Looking for a place to show off your high-quality drone videos?
Mike Israel is an avid drone enthusiast and RC pilot, who in 2015, founded the online drone video sharing platform – AIRVUZ. Prior to founding AIRVUZ, Mike was a Managing Director and co-founder of Mill City Capital, L.P., a leading private equity firm based in Minneapolis. He has more than 18 years of experience in the investment banking field, remains an Investment Advisor with Mill City and continues to serve as a director on several Mill City portfolio companies. Since its launch, AIRVUZ has become the premiere online community for sharing and viewing aerial video content from around the world. In this show, Mike talks about AIRVUZ, what differentiates it from other video sharing platforms and how drone pilots can benefit by sharing their content with the us and the rest of the world.
In This Episode
- [01:37] Introduction. Mike Israel is the CEO and founder of Airvuz, which was started in 2015.
- [03:02] The Idea. Mike shares how the idea of Airvuz came to be. Video sharing sites like YouTube and Vimeo have so much content. Good drone videos can become lost. A dedicated niche site like Airvuz allows users to view a greater number of quality content videos during a viewing session compared to the uniform video platforms.
- [06:41] Differentiating from YouTube and Vimeo. Mike discusses several of features that distinguish AirVuz from other video sharing sites, namely the focused drone video content, the curated format of the videos by the staff and original drone video content developed to highlight users and their work.
- [10:59] Original Content. AIRVUZ also continues to grow its slate of original drone-themed programming content, all exclusive to AIRVUZ, including “AirVuz News” – a show that promotes quality member videos; ” “InnerViews” – a contest format show highlighting the best submissions on a theme; “Drone Dish” – a skype video interview with contributors of viral video content; “Behind the Goggles” – an FPV content related show highlighting drone racing videos and “Drone Trippin” – another FPV video format highlighting drone racing footage at cool locations. These shows provide another way for AirVuz to attract and build an audience.
- [15:14] Video Production Opportunities. Mike discusses some of the opportunities that member have to showcase their video work and hopefully gain recognition and experience that can lead to business opportunities.
- [17:24] The AirVuz Community. A a big part of the success of the site are the people that come and view the videos. Mike talks about the growth of the site and the community.
- [20:09] The Secret to a Great AirVuz Video. There are a lot of things that make a compelling AirVuz video, but Mike shares his thoughts on what make a top notch video on the site.
- [22:26] AirVuz Business Model. AirVuz is still in a pre-revenue mode, as the team builds membership and investigates potential revenue models around product placement advertising. They also have a a few in-house videographers that could one day, create content for pay.
- [30:32] Creating and Building AirVuz. Mike discusses the challenges of creating AirVuz and building a successful site around the video content. There have been many challenges, not to mention the technology challenges, the adoption by users and the growth in membership. Mike also shares the rewards that he’s received in bringing the idea of AirVuz to reality.
- [33:38] Closing Comments. Mike hopes that AirVuz will continue to play a positive role in users’ path from novice to serious drone pilot and that it will become a hub for drone users.
Mentioned Links
Tagged as: drone video.
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Mike Israel is an avid drone enthusiast and RC pilot, who in 2015, founded the online drone video sharing platform – AIRVUZ. Prior to founding AIRVUZ, Mike was a Managing Director and co-founder of Mill City Capital, L.P., a leading private equity firm based in Minneapolis. He has more than 18 years of experience in the investment banking field, remains an Investment Advisor with Mill City and continues to serve as a director on several Mill City portfolio companies. Since its launch, AIRVUZ has become the premiere online community for sharing and viewing aerial video content from around the world. In this show, Mike talks about AIRVUZ, what differentiates it from other video sharing platforms and how drone pilots can benefit by sharing their content with the us and the rest of the world.
