Aydin Senkut on funding online video ventures

In search of a new paradigm

Speaking to NewTeeVee Live 2008 in the VC panel "Online Video Investment Trends", Aydin Senkut (legendary angel investor, and founder/president of Felicis Ventures) tells us that he looks for online video startups that provide large value to users and hold promise for opening a new paradigm. It follows that when one focuses on value to the end user, value to the advertisers, publishers, and content creators will fall into place.

His portfolio spans consumer internet, mobile, and enterprise web ventures such as:

• Brightroll which delivers "smart video campaigns" for branded publishers such as HP, Visa, WalMart, WB, Sony Pictures, and CBS, and has served more than a billion advertisements in a year. Their are sought after for the reliability and performance of their proprietary campaign execution, inventory management, and ad delivery. Streaming Media Readers' Choice Awards has named Brightroll the "Best Video Advertising Network" of the year.
  
  
• Mochi Media provides game developers monetization, analytics and distribution through connections to ad nets and content publishers. They serve advertisers with highly targeted in-game brand messages presented to more than 60 million unique users monthly. Publishers benefit by providing their visitors with thousands of free, high-quality games.
  
  
• Rich Relevance delivers better online shopping experiences through recommendations, collaborative filtering, experiential targeting, and personalization. Customers include Kmart and Sears.
  
  
• SGN (Social Gaming Network) integrates social networking with casual games to create viral distribution, deeper engagement, and higher message retention. It's "The New Hotness".
  

• Weebly is a platform that creates free blogs and websites intuitively.
  
  
• Yapta is a personalized travel assistant that optimizes the value of a travel plan for each individual user.
  
  
• Yume Networks (said "You Me") is a video advertising network representing more than 400 premium online video content sites, selling across audiences and channels while delivering real-time targeting across PC, mobile, and TV.
  
  
  These examples collectively speak for the wisdom of the crowds, as well as Aydin's mastery in listening to the marketplace and crafting relationships.  Lesson learned.

reprinted from WOM-buzz