On demand video production platform Vidr nets investment from Cape angels

A Cape Town based entrepreneur hopes to transform fast-turnaround video production through a new platform called Vidr, which last month clinched an undisclosed amount of investment from local investors Roy Ingle and Mike Joubert.

Speaking to Ventureburn today, Vidr founder Sean Wilson-Smith (pictured above) declined to reveal how much Ingle and Joubert, who is a former managing director of clothing brand Levis and Brandhouse and is also an investor in KNF Ventures, put in his startup.

Wilson-Smith said only that the two investors had taken a 50% stake in the startup (which will be rolled back to 25% upon Wilson-Smith meeting certain goals) and that the investment was made through the duo’s investment company Made Holdings.

Both Ingle and Joubert were not immediately available to comment.

Vidr founder Sean Wilson-Smith declined to reveal how much the two had invested in the plaform

The former film director said the investment will help to further build his platform — which he has spent the last two years developing, but which has yet to take on any video producers as yet.

He claims that the platform will lower the cost of video content production for corporate videos and marketing content, as the startup will rely on on-demand video content creators sourced via the platform.

By using the platform, he estimates that corporates can lower their video production costs by up to three times what they ordinarily would have had to pay a professional video production house.

While he says he has formerly trained a number of student video producer, he has yet to hire any video producers for the platform.

He estimates he will need 20 for Johannesburg, 10 for Cape Town and five for Durban. He aims to tap further funding from corporates to fund the training of new video producers.

Upon signing a service agreement with the startup, each will be given R40 000 in equipment, which includes an iPhone and iPad, with which they will do the filming with.

Wilson-Smith said at present he and a video director are the startup’s only two employees.

*Correction: In the initial version of this story we referred to Roy Ingle as Roy Engel and Made Holdings as Made. This has been corrected. We regret the error.

Featured image: Vidr founder Sean Wilson-Smith (Facebook)