The Next Web

Video presentation start-up VIDDIX raises €100.000

Written on August 21, 2008 – 2:50 pm
Ernst-Jan Pfauth, editor in chief

Dutch start-up VIDDIX (review here) has received €100.000 in a first round of funding. The Dutch Creative Industry Fund (DCIF) has invested €50.000. The Netspider Group and an angel made up for the other €50.000.

VIDDIX, which started as a study project and launched in February this year, can be best described as a combination between YouTube and Slideshare. The video is playing at a panel on the left, while different web content - such as slides, pictures, YouTube videos, HTML and Flash embeds - shows up in a so-called iPanel at the right.

DCIF’s financial injection in VIDDIX is bigger than the fund regularly gives. Gert-Jan Bennen, fund manager, said in the release: “We’re investing in VIDDIX because its tool is a valueable contribution to existing webvideo services (..). We foresee a good role for this tool in the future of online video.” The Dutch fund normally invests between €20.000 and €40.000, says their website.

Example of VIDDIX video featuring my co-editor Boris

VIDDIX CEO Sébastien Willems is particularly excited about the network of DCIF. He told Emerce that his company is already negotiating with Holland’s largest Internet publisher, Ilse Media. VIDDIX is also working with onine shopping giant Bol.com, the results of which we will see at the end of this year.

In the comments on my review of VIDDIX, Edo van Santen en “1234gybotf” raised questions about VIDDIX’s business model. Turns out that the video company is aiming at a B2B approach, while offering the service for free to normal users. Sounds like a solid plan to me.

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angel, b2b, business model, dcif, funding, netspider group, slideshare, viddix, youtube

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DIY social network service Webjam raises €1.9 million

Written on July 15, 2008 – 10:56 am
Ernst-Jan Pfauth, editor in chief

Webjam, a London-based B2B interpretation of Ning, has raised €1.9 million dollar in series A, led by I-Source. The start-up offers companies a simple - iWeb-like - way to build a social network. Although the BBC once wrote about them as “particularly useful for those who want to create a webpage for a society, club or hobby but don’t know how to do it”, I’d recommend that these entrepreneurs focus on businesses. Since the D.I.Y social network market for fraternities and clubs seems saturated with players like Ning and newcomer Neeetz (review here).

Go for the companies

The British, Spanish and French founders (see picture) seem to realize this, as they call their market B2B2C - yet with the BBC calling them better than Facebook, Webjam seems to be tempted to try to conquer this market as well. Don’t do it guys, just offer ready-to-go social network packages to companies. The product is good enough, with the well-functioning drag ‘n drop interface and the clean look. And the result looks ok, as you can tell by this Webjam-powered site. Go get the cash Webjam, then think about threatening Facebook.

b2b, b2b2c, DIY, funding, ning, social networks, webjam

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