This week, 1 Million Cups at the Kauffman Foundation featured startups that want to help users get great content faster and create their own custom-edited videos.
ContentKid
This Web-based portal and app interface allows customers to pay a short-lived subscription to any participating digital provider’s premium content via one account, one password and one secure place for their credit card information.
ContentKid’s founder, Michael Aumack, came up with the idea back in 2006 when he was stuck in an airport without small change, and didn’t want to use a credit card to buy a newspaper. He realized the market for a company that allows users unlimited access to regular news and entertainment subscriptions for a shorter period of time, without a huge commitment and without having to remember different logins and passwords.
Aumack believes that his company can solve problems for both consumers and content creators such as magazines, newspapers, freelancers and more. Consumers will get unlimited access to content they wouldn’t normally have access to without a binding subscription. Content creators will get a new revenue source and draw in users they wouldn’t normally be able to get with a traditional subscription model.
The company is still in concept mode, but is hoping to start small with local newspapers and magazines soon and then grow from there. Aumack says he’s still looking to put together a team, is in need some sound investment advice and could use introductions and connections with publishers.
Title Farm
This free website and mobile app allow users to make short videos by adding animation or titles to any photo. These five-second videos can then be published and shared on multiple social media outlets like Instagram and Facebook.
Kansas Citian and founder Justin McClure started the business as a fun side project and as a way to draw more business to his custom content company. He realized there was a market for an app that allows users to create short custom-animated videos. Video is a booming content medium right now for everyone from small business owners to soccer moms to teens at the ballpark. The app is almost like a combination of Snapchat and Instagram. You can get templated title animations that are similar to Snapchat geofilters, and then you also get to custom edit the filters, colors and clarity of the video all on the same app.
The app is available to download for free now in Apple’s App Store. McClure asks the public to download it, play around and send him feedback. He’s also looking to build a bigger team, and to partner with more small businesses on custom-animated logos and brands.
