VideoGenie Responds to Strong Demand for Its Customer Video Publishing Platform With $2 Million Series A Round of Financing

PALO ALTO, CA--(Marketwire - Jun 9, 2011) - VideoGenie, the expert in customer-generated video, today announced that it has raised a $2 million Series A round of venture financing led by Blumberg Capital. Previous investors, including Google Chairman Eric Schmidt's Innovation Endeavors, also participated in the round. VideoGenie will use the funds to fuel strategic business initiatives, expand the VideoGenie solution set, as well as expand the team to address the company's rapid growth and accelerate new customer opportunities.

Since launching at TechCrunch Disrupt NY in May 2010, VideoGenie has been selected by some of the world's most well-respected brands and organizations including Levi's®, Intuit®, Sony Music and the U.S. Department of State, to power video-based testimonials, reviews and corporate communications. VideoGenie achieved breakeven within eight months of launch with zero marketing spend and without a dedicated sales team. The company has since relied on operating income to fuel product development and new customer acquisition.

"VideoGenie has proven their technology and customer ROI right from day one. Its platform to collect and share customer-generated videos is an immensely valuable engagement tool, and we've already seen that brands are quick to recognize the power of being able to capture their customers' voices through the video medium," says David J. Blumberg, founder and managing partner of Blumberg Capital. "This company has a big future and we're looking forward to being a part of their success."

"With its strong stable of delighted customers and recurring revenue, VideoGenie is perfectly positioned to take customer-generated video to an altogether new level," said Dror Berman, founding managing partner, Innovation Endeavors. "Amazingly, Justin and his team have been able to quickly deliver in-demand products to market, acquire customers and grow revenue from the get-go! These are clear and strong indicators of the long-term potential for this technology and this company. We're thrilled to be part of the effort."

VideoGenie and Brands:

VideoGenie allows brands to engage and capture the passions of their fans through customer-generated video via a simple, effective and cost-efficient platform that requires no training or special experience to implement. Brands use the product to gather, manage, publish and analyze videos recorded by their fans, incorporating the authentic video content they collect into a broad range of marketing and customer engagement initiatives. To date, top brands have leveraged customer-generated videos to boost direct marketing and ecommerce conversion rates, as well as increase customer engagement for brand-building initiatives. VideoGenie's platform has powered a wide range of marketing activities, including highly sticky and engaging website testimonials, Facebook engagement campaigns, product reviews and ad campaigns. For example:

• The Levi's® brand partnered with VideoGenie to create the Levi's® FreeForum, a platform enabling Levi's® fans to record and share stories of personal inspiration with their own social networks as part of the brand's "Shape What's to Come" initiative -- a global online community where Millennial women around the world can connect with peers and mentors to shape their futures.
• The Tony Awards launched a VideoGenie Facebook campaign to build excitement around the upcoming 65th Annual Tony Awards, inspiring Broadway fans to share personal video responses about "What Broadway Means to Them."
• ShoeDazzle chose VideoGenie to power its customer testimonial initiative, establishing trust and credibility for its unique business model through authentic video responses contributed by ShoeDazzle clients.

How It Works:

The VideoGenie platform is easy to use for both brands and customers. Features for brands include:

• Designating video length in advance to make sure contributions are concise and effective;
• Approving or rejecting all submitted videos before they are published;
• Reaching out to contributors to thank them and/or recommend ways to improve video quality, if needed;
• Social sharing of fan video initiatives through VideoGenie's seamless integrations with Facebook, YouTube and Twitter;
• Tapping the platform's analytics to track conversions, engagement and other key success metrics;
• Allowing the platform's analytics to automatically feature the most effective videos in terms of views, conversions and engagement;
• Allowing customers to easily contribute a video in a couple clicks from either the web or from their phone.

"Video is undeniably powerful, and our video platform saw customer adoption and generated hard results from the day it was available," says Justin Nassiri, CEO, VideoGenie. "We've seen and continue to see top brands build VideoGenie into extraordinarily successful engagement initiatives, and the video contributed by their customers is a valuable asset that can be used across a wide range of marketing campaigns. We'll use the new financing to bring on new talent, grow our customer base and boost our ability to build on our remarkable early successes."

About Blumberg Capital
Blumberg Capital is an early-stage venture firm that works closely with innovative entrepreneurs to build exceptional companies. Our team has over a century of relevant experience collaborating with disruptive technology companies in Software, Digital and Social Media, Mobile and Consumer Internet. Our relevant operational expertise and focused network enables us to be bridge-builders, connecting entrepreneurs with key business, technology, and investment partners to drive success. Blumberg Capital is headquartered in San Francisco with team members located in New York and Israel. For more information, please visit http://www.blumbergcapital.com/.

About Innovation Endeavors
Innovation Endeavors backs the raw talent behind a dream. As an early-stage venture fund, we help smart people solve interesting problems. With our support, they push themselves to turn the seedling of an idea into a game-changing venture that positively impacts the world. In addition to our portfolio of investments, we offer unique pre-team, pre-idea venture creation programs grounded in design thinking. All entrepreneurs benefit from our ecosystem of mentors, advisors and thought leaders. Innovation Endeavors is based out of Palo Alto with an office in Tel Aviv. For more information, please visit www.innovationendeavors.com.

About VideoGenie
VideoGenie is the expert in customer-generated videos, which tap into the passions of brands' customers and fans. From video testimonials to reviews to ad campaigns, VideoGenie offers companies and brands a broad range of ways to engage customers and build an authentic voice. VideoGenie technology makes it easy to gather, publish, manage and analyze customer-contributed videos. Privately held, VideoGenie is backed by Blumberg Capital, Innovation Endeavors and angel investor Daniel Zumino. For more information, please visit www.videogenie.com.