Online video production startup TurnHere is now the exclusive provider of video creation services for Yelp, the popular local search and business review site.
TurnHere, through its network of over 8,000 professional filmmakers, will be providing local video production for businesses that advertise on Yelp, as well as a slate of video-related services, including expanded distribution of their video(s) across the Web. → Read More
It was only a matter of time before someone created an online video-shopping marketplace. Mix together eBay and YouTube and you get Shopflick, a Los Angeles-based startup in private beta that wants to bring the art of video selling to the Web. Sellers can set up shop with their own page highlighting their store and the products they have for sale. Most of the information is presented in video format in Shopflick’s own buyer-friendly player that features a big “Buy Now” button. Shoppers can add comments to each item, share them, bookmark them as a favorite, or embed them elsewhere on the Web. We have 2,000 invites for TechCrunch readers (sign up here—the first 500 will be let in immediately and the rest over the next few weeks). So far the startup has raised $1 million from angel investors in LA. But Shopflick has a heavy-hitter CEO in David Grant, the founder and former president of Fox TV Studios. Says Grant: I think it can be an enormous business. Video selling is what television is. TV Commercials. People have tried to replicate video selling on television, which is a mistake. The front page of Shopflick features a big video player that scrolls through featured items and could also become a prime advertising spot. Just like on TV, Shopflick plans on using its front page to promote items based on limited quantities or time. Shoppers can also browse by category, keyword, or tag. Most of the sellers—there are about 50 of them in the beta right now—are boutique shopkeepers, jewelery makers, or furniture designers from Brooklyn or LA. Here is an example of a video by Uhuru, a Brooklyn furniture design company that uses sustainable materials: http://www.shopflick.com/shopflick/flash/shopflickEmbedPlayer.swf Shopflick: Buy this product | Get your own Store Player http://counters.gigya.com/wildfire/CIMP/Jmx*PTEyMDc4NDI*NDc3MzAmcHQ9MTIwNzg*MjQ3MjU1MSZwPTE4MDYyMSZkPWxpc3RpbmclNUYyNCZuPQ==.swf The site feels a little bit like what Etsy would be if it had video, except its sellers don’t focus on handmade goods. There is definitely an independent vibe. The site is geared towards women. It is heavy on hand creams, lingerie and kid’s clothes. But not the 50-year-old women in middle America who tend to watch the Home Shopping Network or QVC. Shopflick is going more for the hip 18-to-34-year-olds who live in big cities. Founder and president Patrick Yee says: It is an $8 billion business on cable, but we are moving it from a linear model to an on-demand model, → Read More
I was Digital Hollywood today rubbing elbows with content creators and distributors in San Jose. On the agenda were several entrepreneurial forums where local startups pitched their companies to an audience of competitors, peers and venture capitalists. Given the words “Digital” and “Hollywood” can cover a lot of ground all of the companies generally fit the themes of the conference. I saw some interesting companies, some of whom haven’t been profiled yet on this site. Here’s a rundown: TurnHere TurnHere was founded by Brad Inman who founded HomeGain. Staying within the community arena but moving to the world of travel, TurnHere creates and distributes travel and “local experience” films. They employ 2000 independent filmmakers around the world, with 250 trained in the 90 second “Turn Here” style, which includes a local as narrator to capture the right flavor of a place. The firm experimented with different lengths, but is gravitating towards 90 second to 2 minute features in our short attention span world. The business model is centered on local advertising and advert films in the profiled regions. I watched several films in both genres and they were great. I am really impressed by the site and the films. The food makes you salivate, the sites make you want to hop in your car. RallyPoint Started by Jeff Allen, Managing Partner of Rocket Systems, who is taking a break to be CEO, RallyPoint aims to bring the Internet (and interactivity) to your TV. Inspired by a desire to talk smack to friends while watching sporting events, it will offer an array of products like chat, voting, game show participation, pop up alerts, auction watch through applets overlaid on broadcasts. They will create their own device and hope to be integrated with other devices as well. Another device in the living room scares me, but the company is in its very early stages, so they’ll presumably be testing the concept. They plan to offer their service through subscription, targeting the market of people getting score updates on their SMS phones. Sounds like Wink and some other startups from another era, maybe the time is now. Mediazone Funded by Naspers, a large South African media company, but based in the Silicon Valley, Mediazone is a secure P2P video delivery platform that supports media portals and live premier events. They recently did live coverage of 300 matches on 9 courts for Wimbledon. There’s → Read More
