Video creation is exploding worldwide. More than 300 hours of video is uploaded to YouTube every minute. Yet, when it comes to special occasions we still tend to record our messages on paper.
New York startup, Tribute is hoping to drag well wishers into the 21st century and get them to send video messages instead. Tribute is a platform that allows you to easily compile short videos from all your loved ones and edit them into a professional quality ‘Tribute’ to the recipient.
Free for Veterans Day
For Veteran's Day, anyone who wants to honor an armed services member can get a free Tribute video.
“If anyone knows a veteran who they would like to celebrate, Tribute would be happy to donate our platform free of charge,” CEO and co-founder, Andrew Horn said. Simply email [email protected] and Horn promises to reach out.
The startup was born from a gift Horn (pictured left) received for his birthday two years ago. His girlfriend Miki gathered videos from friends and family telling Andrew why he was important to them and presented them in a montage.
“Immediately when I started watching it I broke down in tears and was crying for 20 minutes, because I was so overwhelmed by what my friends were saying,” said Horn.
It was Miki’s admission that the process of compiling the montage was painful that sparked the idea. She had toiled over it for 10 hours. That immense effort, Horn thought, was the only reason gifts like this weren’t more popular.
Tribute takes the headaches out of the compilation process by offering three simple steps. First users create a Tribute page for the gift recipient and enter in email addresses for his/her loved ones (the tribe). Each person then gets an email with a customized link to that page, where they see a picture of the person, some details about the Tribute project and suggested questions to answer.
They then hit a record button which automatically activates the camera on their computer or mobile device, and when they stop recording the video is automatically uploaded to the Tribute back end.
Lastly, the coordinator of the Tribute can then go on to the site to access a simple editor. From there he can make basic changes like like trimming clips, duplicating clips, switching the order, adding background music and photos, or the coordinator can simply hit compile and the montage will automatically be created and sent to as a high definition mp4 file.
Tributes are currently available for $25, but that will rise to $49 once the company comes out of beta. For $125 you can get a personal concierge to contact your tribe and compile the video for you. There are discounts for bundles (3 for $60, 6 for $100) and for an extra $20 you get your video delivered on a fancy wooden USB stick.
Non profit background
The Veteran's Day offer is part of the ‘Give Tribute’ program where video packages are offered free of charge to people battling significant illnesses or active military.
Horn has a background working with non-profits, having run Dreams for Kids and AbilityList, which he described as a Craigslist for people with disabilities. He launched Tribute not just because he see a huge business opportunity in the explosion of video, but also because he believes it can make a difference in people’s lives.
“Having a company that helps people articulate how much they care about their loved ones is something I care deeply about,” Horn said.
He cites an example of a Tribute he made for Google engineer and former investor Dan Fredinburg who died climbing Everest when the earthquake hit Nepal last April. Horn started a Tribute for his friend and it exploded into a 90 minute video with countless contributors.
“I just spoke with his father last week and he said it was the most meaningful thing he had ever received,” added Horn.
Horn does admit that though he prefers to focus on the gifting Tribute, what he has created is essentially a tool for creating collaborative video.
“There are all sorts of hiliarious experimental videos, really every range of emotion that you can imagine we’ve seen represented on the site”, he said.
Life coaches and restaurant owners have used it to get testimonials from customers for promotional videos and teachers have used it in the classroom to get feedback from students on lesson plans.
Kickstarter
The business started properly in late 2013 when he partnered with cofounder and CTO Rory Petty. Following some initial funding, they launched a Kickstarter campaign in November 2014. By Christmas day the pair had easily reached their goal of $34,000 and they went live with the first version in January of 2015.
Horn believes that New York was the perfect place to build his product. He says that the number of people living in such close proximity creates a unique business environment.
“It’s unmatched in its ability to bring together inspiring people, who are doing interesting things and solving important problems in the world,” he said. “I don’t think there’s a better place on the planet to do business.”
Horn's theory will be put to the test in the coming weeks when the product comes out of beta. Tribute will launch a custom video editor, a completely revamped UX and undergo new site developments. Horn will also be fundraising, hiring key executives and marketing to the masses.
“We’ll be opening up our Seed Round and first equity event in December and looking to make some key hires,” he said.
Images via Tribute
