We’ve created a way for startups to get professional-quality, animated explainer videos created without having to work with an expensive ad agency or search for video freelancers.
I was on the phone with a startup founder and after I asked him what exactly it was that his company does, he told me that he actually has a hard time explaining it. It was not the first time I had heard this. The purpose of a company is not always easily articulated, and often founders need help forming and delivering their message. Explainer videos are regarded by many as the best way to form and deliver that message, but historically have not been the most affordable. If working with an ad agency, startups can expect to pay anywhere from $10,000 to $30,000 for a one-minute video. If working with Picovideo, however, explainer videos cost a fraction of that.
“We’ve created a way for startups to get professional-quality, animated explainer videos created without having to work with an expensive ad agency or search for video freelancers,” says founder Dave Dickson. Picovideo has already searched for freelancers for you, and has a pool of vetted script-writers, animators, and voice talent. After you answer a few questions about your company, what your product is, what you do, and what your value proposition is, the Picovideo team will form a creative brief and send it to writers. Writers will then submit proposals and you can select the writer you like best. Together you will refine a script, then select voice talent and animators based on their submitted proposals. “It’s an exciting way for startups to get their message out there,” Dickson says. Picovideo walks you through the entire process and produces a video, on average, in 10–12 days for $5,000-$7,000. Picovideo handles all payment and provides an escrow service. “Only if you get the video you signed up for will the freelancer get paid,” Dickson says.
Dickson and his co-founder (and father) Terry Dickson started Picovideo last year and, as Dickson explains, “We’ve seen a lot of tremendous enthusiasm.” They are currently working with accelerators, coworking spaces and VC firms looking to provide a value-added service to their portfolio companies. While the company is just getting off the ground, the handful of people who have created projects have been thrilled with the result.
In the future Dickson hopes to provide other types of media. “We want to be the go-to marketing and creative resource for startups,” he says. For now, Picovideo can help startups explain, or rather show, what it is, exactly, that they do.
Published 3/23/2016
