In the lead-up to SCALE, our early-stage startup growth program, we’re profiling startups we believe show exceptional promise. Catch up with 60 of the world’s hottest startups at TNW NYC in New York on November 16th.
Today, we bring you Autheos, a service helping brands and e-tailers harness the power of product videos.
Christina Caljé, the company’s Co-founder and CEO, recently got selected to pitch at Google Demo Day: Women’s Edition 2016, with Autheos being the only Dutch startup to have made the cut.
We asked Christina some questions about Autheos and their upcoming SCALE participation.
Tell us what you do in two sentences
Autheos is fundamentally changing the way brands and online retailers leverage video content to boost sales. Our platform automates the instantaneous distribution of product videos from brands directly to e-tailer product pages, while generating data insights to drive growth and increase reach.
What’s your origin story? How did the company get started?
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Like most successful startups, we grew from an unmet need. A long time ago, in the e-commerce galaxy far far away…we started out as a webshop.
Back then, we wondered why it was so difficult to find product videos and why there was no easy, quick way to embed them onto our product pages. When we realized that other e-tailers were also struggling to source and retrieve product videos from their brands, Autheos was born! The rest is history.
You recently moved in to our new curated tech space in the heart of Amsterdam: TQ. Why did you choose this space, and how is it affecting your startup?
We moved to TQ for the community, hands down. Being around other like-minded startups in similar phases has been a huge resource to us. During our three months at TQ so far, we’ve leveraged other residents’ expertise to gather product feedback, brainstorm solutions for a technical challenge, and identify new lead generation methods.
A surprising benefit far exceeding our expectations is the network access TQ provides beyond the resident community. Whether it’s partners like Google and Booking.com, or influencers in the broader tech community, I am floored by the breadth of the TQ team’s network and their willingness to facilitate connections.
Autheos co-founder @chriscalj with none other than @MinPres Rutte at the official opening of our startup home @TQams! pic.twitter.com/dYvAd4dhkh
— Autheos (@autheosofficial) October 12, 2016
Who is your biggest rival and why are you better than them?
We cut across multiple competitive landscapes – video players, content management systems, a/b testing, and analytics – by integrating elements of all these functionalities into a single tool, oriented specifically towards the e-commerce space. This is our overarching competitive advantage: we offer a one-stop-shop solution to our customers to help them achieve their sales goals.
Get rich or change the world – which is more important and why?
Do both, of course! It’s human nature to want to leave a legacy and to feel that we have an impact on the lives of those around us. As a mother, that need is particularly strong. Philosophical drivers aside, I also work pretty darn hard and want to reap the results of all of that hard work!
Tell us one weird fact about a member of your team
My co-founder quit his job as an accountant years ago…to become a DJ! Once he grew tired of that glamorous life, he embarked on a decidedly different (but arguably just as glamorous) life as an entrepreneur.
If you weren’t working on Autheos, what would you be doing?
Working for another super cool, high-potential startup, likely in the augmented reality (AR) or virtual reality (VR) space. I am utterly enchanted by recent applications of AR and VR, particularly in the retail space merging the digital with brick-and-mortar. Or maybe I just want to play games for a living!
What are you hoping to get out of SCALE?
It’s really fun to be bringing the company I co-founded in Amsterdam back to my hometown, New York City. This feels like a taste of what’s to come, since in the next six months we expect to start raising an investment round that will support our expansion beyond Europe. This is why we’d love to open up a dialogue with interested investors at SCALE, or anyone in the e-commerce space who might want to partner with us.
You can follow Autheos here, and don’t miss them, along with 60 more of the world’s most promising startups, at TNW NYC on November 16th.
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