KC tech firm’s video app records $600K
July 14, 2015 | Bobby Burch
A local tech firm is planning to accelerate development of its mobile video application thanks to some new funding.
Laura Steward
Kansas City-based Digital Legacy landed $600,000 in May to fund the creation of its “VideoFizz” app, which allows a group of users to collaborate on a personalized video message for birthdays, anniversaries and other special events. Missouri Technology Corporation offered $200,000 in a matching grant in the round, which also included a Kansas City angel investor and other private investors.
Digital Legacy CEO Laura Steward said the app is a new approach for the company that’s been quickly gaining traction.
“It really fills a gap right now,” Steward said. “People want to do something personalized and creative but they don’t have a lot of time. We’ve reduced ourselves to just saying ‘happy birthday’ on Facebook, and this is so much more fun and just as easy to do.”
After downloading Video Fizz, a user may pay to create a collaborative video and send an invitation to others to record themselves. After users submit their respective videos, Video Fizz combines them and allows the purchaser to arrange clips and apply one of 16 themes.
The videos are used for such events as birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, graduations and others. Steward said that the Video Fizz app will be available on iOS and Android devices in September.
“This is a very simple way to give something personal through technology,” she said. “People get so creative with them. There’s no way to take your personality out of it.”
Digital Legacy previously focused its efforts on LiveOn, a social media platform that allows you to digitize media and create digital time capsules. While it still offers the services, the company will be focusing more on Video Fizz.
Previously an executive in the genetics industry, Steward currently is in the Pipeline Entrepreneurial Fellowship program, which taps the experience and network of powerful entrepreneurs in the region. She said the program has been invaluable to Digital Legacy, particularly as its focus has shifted.
“If I hadn’t had Pipeline I probably wouldn’t have figured this out,” Steward said. “This (change in focus) really came from a market validation exercise that we did in the fellowship program. … If I hadn’t had that program I could’ve spent two years trying to figure out what people wanted.”
To learn more about Video Fizz, click here.
2015 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Newest Techstars KC class tackling payday loans, food safety, bots for business
Techstars Kansas City has revealed its 2018 cohort of startups. The 10 companies will make a big impact not only on Kansas City but the global economy, said Lesa Mitchell, managing director of Techstars KC. “Although our companies come from many industries, they share in common that they are all solving problems to make the…
YEP KC teen serves hope through enterprising volleyball benefit for men’s shelter
When 17-year-old Catherine Franano learned the mattresses at Kansas City Rescue Mission were old and too worn for comfortable use, the Pembroke High School senior leapt into action, she said. “Some of these people … like they’ve just had so many awful things happen to them, but not having anywhere to sleep?” Catherine said. “How…
(Video) ESHIP Summit attendees ask: Can entrepreneurial support efforts actually be sustainable?
When more than 600 attendees gathered this week in Kansas City for the second ESHIP Summit, they each came with their own ecosystems, businesses, local governments and support networks in mind. They also brought questions. “What are they doing in their cities? What’s worked and what hasn’t worked? What can we adopt back at home…
Four key moments led to SoftVu’s exit (three missteps kept it from happening sooner)
Deals like the acquisition of KC-based SoftVu by an Alabama private equity firm don’t happen overnight. And founder Tim Donnelly gives near-equal weight to the trials and triumphs that led the marketing platform to its big exit. “We’ve done as much as we possibly can based on the mistakes we’ve made, the lessons that have…