Our brand is about giving people opportunity, putting things within people’s reach that other brands put out of reach.
Last we saw Spencer Taylor, CEO of ViDi, he was sporting a full beard, funky t-shirt, and taking home $200,000 in prize money at StartSLC. Rest assured, the beard is still full, but the other circumstances have shifted slightly — ViDi has recently launched a Kickstarter campaign and is fully prepared to bring The People’s Action Camera directly to the people.
“Our experience at StartSLC was a key catalyst for the current track that we’re on,” Taylor told Beehive Startups in a recent interview. “In the wake of that, we had a lot of attention and hype, we started talking to a lot of VC firms and got us better networked to the point where we met Nate Graff, our COO, who has been instrumental in building what we have today. It also connected us to Murray Triplett, who pitched and convinced me to do the Kickstarter campaign. The Kickstarter video that we put together, he produced.”
I don’t need to sell you on the virtues of an affordable, pro-grade action camera. I don’t need to explain that it’s fun recording yourself on top of a 10-foot wave, then showing all of your compadres how cool-looking your hair is when casually blowing in the wind. Recording your own insane, physical feats and sharing them with the world is basically the definition of living in 2015 — that’s the mindset ViDi wants to encourage, then embrace.
“It’s the People’s Action Camera,” Taylor said. “Kickstarter seemed a natural place to bring the camera to the people first, to bring it at a better price than we’ll ever be able to offer again once we’re in big retail, and to demonstrate to our potential retail partners the power this camera can have when it’s properly marketed.”
ViDi reached their $25,000 goal on day one — not bad, considering they had 40 days to do so. The demand for the camera is obviously high, evidenced not only by the lightning-quick Kickstarter funding, but confirmed through the ViDi ambassador program, where people of all shapes, sizes, and varying levels of professionality are onboard with ViDi’s vision.
“We’re an inclusive brand, we think people should be empowered, not excluded,” Taylor said. “Our brand is about giving people opportunity, putting things within people’s reach that other brands put out of reach. Our ambassador program is a way to demonstrate that and evangelize that. We have a soccer superstar, several professionals, but we also look for local legend ambassadors. The novices who are just normal people, passionate about what they do.”
ViDi ambassadors include former FIFA Player of the Year Ronaldinho, professional stunt rider Ian Gaines, and aviator Erin Davis, attempting to become the youngest woman to fly around the world in a single-engine aircraft. My favorite ambassador (and yours too) is Adalina, a young girl featured on ViDi’s Kickstarter page for her love of horse riding and scary things. If you’re not onboard with her, immediately put yourself in timeout and start thinking about all the things you need to change in your life.
As of this writing, ViDi has exceeded their goal by nearly 200% with 32 days still remaining. If you’re looking for a worthwhile Christmas gift, go pledge some money and it’s all yours.
Published 11/9/2015
