With the launch of the new video-app ‘Cinch’ there is now no excuse for making bad videos. Cinch guides users through the filming and editing process with on-screen guidelines helping to record, trim, rearrange and add music. Cinch is a free download for a short time in the iTunes App Store.
Alexandra Kinloch, a Masters student in Swinburne University’s Entrepreneurship and Innovation program, came up with the original idea.
Alexandra had met co-founder Ben Rashleigh at the York Butter Factory, an old bluestone warehouse on Melbourne’s King Street, now a co-working space for Melbourne’s high-potential digital media and web 2.0 entrepreneurs.
Together the pair developed the app for Swinburne’s 2013 Venture Cup competition. Alexandra says:
“It always surprises me how many boring videos there are out there of exciting things!
With Cinch we just want to make it a little easier to capture the fun of a family holiday or the excitement of a wedding without needing to be a professional videographer.”
Alexandra, an experienced photographer, was inspired by an outback trip through the Simpson Desert. She wanted to capture the adventure and beauty of her experience to show friends and family but the end result was
“a video that even I didn’t want to watch…
I knew there had to be a better way to easily learn how to capture and edit video all on your smartphone.”
Swinburne Uni has started an annual Venture Cup competition. It aims to align the classroom experience with real-world, entrepreneurial experience.
Entrants benefit from the experience, they can possibly source venture capital investment and also identify practical entrepreneurial opportunities.
Alexandra and Ben created the Cinch app, wrote a business plan for the competition, and they won!
They won $20,000 PLUS a six week trip to the US where they made several presentations about Cinch.
Cinch is the only app of its kind developed in Australia that allows in-app video editing and one touch export to YouTube, Facebook and email.
The US trip was to present the concept and talk to potential investors. Alexandra and Ben went to Silicon Valley and made presentations at the Venture Labs Investment competition in Austin at the University of Texas, and the Licensing Executives Society competition in Seattle. The concept was very well received. Alexandra says of Silicon Valley:
“It was a really interesting experience and we learned a lot…We’ve met some really amazing people doing extraordinary things..
It seemed that people were a little bit more willing and open to assist in Silicon Valley compared to Australia…
What I was told of the culture there is [that] people have a pay-it-forward culture where people will help you out if they can.”
Alexandra believes the Australian startup ecosystem has a come a long way in the last couple of years but
“entrepreneurship isn’t really part of the Australian mindset..
The startup scene is far less developed in Australia, which means there are less people overall that can assist in providing and helping new startups with strategic direction.
At this point, Alexandra, Ben and the Cinch startup are based in the York Butter Factory. Alexandra says:
“Being surrounded by like-minded people has been very beneficial..
We’ll do what is in the best interest of the business. At this stage we are based in Australia but we’ll look to other opportunities as they emerge.”
They haven’t ruled out moving the business overseas.
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The Cinch Video app is currently free for a limited time and available in the iTunes App Store”>iTunes App Store.
For further information contact: Alexandra Kinloch, CEO The Capture Group
MOBILE 0417 525 697
EMAIL alexandra@cinchvideo.com
WEBSITE www.cinchvideo.com
CINCH VIDEO iTunes App Store link – https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/cinch-video/id698475816?mt=8
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Well done and good luck Alexandra and Ben!