Vloggi launches $750k crowdsource raise on back of B2B video surge

Friday, 08 December 2023 17:49

By Andrew Matler

Sydney-based video startup Vloggi has today launched a $750,000 equity crowdsourced fund raise as it looks to capitalise on the surging demand for user-generated video (UGV), especially in the corporate space as video continues to gain traction as the preferred means of communications among millennial professionals.

Vloggi holding company Ciné Souk is offering 250,000 full-paid ordinary shares at $3 a share via Australian crowdsource funding (CSF) platform OnMarket, to raise a maximum of $750,000.

“This funding will be used to transform the product into an enterprise tool while supporting marketing and other activities to extend Vloggi’s growing international subscriber base,” said Vloggi founder and CEO Justin Wastnage. Re-launched in 2021, Vloggi is the world’s leading video submission management platform using AI to process, sort and annotate user-generated video for use by businesses.

In the process it has coined the term "asynchronous collaborative video production". “This is a brand new concept because it removes a multitude of processing, storage and analytical pressures simultaneously,” Wastnage explained. “As such, while there are thousands of video production platforms, very few enable the remote footage upload from thousands of contributors simultaneously.”

As a new generation of digital natives enter the workforce, a video-first philosophy is taking over communications, both external and internal. This is in sharp contrast to 10 years ago when video creation was the responsibility of marketers, and when - more recently - user-generated video (UGV) was mainly associated with influencers on social media.

“The real market opportunity is in employee-generated short form videos created from footage shot on company devices,” Wastnage stressed, adding that this can be for anything from video stories for training, to onboarding and collecting feedback from employees..

The UGV market is growing at almost 30 percent year on year, according to Grand View Research. B2B already accounts for over 63% of sales in the total user-generated video software market, which is worth US$5.4bn today and growing at 29.4% CAGR.

Helping to further propel the fast-growing sector is the extraordinary growth of video-enabled smartphones, currently sitting at around 6.6 billion globally.

Vloggi has been described variously by the investment community as "Canva for Teams", "Dropbox for video", "Video Google Doc", "TikTok for Business", "Video Pinterest" and "Corporate iMovie".

The company now boasts more than 3,000 companies using the platform worldwide, with some of the more recognisable brands including Amazon, Qantas, MYOB, PayPal, broadcaster CNN and various Australian government agencies. The platform recently enabled thousands of New South Wales Higher School Certificate performing arts students to submit their final performance videos.

In the same week, global YouTube channel DudePerfect launched a major global talent contest on Vloggi, also pushing thousands of videos through Vloggi’s servers. “We’re currently seeing a strong shift to video as the preferred mode of communications, especially for younger people weaned on the internet and social media, most notably millennials, now firmly ensconced in the workforce and making their way up the ranks,” Wastnage said. Currently with 75% of active users outside of Australia, Vloggi was this year selected to participate in the NSW Government Going Global B2B SaaS US export program and AusTrade's San Francisco Landing Pad pre-accelerator.

In addition to corporates, government users are embracing video submissions as part of their citizen engagement. Active government users of Vloggi include the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, The City of Sydney, The state government of Telangana, India and the City of Toronto. This led to Vloggi being named a finalist in the Best Innovation in Government Technology award in late 2022 at the International Government Communication Forum, held in the United Arab Emirate of Sharjah.

Sounding a cautionary note, Wastnage conceded: “Today’s announcement of Vloggi’s crowdsource raise comes amid growing uncertainty surrounding global capital markets, with record numbers of startups downscaling or even shutting up shop. “However, funding activity over the past several years indicates strong and growing interest in the video submission space.”

In late 2020, Hobart-based Biteable raised US$9.8 million, while Microsoft acquired Brisbane video software Clipchamp for US$15 million. Spanish video request platform Videoask was acquired by US giant Typeform for US$22 million and recently Australian video testimonial platform Vouchfor secured US$8 million from US venture capitalists. Moreover, several venture capital firms are now providing funds to the startups developing enterprise video solutions. For instance, in March 2022, an Indian enterprise video messaging startup, 100ms raised US$20 million in a Series A.

“While the broader startup tech sector endures one of its toughest tests ever, Vloggi is looking forward to an exciting new chapter as user-generated-video continues its sharp upward trajectory as not only the medium of choice for engaging with customers, but increasingly as the preferred - and more powerful - platform for professional communications amongst the younger generation of workers,” Wastnage added.

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Vloggi launches $750k crowdsource raise on back of B2B video surge