we’re going to kick you off the network,” Miletsky says.
Miletsky is far from alone in trying to bring order to the chaos of online videos. Video sharing site Vimeo in New York, for example, showcases clips picked by its staff, and it sorts videos into categories to help users discover new content. New York’s Blip.tv—backed by Bain Capital Ventures, Canaan Partners, and Ambient Sound Investments—hosts Web videos but is focused on episodic Web series rather than random viral videos.
While high-volume content sites such as YouTube do offer channels, categories, and playlists, Miletsky says it can still be a challenge to get past the hokey content. “It takes a little bit of an effort on these open networks to find something,” he says.
MyPod Studios also plans to create original content in-house, he says. At the end of June, the company moved from Black Ocean’s incubator into Bravo Studios (not affiliated with the cable network) on West 27th Street. That gives MyPod Studios access to green screens to shoot video. “We’ll be doing a lot of how-to stuff and some food and drink [shows], so we’re not at the mercy of individuals with cell phones who feel like uploading a schoolyard fight,” he says. The move also puts Miletsky among media producers who may be looking for distribution outlets.
The idea for MyPod Studios emanated from Miletsky’s work in marketing. He was CEO of Totowa, NJ-based advertising and marketing company PFS Marketwyse, which became Mango! Marketing. The ad firm worked on a project in for client ASCO Power, a division of Emerson Electric, to build a custom video platform to be used for marketing purposes. ASCO Power declined to adopt the proposed platform, citing costs, but Miletsky was able to out-license it. ASCO Power came back and signed on under those terms. Washington Mutual was also a customer.
Unfortunately WaMu, the platform’s largest customer, went out of business and Miletsky shelved the idea to focus on his firm’s ad and marketing business. In 2010 he decided to part ways with the agency he founded to take another shot at the online video sector and founded MyPod Studios. Initially he considered reviving to the licensed platform model to pursue business clients but he pivoted to focus on the consumer audience and generating revenue through ads. “I hesitated at first,” he says. “I didn’t think we needed another YouTube or Metacafe.” So he settled on the strategy of creating a gated online video community, and MyPod Studios made its platform available to the public last September.
MyPod Studios is backed by Black Ocean in New York and angel investors, though Miletsky says his company has not needed much funding thus far and is already profitable. “We’ve raised a little less than $1 million but we haven’t given away a lot [of equity],” he says.
Miletsky says he wants his company to evolve into a diverse source of online entertainment and information—and not just videos. The popularity of the food and beverage content, he says, led to the creation of a companion website, MyPodcooks.com, which features written recipes, tips for throwing parties, and instructions for making mixed drinks. A similar site for health and fitness is also in the works. Miletsky says he plans to continue offering selective online content, likening his role to that of a news editor picking the top stories to deliver to the audience. “Just because [cloud storage] is cheap,” he says, “why do we have to put everything that’s on film on our network?”
