Describe the business
Movidiam is a professional creative network for filming, so it is two things. Firstly, it is a profiling site where filmmakers can list their skills, experience and equipment. Brands, businesses and agencies will use it to look for people – we are a marketplace for filmmaking.
Secondly, we are building a project management tool. The processes of filmmaking are exactly the same, they just happen at different levels. A project management tool enables you to build tasks and plan.
What was your lightbulb moment?
Alex [Vero, co-founder] and I have been running an agency called Pendragon Productions, making films for a whole range of companies. We were often really challenged to execute them in the time frames needed. Looking through the lens of cloud computing, we thought there has to be a better way of doing this.
On one of our projects Alex had to find a team in Beijing – it took five or six days when we needed it in 10 seconds.
How do you find time to run both businesses?
Movidiam has completely streamlined Pendragon. It has become more efficient because of Movidiam. Our network is hundreds of thousands of people in 178 countries around the world.
How did you get into filmmaking?
Like many people we literally bought cameras and started tinkering around with them, and worked out how to commercialise it. There are a lot of creative entrepreneurs out there now who can create Hollywood-standard aesthetics. The cost of equipment has gone down and the standard has gone up. We have been working in the video space since it became accessible for small teams.
Why do people become freelancers?
Being a freelancer is an incredibly flexible way of life but you are always reliant on finding your next job. Having a presence and promoting yourself to the world is very difficult when you are out filming.
What’s your proudest moment?
One of them happened just a couple of weeks back when I spent some time with Mark Murphy, one of the composers from Game of Thrones in Dublin, who has signed up to Movidiam.
How much can Movidiam grow?
You are not going to get everyone but I think it can become the number one destination on the web for filmmakers.
What advice would you offer wannabe entrepreneurs?
There’s no right way or wrong way of doing anything. You just have to be very committed to your own ideas. Don’t be swayed by other people. It is nice to have friends and family and contacts who can give you advice, but be confident about your own decisions.
George Olver is the co-founder of Movidiam
Sign up to become a member of the Guardian Small Business Network here for more advice, insight and best practice direct to your inbox.
.jpg?w=600)
