A STARTUP THAT STOPPED

Cinovu was a Berlin-based startup funded by castLabs. It was a time before today's creator economy existed. Independent and arthouse filmmakers were producing countless films that never found their way into traditional distribution channels. YouTube existed, but at the time it was hardly a viable platform for distributing and monetizing independent films. Instagram was in its infancy, TikTok didn't exist, and the digital tools that creators take for granted today were still largely missing.

Together with Martin and Michael, I wanted to change that. Our idea was to create a one-stop shop for independent cinema, combining digital distribution with smart, personalized film discovery to help the 99% of films that fell through the cracks find their audience.

Cinovu ceased operations in summer 2012. But for me, the experience marked an important transition from the art world into the startup and tech scene. It was also a crash course in the startup funding game, at a time when crowdfunding was still emerging and crypto-based financing had yet to become an option. Along the way, I learned a great deal about the promises, peculiarities, and pitfalls of startup financing—lessons that are now finding their way into my current book, Money Patterns.

The two videos below explain what we were trying to build and why. Videos were written and directed by me and animated by the wonderful Xaver Boehm.

DEMO

PROMO

PRESS COVERAGE

• silicon allee 
• venture village 
• berlin geekettes 
• handelsblatt

SOCIAL MEDIA

https://web.facebook.com/cinovu/