Using the 3D Touch on the iPhones, Velapp allows you to edit live video while you shoot it. The harder you press, the higher the rating. You can assign a rating anywhere from zero to 10 as you record.
Velapp will automatically edit the best parts of the video for you without your having to do anything - turning a 10-minute video into something like a two-minute highlight reel in a matter of seconds.
I interviewed the founder David de Min to see how he came up with this idea and how he got the attention of Apple Co-Founder, Steve Wozniak.
Let’s not mess around, how did you get Woz’s attention?
A good friend of mine Jonny Cadden called me up to say that Steve Wozniak was headlining his event. I said straight away that I HAD to meet him.
Jonny joked to say that everyone ‘has’ to meet him, I said what if I drive him to the event? He said Tesla is already picking him up.
Ok, what if I get a supercar? He said he’d think about it.
That hour I walked into the Rolls Royce dealership in Mayfair, London and told the manager that I was picking up Steve Wozniak and it would be great exposure for them (even though Jonny hadn’t confirmed it). The manager gave me one of the first Rolls Royce Dawns in the UK with a chauffeur.
Picked up the Woz, he gave me his epic metal business card, drove him to the event, and took that opportunity to speak about Velapp and received some amazing feedback which was incredibly motivating.
Steve and I have kept in touch ever since, he’s been such an inspiration for me. Rolls Royce also sold 3 cars at the event too so it was a win all round!
Where did the idea for Velapp come from?
It wasn’t until the end of 2014 during a motorbike trip across India with my brother Michael that I hit upon the idea for Velapp. We bought two Royal Enfield motorbikes and rode all the way to the Himalayas.
We had two cameras running to film all the best moments but when we came back to London, even though I considered myself a professional video editor, it took me just under three weeks to edit 325 hours of footage.
That’s how Velapp was born. I knew that for any editor, even an experienced one, finding the magic moments in footage is tough going. I knew there were moments in all of those hours that were the best but there was no way to easily unearth them.
So I hit upon the idea of capturing or marking these during filming, in the same way you always hold on to your most vivid memories
What was the first step you took after you had the idea?
Once I had the idea I went to my old boss who is not only incredibly well respected in the video industry, but has over 40 years experience in the field. I told him my idea to validate it, and after a little research he said, “I can’t believe this hasn’t been done before, if you crack this, you’re going to kill my industry – I want to invest in you’. So that was my first investment to put a team together and build our MVP (minimum viable product) and file patents around Velapp.
What’s the biggest mistake you’ve made and what did you learn from it?
Only work on a business that you’re truly passionate about. I made the mistake when I was younger to jump into things for the wrong reasons and I ended up loosing money. If you don’t have the passion you wont put in the long hours it requires to take an idea from inception to product.
Not only am I incredibly passionate about what I do, it’s my drive to continuously want to improve every element of Velapp and build something that will improve people’s lives that excites me.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
One word that changed my outlook on many things: Kaizen.
This is a Japanese saying that stands for; constant and never ending improvement. What have you done within your business that is going to improve it tomorrow? Even a small change everyday compounded overtime will generate huge progress in a year from now.
Also, don’t spread yourself too thinly, otherwise you will lack focusing on what really matters, and eat more broccoli!