Courtesy Paul Post
By Paul Post
A local entrepreneur has developed a new mobile app that gives him remote, real-time views of his firm’s projects, to make sure they’re done properly.
But Ryan Marcantonio believes NOLYM (No limit) can benefit all types of small and large businesses, while radically changing the way people obtain live media coverage.
The concept is similar to Uber, but instead of hiring a driver for a ride, NOLYM users contact anybody, anywhere who’s signed up for the program to provide a live view of a given scene or event.
“This is going to literally change the world of live streaming,” Marcantonio said. “There’s so many use cases. If I want to see Times Square right now, I could send out a job request saying I want to see a certain store there. I put information in a request, say how long I want the video to be and set my price.”
“If you’re a media outlet, there’s a protest going on and you want somebody on location right then, you literally have that with NOLYM,” he said. “It eliminates media bias. Instead of someone talking, putting their spin on what’s happening, the viewer at home can tell the streamer what they want to see, so they can truly see what’s happening without commentary. It changes the dynamic. It switches the power to the viewer instead of the streamer.”
For Marcantonio, NOLYM was borne out of necessity.
When Walgreens bought out Rite Aid several years ago, his firm, New York Retail Conversions, got the contract to change over more than 100 stores in New York and Vermont. He worked with numerous temporary subcontractors across the state, but couldn’t be everywhere, which led to occasional frustrating situations.
“I might ask, did the dumpster show up? They’d say, yeah it’s here. Two days later I’d get call from a Walgreen’s manager, where’s the dumpster? I thought, how can I see this place right now so I know exactly what’s going on? I kept telling myself, let’s figure out how we can do this,” Marcantonio said.
Two years later, after countless zoom calls and emails with a development team, NOLYM became available for download for Android users at the Google Play Store, on Aug. 20. The iOS version was scheduled to go live Dec. 9.
Viewers can send requests to see live, unfiltered footage from anywhere in the world. Streamers get paid to go live and provide viewers what they ask for.
Fees are established between viewers and streamers. For example, a viewer might be willing to pay $50 for a two-minute live stream of a corporate ribbon cutting ceremony. NOLYM gets a commission on every transaction.
Plans call for marketing NOLYM with a large-scale social media campaign, using TicTok and Facebook ads.
As a financial incentive to attract more streamers, people who sign up now will get a higher percentage of the fee viewers pay.
“The technology behind NOLYM is patent pending in the U.S. and internationally,” Marcantonio said. “The name is trademarked. I had to work with a patent attorney, getting applications all together. It’s a long process.”
A Glens Falls native, the 43-year-old Marcantonio got much of his business acumen from his late father, Gary, a highly respected financial services professional.
NOLYM is based on the second floor of the former Post-Star circulation building, the current home of Grey Ghost Bicycles, at 78 Lawrence St. in Glens Falls.
“This business will entail hiring people to do content moderation, a team that sees what videos are being uploaded and make sure there are no abuses,” he said. “We can block or suspend anyone who doesn’t adhere to our community guidelines.”
NOLYM’s potential for business purposes are almost endless.
A beautician could generate a whole new source of revenue by providing five-minute instructional tutorials, showing the correct way to apply eyelashes. A realtor could give live walk-throughs to potential new-home buyers.
“People keep coming up with things I haven’t thought of yet,” Marcantonio said.
For information go to: nolym.app.