Video Creation Marketplace StudioNow Raises $5 Million to Fund Expansion

NASHVILLE, TN--(Marketwired - Aug 20, 2014) - StudioNow announced that it has raised $5 million in a Series B round led by FCA Venture Partners with participation from existing investor, Claritas Capital. The company also announced that it has made key new hires to support its rapid growth and opened offices in San Francisco and New York. The company is focused on being the leader in the digital video creation market that is estimated to be over $23 billion for 2014.

The additions to StudioNow's management team include new CTO Rob DeMillo, who will also lead the company's new San Francisco office, CFO Rob Tanner, CRO Michael Thompson, and VP of Business Development Kelly Metz. (See individual bios below.)

StudioNow was founded in January 2007 and raised $3.5 million before being acquired by AOL for $36.5 million in cash and stock three years later. Last year the company was spun out of AOL in a deal led by founder, chairman, and CEO, David Mason and Claritas Capital.

"Our decision to re-establish StudioNow as an independent company and invest in our platform and tools, an expanded management team, and new offices, shows the confidence that we have, and our investors have, in the StudioNow marketplace and community of creators, agencies, and brands," said David Mason, founder and CEO of StudioNow.

StudioNow provides a suite of services and technology tools designed to match tens of thousands of video content producers with enterprises who need their services. The highly curated global marketplace offers production companies and filmmakers access to countless new opportunities and a platform to help run their business while clients, ranging from small business to Fortune 100 brands, are guaranteed to get the best talent at the best price every time.

Major brands that have used the StudioNow Marketplace include Toyota, Twitter, IBM, AT&T, StyleList, Verizon, FedEx, CafeMom, Kohl's, Sports Illustrated, AOL, and Pulte Homes. More than 50,000 videos have been created through StudioNow for clients in more than 52 countries around the world. This month it was announced that StudioNow won three Telly awards for their work for AOL, IBM, and Rhett & Link for freecreditscore.com.

NEW ADDITIONS TO STUDIONOW'S MANAGEMENT TEAM

Chief Financial Officer, Rob Tanner
Rob Tanner has oversight of all financial operations, capital and treasury management, and day-to-day administrative responsibilities. Tanner has a diverse background in financial management, investment banking, mergers and acquisitions and business strategy within both Fortune 1000 and growth-stage companies.

Chief Revenue Officer, Michael Thompson
Michael Thompson is responsible for driving revenue; managing sales, marketing, and client services. Thompson has been immersed in sales, marketing, business development and strategy during his 28 years in business as an executive of various private equity backed ventures.

Chief Technology Officer, Rob DeMillo
Rob DeMillo is a 20-year entrepreneurial and media industry veteran, hired by StudioNow to grow the company's technology team and capabilities and launch the company's San Francisco office. DeMillo has held CTO positions at Discovery Digital Networks, Revision3, Third Screen Media, and m-Qube; as well as Founder and CTO roles at Transpera and other Silicon Valley-based companies. DeMillo is also a contributing venture partner at the Korean accelerator SparkLabs Global, and is a board advisor on a handful of ad server and mobile startup companies.

VP of Business Development, Kelly Metz
Kelly Metz is responsible for marketplace strategy, partnerships, and new products. Metz has held various management positions in the software and media industries including Yahoo!, Adobe, and Oracle.

About StudioNow
 StudioNow is headquartered in Nashville, TN. with offices in New York and San Francisco. The StudioNow Marketplace has created over 50,000 high-quality, low-cost videos for businesses of all sizes in over 6,000 cities in the U.S. and 52 countries around the world, including such Fortune 500 companies as IBM, AT&T/YellowPages, Toyota, Saatchi & Saatchi, Verizon, Coca Cola, Bank of America, Ameriprise, Simon & Schuster, Random House, Akamai, FedEx, ClearChannel, Twitter, AOL, CBS, Disney, Fox Sports and Sports Illustrated. For more information about StudioNow, visit www.studionow.com.