The first Vod platform to offer both On-Platform tipping and paid Subscriptions, Vidme became one of the top 1,000 most popular destinations on the web, reaching over 200 million people annually. Fewer than a dozen full-time employees, and in spite of increasing competition for audience attention from the likes of Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon, who began spending billions of dollars per year on Video content.

At the time we offered sharable video links, sharing videos was more difficult than it is today — Facebook, Twitter, reddit, and other large platforms didn’t have native video, it was often impossible to send large files over SMS, and YouTube required sign-in and publishing to your G+ page. Vidme’s simple, one-step video upload drove massive early adoption and traffic.

Monetizing user-generated content is increasingly challenging  

• Facebook and Google combined control 60% of Online ad spending in the U.S.
• Advertisers want their ads to complement "Brand-Safe" content. Even Poorly-Moderated videos can result in a PR disaster.
• Few advertisers are willing to negotiate direct deals with platforms that don’t have enormous scale. This means there’s less overall revenue to be shared with creators.
• The profit margin was insufficient to cover the high costs of storing and delivering Video.

If you’re considering building your own video platform, here are a few suggestions:

• Be wary of Monetizing with ads prior to achieving massive scale.
• Consider Peer-To-Peer storage and delivery to further reduce infrastructure overhead. Consider restrictive storage policies, and own as much of the physical infrastructure as possible.
• Leverage an existing audience, and/or Incentivize all platform participants by issuing a native currency.

Not every member of the Vidme team will be staying on for the next chapter. We’re talking with some Creator-Focused companies that might incorporate our technology and revive Vidme in some new form in the future.