I dont think there are any barriers within someones being or within the world that can prevent anyone from reaching the top of anything they want to achieve. I think the only prevention or blockage is your ability to push through, Sanders, who identifies as queer and nonbinary, said during a Google Meet interview with the Bay Area Reporter.Lucid is an artificial intelligence-driven wellness and media platform featuring works by an array of creatives, artists, and filmmakers. The company seeks to turn the current entertainment-streaming model of Netflix, Prime, Hulu, and similar subscriptions on its head with its offering of tailored, advertisement-free content based on users personality, mood, and other relevant data.Headquartered in Brooklyn, New York, Lucids MVP (minimal viable product) beta launch took off in July 2023. Ever since, Sanders has been steadfastly promoting their companys concept, iOS app, and intelligence-streaming model.For Sanders, its all about perseverance and an unwavering drive to succeed.If you find a way, then theres always a next move. Thats the mentality that I brought into the company, they said.Setting the stage for entrepreneurshipWhile most 13-year-olds were enrolled in school and living at home with parents or caregivers, Sanders, who hails from the United Kingdom, was playing tennis at the professional level and traveling internationally on their own for matches and tournaments. Their days consisted of training for eight to nine hours and then heading to wherever they were staying, making themself something for dinner, and getting in some study time before falling asleep and doing the same routine all over again.In terms of what Sanders gleaned from the experience, they said, I basically was taken out of the systems that other people were in, which gave me a very different perspective on life, and I was very much trained as an athlete into this obsessive, hard-working behavior where you feel so deeply that whatever you put in you get out, and you know that mistakes are just part of the positive learning experience.For them, those formative years yielded two key benefits. It was a combination of not being tied to the main structures of our world that constrain people particularly constrain their own belief in what they can achieve and do for the world and my ability to not feel deterred by problems and [instead] be like, OK, lets go. What can we do next? Sanders said.A spinal injury ended their tennis career, but it didnt lessen their ambition or self-discipline. Sanders pivoted from being a professional athlete to a conscientious student, enrolling in Loughborough University, a major sports university in England.I went there because I didnt know how to engage with normal people that didnt do sports, to be quite honest. So it was a nice transition, Sanders said.After graduating top of their class and with a first degree (the U.S. equivalent to graduating summa cum laude) in politics, they gave law school a try, only to find it wasnt the right fit.Law was too much about reading and less about practical innovation using my mind, Sanders commented.For Sanders, realizing that the career wasnt for them didnt result in giving up; instead, it prompted them to try something new: the financial-centered world of banking. Their work in the industry included joining Houlihan Lokeys mergers and acquisitions team as an investment banking analyst, going from legal books and trial practice to sourcing and making deals.They shared, I was looking at cool businesses across Europe and finding acquisition targets for our clients, and then starting off those M&A deals. So that was really good insight into looking at the later stage of a startup and going, What is an acquirable startup? What does it look like? What are the patterns of growth?The analyst job was followed by work at a small tech consulting company, State of Flux, with Fortune 100 clients but, at the time, an indiscernible sales process.I went in as their first-ever dedicated sales person, and I basically ripped their system to sh*t and built a proper global growth structure, selling into Microsoft, Google, Chevron [with] deals up to the millions, said Sanders.Their efforts resulted in the companys interest in moving Sanders from the U.K. to New York, as head of strategic growth, to run operations globally; after a few years of driving sales and business development, they were ready to branch out on their own, with the idea of Lucid in mind.Pushing the boundaries of streamingOnce downloading the free Lucid app via the Apple Store and opening it, a soon-to-be-user sees the wording Enter Lucid and registers via an email address and password. From there, the approximately 5-minute onboarding involves a personality assessment, featuring nine prompts, including If you were an emoji and selecting one of a dozen featured emoji (e.g., peach, fire, crying yellow face); You move into a new apartment Whats the first thing you buy? with paint, lights, speakers, sofa, or plants as one of the possible responses; and You have more than 30 with the five options being books, tattoos, shoes, succulents, and bottles of alcohol.We really started honing in on exactly what people wanted, and then we uncovered, Oh, its not just a content play here. Its how do you connect people to content in a more meaningful way, and how do you integrate it into their lives in a habitual way that they dont have to make an effort towards, which is where all of our AI came in, explained Sanders about the apps development.Post-personality assessment, Lucids AI ghost depicted as the traditional white bed sheet figure appears on the screen, putting together curated content based on the users selected answers to the prompts. The user can also have a conversation with the ghost, with the interactions serving as a means to further personalize their experience.You can say, Hey, Im feeling pretty low. Im a Pisces. My partner just broke up with me. Help me elevate myself this evening, and lift my mood up and show me that theres a reason to have faith in the universe today. And it will give you conversational reasoning as to what its curating for you and why, and then it presents it to you, Sanders said.Feelings such as love, calmness, and joy drive the film collections, with titles like Kinetic Motion and Quiet Contemplation, that Lucids AI ghost selects and recommends.We curate, not by genre, but by emotive. Like, Does this content deliver some kind of emotive impact? And if it does, then we like it. We typically are doing the stuff other people arent doing, and we like that. We dont want to be copycats of Netflix were very different from them, Sanders explained.The curated content art-oriented films of varying lengths comes from numerous creatives, sourced by Sanders and their team, including Asia Stewart, Lucids founding artistic director and Sanders spouse.As Indys life and business partner, I see how committed they are to Lucid firsthand, Stewart, a Black queer woman, wrote in an email to the B.A.R. It is not an exaggeration to say that from the second Indy wakes up to the moment their head hits their pillow twenty hours later, they are thinking about Lucid. On many occasions, theyve woken up during the middle of the night to do research or jot down notes for a new idea or feature. They are constantly assessing how they can refine Lucids apps to be reflective of the needs of filmmakers, artists, and audiences.Films on the Lucid app include The Man of My Dreams, written and directed by Tristan Scott-Behrends, a queer filmmaker who divides his time between New York City and Los Angeles.Scott-Behrends nearly 6-minute film centers on a romance, with two lovers eating pizza slices together at a restaurant, spending time in a laundromat, and holding and kissing each other on a subway train. How quickly strangers stares turned into smiles as they recognized the radiating love between us, the films narrator says.Scott-Behrends, whose works Only Trumpets, Suckmeoff, Princess! and Lilac Lips, Dutchess County are also part of Lucids film collection, described the platform as filling a much-needed gap for those in the film and performance industries.Curation is such an important part of any artists discovery, and Lucid is proving to be a trusted visionary connecting their audiences to compelling and provocative work that they may not otherwise be able to access. So many of the other platforms that artists working within performance or experimental film (use) have such strict censorship that work particularly work from queer artists often gets banned or pushed out of the algorithm, he wrote in an email to the B.A.R.Scott-Behrends appreciates not only Lucids hand- (or AI ghost-) picked content based on an individuals interests and preferences but also the companys willingness to pay filmmakers and other creatives for their contributions.I am really honored to be a part of this new venture, and with their financial model I anticipate that the money Lucid pays out to artists will allow us to continue to finance our work, he commented.Getting the word and content outAt the time of Sanders interview with the B.A.R., they were in Miami for Miami Art Week 2024; they had attended last year as well. The event draws myriad exhibitors and attendees and features various fairs and shows. For Sanders and their team, its an opportunity to get a firsthand look at peoples responses to Lucids content.Last year, we were in a really cool alternative show and fair where we were in this warehouse. We had projections all over the ceiling, big chairs, and I was in there 12 hours a day with my team, and it was really interesting to see people walking in and absorbing our space and our content specifically. It was like the best customer discovery experience you could possibly have, they said.Miami Art Week is also a means for Sanders and the Lucid team whose core members are Stewart; Millie Gibbons, founding AI engineer; and Max Roman, lead adviser and investor to establish cultural partnerships with those in the art world, such as with the New Art Dealers Alliance (NADA), a nonprofit arts organization and one of the biggest shows at the event.Sanders commented, We dont necessarily position ourselves as an art company; were culture[-themed], obviously, but whats really exciting, I think, is being able to literally rub our shoulders in this event next to some of the top galleries in the world.And then theres the palpable interest in Lucid from hotel groups, social clubs, and venues looking to amp up their spaces visual displays.People watch Lucid content at Lucids NADA Miami showcase 2024; featured still from smet Krolus Gate29 (2021). Photo: Dylan MekhiAs Sanders shared, They were saying, We love your content. It actually has some kind of depth and meaning and has a draw to it. The other content that weve showcased, printed artwork, or anything thats an alternative to elevate a space just hasnt hit in the same way. Are you guys going to do a corporate deal?Sanders built out the tech to deliver in that regard, adding consumer market to Lucids growing list of customers, including art museums, film festivals, and other cultural organizations, as well as a future partnership with The Donum Estate, a Sonoma, California-based vineyard.The positive reception to Lucid extends to recognitions such as a South by Southwest (SXSW) 2024 conference award that Sanders nabbed for best speed pitch in media and entertainment. Sanders and Stewart were also selected for Forbes 30 under 30 North America 2025 Art & Style list, which recognizes the business achievements of individuals under age 30. The right mentality goes a long wayThough millions of people are using Lucids app, cultural partnerships abound, and accolades are mounting up, building a business from scratch hasnt been without its challenges, noted Sanders.Its definitely harder being queer as a founder fundamentally, ridiculously harder. I thought I could beat the odds, and in some ways I do. But I like to say, if I was a cis straight white man and I had my background, I would be getting $20 million checks dropped in my lap by VCs all the time. And that, sadly, is not the case. I dont have $20 million to play with right now, but I will, said Sanders.Lucid does, however, have certain major venture capital investors including Antler, based in Singapore, and New York City-headquartered Techstars. According to Sanders, they raised $400,000 from these VCs, as well as from angel investors, including Roman, an ex-product lead at Netflix. Theyre currently involved in a fundraising round to fuel scaled growth that will carry over into 2025.Lucids investors are not only financially backing the company but also articulating support for Sanders ideas and work ethic.Indy is one of the most focused entrepreneurs Ive ever encountered in my career. That, combined with their ability to learn incredibly fast, makes them just outrageously effective and able to execute quickly, said Roman, a self-described frequent and enthusiastic ally, in an email to the B.A.R.Roman, who lives in the Bay Area, is a guest lecturer at Stanford Universitys Graduate School of Business and was elected to the Piedmont Unified School District Board of Education in November, per Alameda County election results. His sentiments about Sanders skill set and leadership qualities parallel that of Antlers general partner, Jeff Becker:Indy is a force. They are maniacal about the details that matter, an exceptional operator, and someone with top 1% resilience. This is the type of founder you always back, wrote Becker in a comment Sanders shared with the B.A.R.Lucid team members conveyed views of Sanders along the same lines as Lucids investors.As CEO Indy strikes the perfect balance. Theyve built an inclusive, energetic workplace culture where exploration and spontaneity are encouraged, while also modeling really incredible work ethic, drive, adaptability and creativity, Gibbons, who identifies as cis and straight, wrote in an Instagram message to the B.A.R.I think Indys unconventional path into this industry has made them a particularly resilient and driven founder, who also really cares about unlocking the potential of every member of their team, she added.Stewart described Sanders, her partner, as incredibly strategic, assessing it as a way of being derived from Sanders years on the court, racket in hand. They can distill any problem affecting any area of the business into simple facts and quickly outline an efficient and effective solution that aligns with wider business goals. They push the team to be nimble and always embrace continuous innovation, Stewart said.Early in the new year, Sanders plans on scheduling a trip to Mexico with the Lucid team, where they can collectively work in mild weather and also celebrate the success of Lucid thus far.For Sanders, the life lessons learned from sports carry over to their approach to running a company.Your odds of winning a race are not defined by where you start in the race and what your odds are at the starting line. The odds are going to change at every single point along the way because other people are going to drop out. So the one thing you know for certain is, if you continue and you are one of the final people, your odds are going to be better, and you will have a much higher chance of succeeding, they said.I think that that mentality kind of pulls you through every moment, Sanders added.This story is part of the Digital Equity Local Voices Fellowship lab through News is Out. The lab initiative is made possible with support from Comcast NBCUniversal.The post Lucid, with AI, aims to push the boundaries on streaming appeared first on News Is Out.
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