Speaker 1: What's going on. I'm Rich Demiro and this is a
Speaker 1: Rich on Tech quick hit. How does phone service for
Speaker 1: just forty dollars a month sound? Well, that's the idea
Speaker 1: behind Visible. This is a service that is all included
Speaker 1: for forty dollars a month, and the key part of
Speaker 1: the deal is that the Visible network is actually Verizon's network.
Speaker 1: Joining me now is Miguel key roga CEO of Visible,
Speaker 1: to tell me all about it. Miguel, Welcome to the show.
Speaker 2: Thanks Rich, glad to be here.
Speaker 1: So tell me about Visible. Because we did this story
Speaker 1: last year on KTLA. It was one of the most
Speaker 1: one of the most popular stories of twenty eighteen because
Speaker 1: nobody could believe that you can get basically Verizon service
Speaker 1: for forty dollars a month.
Speaker 2: That's right, Yeah, No, it's been super exciting and thanks
Speaker 2: for having us back on.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 2: So, basically Visible is a simple, easy to use, one price,
Speaker 2: one plan, so unlimited data, voice, text, mobile hotspot on
Speaker 2: Verizon's fourteen for gale network for forty dollars a month.
Speaker 2: And the key is that there's no taxes, no fees,
Speaker 2: no additional activation charges. It's what you see is what
Speaker 2: you get. And I think the key to this whole
Speaker 2: offering is how do we make sure we give customers
Speaker 2: exactly what they're looking for, which is great service, great experience,
Speaker 2: and a great product.
Speaker 1: Now here's the thing. When we talked about this the
Speaker 1: first time around, you had a five megabit limit on
Speaker 1: the speed So that was basically the only downside or
Speaker 1: catch per se that I can find was that you know,
Speaker 1: your speed was limited. So it was on the Verizon network,
Speaker 1: but it was you know, the data was capped in
Speaker 1: a way where if you're trying to download a file,
Speaker 1: it might be slower than someone next to you on
Speaker 1: a Verizon phone. Now you're telling me that you're actually
Speaker 1: going to lift that speed cap, so tell me about that.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's interesting. You know, we you and many others
Speaker 2: had talked about like what is the ractual difference in
Speaker 2: that speed cap, And what we found for most customers
Speaker 2: is that it didn't have a material difference in terms
Speaker 2: of the type of experience that they actually had. But
Speaker 2: on the other hand, we actually did have customers who
Speaker 2: had specific use cases and they felt like, hey, there
Speaker 2: are some things we could try to do. So, you know,
Speaker 2: we heard a lot of that chatter and kind of
Speaker 2: the premise of our business is how do we how
Speaker 2: do we actually deliver the type of experience as customers
Speaker 2: want and we'll actually just try it. And so essentially
Speaker 2: that's what we're doing. So for a limited time, both
Speaker 2: for new and existing members, will offer essentially no speed
Speaker 2: cap for no additional costs. And what that allows us
Speaker 2: to do is really understand what the member experience is
Speaker 2: without that speed cap and see if essentially it's accomplishing
Speaker 2: some of the things that users have asked us they'd
Speaker 2: like to do.
Speaker 1: So you said existing users will get this, as we'll
Speaker 1: new and new, and you say it's limited time, So
Speaker 1: what does that mean for me if I sign up?
Speaker 2: So if you sign up today, as long as you're
Speaker 2: a Visible member, you always have essentially that speedcap removed.
Speaker 1: So you may you reserve the right to remove it
Speaker 1: for future customers, you know, like if you say, okay,
Speaker 1: this is just getting too crazy, then you can maybe
Speaker 1: take that away. But if I sign up for this
Speaker 1: under this plan, that's it.
Speaker 2: That's it a month.
Speaker 1: Okay. Tell me the relationship between Visible and Verizon.
Speaker 2: Yeah, so Visible is a fully omeed subsidiary of Verizon.
Speaker 2: We operate independently. Our entire infrastructure, our tech stack, or
Speaker 2: people or operations are run independently. And the premise of
Speaker 2: what Visible is about, it's based on the basic consumer
Speaker 2: insight that says, Look, the mobile carry industry is many
Speaker 2: decades in the making, it's incredibly important in day to
Speaker 2: day modern life. But there's a way to make it better.
Speaker 2: Why can't that experience be better? Why do I have
Speaker 2: to sit in line in a store or I have
Speaker 2: to wait on a phone to actually get the basic services?
Speaker 2: And why do I have to be surprised about a
Speaker 2: bill that's constantly changing underneath me. So those basic things
Speaker 2: we think can be done properly and done well, and
Speaker 2: so we built Visible from the ground up with that
Speaker 2: concept in mind, really customer first, customer centric type of
Speaker 2: product development, and that's how we arrived at the type
Speaker 2: of offering we had with based on all the research
Speaker 2: and consumer feedback we received.
Speaker 1: Now, some people might think, oh my gosh, why would
Speaker 1: Visible or why would Verizon allow this to happen, But
Speaker 1: the reality is they're two different offerings. Verizon is full
Speaker 1: service everything you need you want to activate an Apple Watch,
Speaker 1: that you can do that you want international, you can
Speaker 1: do that. You want to go into a store and
Speaker 1: talk to someone, you can do that. Visible is different
Speaker 1: because it's really geared towards I'm seeing it as like
Speaker 1: the single line consumer, right, kind of a smart consumer
Speaker 1: that wants to save money but also wants a really
Speaker 1: good network. Because you can get forty dollars plans, you
Speaker 1: can get twenty five dollars plans. You're not getting the
Speaker 1: Verizon network with those plans per se.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and I think we think about it as one
Speaker 2: of the most compelling offers in the market for that
Speaker 2: exact audience you describe a single line customer. You know,
Speaker 2: we have customers who can come up now and if
Speaker 2: they have an iOS device, they can basically broadly be
Speaker 2: compatible with the network. And they also we've also introduced
Speaker 2: the ability to buy devices as well, so you can
Speaker 2: buy iPhone devices, you can buy Android devices also, so
Speaker 2: for customers that are looking to not only switch carriers
Speaker 2: but also purchasing the device, we offer zero percent financing,
Speaker 2: zero dollars down as well as device protection. So those
Speaker 2: different offerings and capabilities we think give customers what they're
Speaker 2: looking for in a mobile carrier without all the complexities.
Speaker 2: You know, they can essentially have that experience you just
Speaker 2: describe from the comfort of the couch or their life
Speaker 2: and the go. And that's really what we're pointing at,
Speaker 2: is trying to help those customers and meet their needs.
Speaker 1: And the way that you sign up for Visible is
Speaker 1: all through the app. So if I have if I
Speaker 1: have a Verizon phone, I assume it works pretty simply.
Speaker 1: You know, I can put in my Visible SIM and
Speaker 1: it works. What if I'm coming from like eighteen and
Speaker 1: T I'd have to get a new phone basically, or
Speaker 1: is iPhone not because it's got all the bars or
Speaker 1: all the bands?
Speaker 2: I don't know. Yeah, So the best way to think
Speaker 2: about it is the iPhone ecosystem of phones is broadly
Speaker 2: pretty much everything is compatible from six on up, and
Speaker 2: there's a few devices but just a double check. You
Speaker 2: can go online you can validate that your specific phone
Speaker 2: is compatible, but broadly iOS ecosystem is fully compatible. Then
Speaker 2: we have specific Android devices. As we go, We're arranging
Speaker 2: more and more new devices as we work with different manufacturers.
Speaker 2: So for example, we have the Samsung S nine, the
Speaker 2: Pixel three and three XL, and we have other devices
Speaker 2: coming up in short order the next coming weeks and
Speaker 2: we're super excited about that also.
Speaker 1: But bottom line, if I have an iPhone, even from
Speaker 1: a different carrier, chances are I can get it to
Speaker 1: work with it, right yeah, yeah, And so I have
Speaker 1: to send away for a SIM, that's right. So when
Speaker 1: I sign up in the app or I so tell
Speaker 1: me how that process works. I can't really go to
Speaker 1: like I can't go to Best Buy and get like
Speaker 1: a SIM, that's right.
Speaker 2: Yeah, So I mean part of it. It's like think
Speaker 2: of it like phone in a box if you will. So,
Speaker 2: like we'll just ship you essentially everything you need to
Speaker 2: basically get started. So you go online, you go into
Speaker 2: the app, or you go into the website Visible dot com.
Speaker 2: You essentially do the sign up process. We'll ship you
Speaker 2: overnight you a SIM, and we'll deliver you that SIM
Speaker 2: directly to you. You can then activate it whenever you need.
Speaker 2: You don't have to sit in line waiting for the
Speaker 2: next person to get in line to actually activate your
Speaker 2: your service, and we'll basically help you through that process.
Speaker 1: So forty dollars a month, what do I get for
Speaker 1: that price?
Speaker 2: Yeah?
Speaker 1: So so there, it's all included. So it's taxi fees.
Speaker 1: Everything is is so my bill is on my credit card.
Speaker 1: Forty bucks a month.
Speaker 2: Yeah, you get forty bucks a month, and that's it, Like,
Speaker 2: no taxes and fees, that's all included. There's no activation
Speaker 2: on the device, there's no activation for the service there.
Speaker 2: That's it, you know. So today it's forty dollars and
Speaker 2: the next month that's going to be forty dollars, So
Speaker 2: it's highly consistent. What you get essentially is the full offering.
Speaker 2: It's the unlimited data, voice, text, and mobile hotspot on
Speaker 2: Verizon's four GLT network and now for limited time as well,
Speaker 2: the uncapped five megabit data speed.
Speaker 1: So it sounds too good to be true. If I'm
Speaker 1: explaining someone this plan, they're like, well, I'm paying ninety
Speaker 1: dollars through my regular carrier, how is it forty bucks?
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's a great question. Our business model is set
Speaker 2: up to essentially solve that specific customer pain point, and
Speaker 2: we're passing a lot of the things that we know
Speaker 2: about the mobile industry as value propositions directly to the customer.
Speaker 2: So because we don't have the store environment, because we
Speaker 2: are essentially doing it direct to consumer, there's no middle
Speaker 2: person involved, in no middle layer where we'll provide that
Speaker 2: simple experience directly to the customer.
Speaker 1: Okay, and how has been business been? Because we did
Speaker 1: a story with you when this basically first came out
Speaker 1: and it's about how long now it's.
Speaker 2: Just been about a year, and we're really excited and
Speaker 2: we're feeling very confident about the scale of the business
Speaker 2: and the business model. It's really proving well and consumer
Speaker 2: engagement is really high. We really think that overall, we're
Speaker 2: excited about where the business is going and the additional
Speaker 2: interest that it's continuing to generate. It's amazing to exactly
Speaker 2: your point, Like, when you think about it, it's too
Speaker 2: good to be true. Consumers just value the basics right.
Speaker 2: If you get the basics right, that's what's really compelling,
Speaker 2: because so often in this category many you know, you're
Speaker 2: surprised and it's not always the best of surprises. And
Speaker 2: what our goal here is get the basics right. And
Speaker 2: when you get the basics right, the product experience is
Speaker 2: awesome and that's what people really value.
Speaker 1: I imagine you walk around the halls that you're do
Speaker 1: you share offices with Verizon.
Speaker 2: At all your own headquarters.
Speaker 1: Okay, they probably did that on purpose, because I can
Speaker 1: imagine the Verison people going like, wait a second, why
Speaker 1: do they get to do that. We can't do that,
Speaker 1: we can't offer that, we can't have that, and you
Speaker 1: guys just keep like breaking all the rules. Right. Do
Speaker 1: you feel like that? Do you feel like the rule
Speaker 1: breaker at Verizon? Like, I'm glad they're letting me do this.
Speaker 2: I think the way we think about it is there's
Speaker 2: an opportunity to change the industry. You know, the industry
Speaker 2: has been largely the same for a number of decades,
Speaker 2: and we think there's an up to you to do
Speaker 2: something new. It's twenty nineteen, you know, there's all the
Speaker 2: things that we know about how business models can change,
Speaker 2: and we willing to bring directly to the consumer. And
Speaker 2: we don' want to wait for something to happen. We
Speaker 2: want to make it happen. So we're leaning into that
Speaker 2: and really helping bring that type of offering to the customer.
Speaker 1: All right, Miguel key, Roga, CEO of Visible, anything else
Speaker 1: we should know before we go?
Speaker 2: H No, I think you know. Visible is here to
Speaker 2: basically try to solve this customer challenge in the environment
Speaker 2: of how do I get mobile connectivity and mobile the
Speaker 2: service to be simple, transparent, and easy to use. Every day,
Speaker 2: we're focused on that. Every day we're focused on helping
Speaker 2: our members have that type of experience. So we're super
Speaker 2: excited to be here and look us up.
Speaker 1: All right, Visible dot com. Thanks so much for joining
Speaker 1: me today on the podcast. I do appreciate it, and
Speaker 1: thanks to you for listening. If you like what you hear,
Speaker 1: definitely subscribe in your favorite podcast app, and since this
Speaker 1: is the new quick hit version of the podcast, let
Speaker 1: me know on social media if you like it. You
Speaker 1: can find me at rich on tech Omrich damiro. I'll
Speaker 1: talk to you real soon. Bye bye