Video Processing Perspectives

Although he passed far too early, Steve Jobs’ impact on human endeavor cannot be overstated. Much has been written about how the products he helped create at Apple changed the way people interact with technology, and how his attention to aesthetic beauty and intrinsic usability created machines with which we formed intense personal connections. The confluence of art, technology and design that Jobs brought to his work is something that many entrepreneurs aspire to – but only he was able to master.

I’m proud to consider myself an entrepreneur as well, albeit a far less successful one (aren’t we all?). Looking back, my path is due in no small part to Mr. Jobs’ influence, although I never had the good fortune to meet the man himself. I was born in Southeast Portland in 1976, the same year Jobs and Wozniak established Apple. A sweet family lived next door to me then: Barb and Jack Dudman and their son, Joe. Jack was a much-loved math professor and later Dean of Students at nearby Reed College. I spent much of my free time as a child at the Dudmans; first and foremost because they were great friends and secondly because they had wondrous computers: an Apple II, an Apple III, and then, in 1984, the first Macintosh. At my house, the most advanced technology was a 12” color TV.

Today is an exciting day for everyone here at Elemental, and really, for anyone with a stake in the future of online and mobile video delivery. This morning we announced that Elemental has raised $7.5 million in Series B financing led by Steamboat Ventures, joined by our existing investors General Catalyst Partners and Voyager Capital.

So coming up on our fourth birthday, there are many reasons to toast the future:

1. Our new VC partners: Steamboat Ventures is the ideal fit for Elemental. As the venture capital firm affiliated with The Walt Disney Company, Steamboat Ventures invests in early- to mid-stage, technology-focused companies pursuing opportunities in emerging digital media and consumer technology markets. 

Scott Hilleboe, Managing Director at Steamboat, joins Elemental's board, bringing significant media experience and a Harvard MBA to the table. Besides Elemental, he is currently an investor in EdgeCast Networks, Kyte, MediaBank, and MerchantCircle. Scott’s prior investments include Quigo (acquired by AOL), Fastclick (acquired by ValueClick), and PopularMedia (acquired by StrongMail).

Oregon got some sad news last week when Jive Software announced the company was moving its headquarters to Palo Alto. Jive is a terrific company that has built one of the best social media businesses around: unique technology, a deep customer base, and national recognition in publications like The New York Times. Dave Hersh, Jive’s current chairman and founding CEO, helped mentor many other Portland startups and was an inspirational technology leader here. What happened?

For those of us who have lived in the Northwest for a long time, it’s a familiar story. The excuses are plentiful: it is difficult to find great sales and marketing talent here. The epicenter of the technology world is the Bay Area. There's not enough venture capital in the state. I could go on and on.

So, why try to build a company in Portland?

Today, we announced the next step in the evolution of Elemental's enterprise-class product line: Elemental Live. Over the past two years, we've brought an array of products to market, ranging from a high-speed encoder for professional video editors to our new video processing system for live event streaming. With each product, we have focused our development on dramatically improving the end-user workflow by speeding up video processing and conversion using GPUs and maximizing video quality through proprietary codecs, designed in-house. We've upped the ante again, challenging the video processing paradigm with Elemental Live's features that streamline the live event production and delivery workflow.

Elemental Live receives an input stream directly from an SDI source, such as a camera, or a UDP (IP) stream and provides format conversion, image processing and container conversion, outputting a new stream compatible with the desired streaming media server. Multiple streams are then delivered to each end user device.

Recently, I was interviewed by the Oregon Entrepreneurs Network (OEN) for a member spotlight and it got me thinking about how important shared resources are to new ventures. Elemental’s co-founders and I know firsthand how challenging it is to turn an idea for a business into a legitimate company -- not to mention delivering on the commitment of a high ROI for our stakeholders.

Luckily, Portland has some great resources for new firms. Along with the OEN, the Software Association of Oregon has networking events and valuable services for member companies. Then there are other local startups that have built impressive businesses, including Jive Software, Tripwire, and Kryptiq. Many of the executives at these success stories are active in the community and always willing to share their stories and experiences with new companies. 

In the hopes that Elemental has something to contribute to the dialog, I thought it would be worthwhile to jot down the places I've gone for advice, wisdom, and inspiration. Perhaps these resources will be useful for others. 

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