Flixlab

Flixlab was positioned as a consumer social video platform designed to simplify movie creation and sharing for mobile users. The company was founded in 2005 by Francois Dumas and Jim Carrig, operating out of Palo Alto, United States. Dumas, the founder and chief product officer, was driven to create the platform due to his own frustrations with the complexity and tedious nature of existing video editing software for personal home movies. The leadership team included notable figures such as Tim Mott, co-founder of Electronic Arts and Macromedia, as Executive Chairman, and David Slater, a former marketing leader from Adobe, as CEO.

The core of Flixlab's offering was its proprietary, cloud-based social video platform, developed over four years in stealth mode. The platform's primary consumer application was an iPhone app that enabled users to automatically create polished videos. It addressed the common issue of video clips remaining unused on smartphones by removing the burdens of sorting, editing, and rendering footage. Users could combine their video clips and photos with music, transitions, and text slides with just a few taps. A key feature was its collaborative, social aspect; the app could recognize when friends were at the same event and prompt them to share footage, allowing for the creation of movies from multiple perspectives. Once created, these movies could be shared on platforms like Facebook.

Flixlab's strategy focused on establishing itself as the primary solution for everyday video storytelling and becoming an integral part of social media sharing. The initial business model was centered on user acquisition, with plans to explore various monetization options later, including freemium models, advertising, pay-to-publish, and subscriptions. The company secured a total of $6 million in funding from angel investors, including Tim Mott and Michael Marks, to support its development and launch. Another source reports a total of $4.5 million raised over 7 seed rounds. Despite its initial launch and backing, the company ultimately ceased operations and was deadpooled in 2013.

Keywords: mobile video editing, social video platform, automated movie creation, video sharing app, iPhone video app, collaborative video, cloud-based video, Francois Dumas, Jim Carrig, Tim Mott, Palo Alto startup, consumer video, video storytelling, social media integration, deadpooled company, video technology, photo and video sharing, mobile application, movie making app, video transitions