Socialcam Spins Out of Justin.tv to Simplify Video-Sharing on Mobile

**Waqas** · August 30, 2011

“It’s fairly common knowledge that a startup can’t execute on two products simultaneously,” reasons Michael Seibel. Seibel, who will be transitioning out of his role as CEO of Justin.tv, is now the CEO of the newly independent startup Socialcam.

Socialcam was created inside Justin.tv in just 60 days to address challenges associated with sharing video via mobile. The iPhone and Android application traffics in quick clip-sharing in the same way that Instagram makes mobile photos instantly sharable.

In four months time, Socialcam “destroyed targets” and surpassed one million downloads, Seibel says.

Now, the product is being spun out as its own entity, and will go it alone with Seibel and a team of three engineers all moving over from Justin.tv. The foursome hopes to dethrone Facebook, YouTube and Apple and become top dog in the mobile video-sharing department.

“The big entrenched players don’t do what we do well,” Seibel boasts. “People are carrying around smartphones. They have a video capture device in their pockets twentyfour-seven,” he says. “But, they don’t have an easy way to take videos and share them with their friends.”

Facebook, YouTube and Apple — the three largest players in the mobile video market, as identified by Seibel — make for an encumbered or clunky social video experience on mobile. It’s too challenging to upload and discover videos on Facebook, too difficult to find YouTube videos from Facebook friends and impossible to see the quality content stored in a friend’s Camera application, he explains.

These factors, he says, have enabled Socialcam to grow at an ever-accelerating rate.

As for Justin.tv, Seibel will be replaced as CEO by former Justin.tv CTO Emmet Shear, who will continue to push forward on TwitchTV, Justin.tv’s new online destination for video gamers.

Considering Seibel’s departure and his statement about a startup not being able to execute on multiple products, one has to wonder: Where does this leave Justin.tv? “We still believe in that product,” he says. “We just believe Twitch and Socialcam are operating in markets that are significantly larger and are more underserved.”

Seibel declined to comment on how Socialcam will be financed, saying only that new investors will have the opportunity to invest in the spun off company.

[via TechCrunch]

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