Vuclip: Video coming to a screen near you
(MoneyWatch) As a veteran of international travel, Nickhil Jakatdar had observed a universal trend: People are constantly on their mobile phones. He realized that a phone, tablet or other handheld device is increasingly the tool of choice for accessing the Internet.
With that idea in mind, he developed Vuclip. The startup's main purpose is to help people find, share and play online videos on any Web-enabled device. Every month the service delivers more than 750 million videos to 45 million people all over the world.
Rebecca Jarvis: Tell us a little bit about your background and what inspired you to launch Vuclip.
Nickhil Jakatdar: I was born and raised in India, where Bollywood and cricket are an obsession. For those of you who have watched "Slumdog Millionaire," you are already familiar with this. In the last 10 years, three things happened in India: the telecom revolution that put mobile phones in the hands of millions; foreign investment in Bollywood, which created more song and dance sequences; and the birth of the cricket league; resulting in many more matches to watch. Together, these events led to high demand for Bollywood and cricket videos via mobile phones.
But to meet this demand, you need the right technology -- technology that gives viewers anywhere, on any phone and any bandwidth a quality mobile video experience.
Enter Vuclip, now the largest independent mobile video company in the world. We created Vuclip to impact the way people around the world consume media and information, especially in emerging markets. Developing new technology is part of my make-up, and it's driven my entrepreneurial journey. Prior to Vuclip, i established and led three successful startups -- Praesagus, Commandcad and Timbre Technologies -- through financing, growth and eventual acquisition. I picked-up 46 patents along the way, and more than 50 percent of all semiconductor chips used in personal computers, tablets and mobile devices use one or more of the three technologies I created.
RJ: How long did it take to turn your idea into a business?
NJ: Moving from an idea to getting a team and company in place to make that vision a reality was very quick because, after all, this is Silicon Valley, where an efficient entrepreneur-friendly ecosystem is in place. However, tweaking those ideas and turning them into successful, truly sustainable businesses has taken me anywhere from two to six years, depending on how quickly the market moves from hype mode to compelling business mode. This is often highly underestimated by many first-time entrepreneurs.
RJ: What gave you the idea for Vuclip?
NJ: During my travel to countries like Indonesia, China, India and Mexico, I found that laymen were constantly on their mobile phones, but they did not seem to be talking on them. Instead, they spent most of their time either texting or accessing the Internet. If you think American teenagers spend inordinate amounts of time on their mobile devices, you should see what the consumers in those countries do. I soon realized the mobile device was their only access to the Internet. It wasn't their second screen or even their first screen -- it was their only screen. Access to this whole new world of Internet was fascinating for them, despite devices that were not that smart, networks that were not so great and data plans that were definitely not the most affordable. They were hooked onto it. I then recognized that improving the experience they were used to requires a different way to tackle the problem. No amount of wishing will change the fact that iPhones and advanced network fees are unaffordable for these consumers. This is why we turned our attention to emerging markets with Vuclip.
The world is not flat when it comes to mobile phone use; not everyone has access to high-end smartphones or unlimited bandwidth and fast network speeds. In fact, according to Cisco, smartphones represent only 12 percent of total global handsets in use today, and only 6 percent of mobile subscribers worldwide are expected to be on 4g by 2016. This is where Vuclip's real-time trans-coding comes into play. We help people search, discover and share online videos, and play them on any Internet-enabled device and network capability. We work with content partners, operators, advertisers and original equipment manufacturers to give consumers the richest, best-quality mobile video experience possible. Every month, 45 million users consume 750 million videos on Vuclip on over 5,500 different types of devices around the world.
RJ: Why start a company that bears resemblance to the industry giant, YouTube?
NJ: We saw what YouTube accomplished on the desktop but recognized the world was headed toward mobile. Mobile is our No. 1 priority. The number of mobile devices will eventually reach 8.6 billion, surpassing the number of people on earth. Mobile video now makes up 66 percent of data traffic and will continue to skyrocket. But not everyone has a smartphone or access to high-speed networks, so we started Vuclip specifically with the emerging markets in mind. Viewers there practically skipped the desktop era and went straight to mobile. Many cannot afford high-end smart phones, and some don't realize they have browser capabilities on their feature phones. We want consumers at all economic levels in all countries to experience mobile video. We believe that building a successful mobile video business in these markets needs a mobile platform built from the ground up, a team focused on an experience that consumers in emerging markets care about and a business model optimized for those regions. Vuclip has focused on these areas, and we think that if we continue innovating and executing to our vision, we can become the go-to site for consumers in emerging markets.
RJ: Who are your customers and how do you make money?
NJ: Distribution partners include Vodafone, Airtel, Tata DoCoMo, Idea, Telkomsel, Maxis and CelCom. Our advertising clients include Nokia, Cadbury, Maruti, Pepsi and Unilever.
RJ: What types of videos do Vuclip consumers tend to watch?
NJ: This depends on where viewers are in the world. We see high demand for local pop music, sports and entertainment whether that's in Latin America, Africa, Southeast Asia or the U.S. Videos on religious guidance and traditional music are popular in the Middle East while astrological content holds its own with Bollywood and cricket in India. The amount and range of tailored local content is part of what makes Vuclip unique.
For example, viewers search for videos in their native language from Arabic to Marathi, one of the 30 official languages spoken in India. Or consider Vuclip's mobile video portals such as Mira!, dedicated to women in India. Mira provides free access to programs covering various topics such as health, beauty, parenting, cooking, careers and entertainment. The Vuclip "edu-portal," launched in February, features educational videos for K-12 and higher education and includes content from the khan academy and MIT. According to a recent Vuclip survey, more than half of the 80,000 global participants are "very interested" in receiving educational content through their mobile phone. In fact, in developing countries, 180 million children will be able to stay in school between 2013 and 2017 due to mobile education, according to a new report by the GSMA and AT Kearney.
This wealth of tailored content leads to greater sharing and higher viewer engagement -- 65 percent of all Vuclip videos are shared.
RJ: Where around the world do you see the biggest opportunity for mobile content?
NJ: Emerging markets such as India, Indonesia and the Middle East offer a unique combination of a large, young population turning to mobile as their only Internet connection. And culturally [they have] a huge appetite for entertainment, education and sports content. Additionally, Vuclip believes that the other key to growth is providing content in the most optimized experience for each and every consumer on the planet.
For more on Vuclip, visit their website.
