Jersey IT developers secure local investment to go global

Wednesday 17 February 2021

An internet platform to help YouTubers, and other online content creators, generate more money for their work is looking to go global, after securing a funding boost from a group of Jersey investors.

Faction Digital has invested in Flaze, a start-up founded locally by developers Benedict Lewis and Callum Cunningham.

The purpose of Flaze is to create a way for content creators across YouTube and other content-upload sites to charge fans for subscription access to features like exclusive videos.

Pictured: Faction Digital have invested in Flaze to help it reach a global market.

Talking to Express, Callum explained how exactly the platform works: "Anyone can create a channel and start earning after providing some basic information to enable payments, which is all handled by the platform.

"Once live, creators have complete control over their upload schedule and the individual uploads themselves, within our content guidelines. They keep ownership of their videos, and can change or remove them at any time."

And the idea is already gathering traction, with Callum remarking: "We’ve had some great reception from creators so far.

"We had a handful of creators at launch with a combined social following of around 1.5m, once they started gaining traction the response was that it was easy to convert their audience into Flaze subscribers, and the extra source of income supplemented their YouTube earnings, allowing for the creation of more involved videos.

"We also form a more personal connection with our creators. As opposed to YouTube's approach where it’s often impossible to speak to an actual person, we keep in touch with all of our creators, giving them a chance to offer feedback or request helpful features. They appreciate the fact that real people help them through any issues and will actually listen to their ideas."

The business says its emphasis is on giving creators complete creative control of their work, whilst giving users an ad-free experience and allowing them to create bespoke subscription packages of chosen influencers.

Pictures: The platform gives YouTubers and other online content creators a chance to monetise their content.

Callum said: “Our vision with Flaze is to empower both users and content creators alike to take back control. Users are tired of having unwanted ads interrupting their use of platforms, and content creators have many barriers to overcome in terms of advertising restrictions and demonetisation. 

“Having Faction Digital on board is amazing for Flaze, alongside the value that the investment brings to helping us build the company, the track record and wealth of experience the team brings in scaling global companies outside of Jersey is invaluable."

Digital Jersey CEO Tony Moretta said: “Benedict has been a familiar face to the Digital Jersey team for years, having been involved in schools hackathons, our Coders Club and more recently multiple tech community projects. 

“There’s little more satisfying than seeing such local tech talent going from strength to strength, and now attracting local venture capital investment to propel Flaze onto the global stage.”

Pictured: Flaze was created by Benedict Lewis and Callum Cunningham.

Benedict Lewis, co-founder of Flaze, added: “Our continued drive for local innovation was in part spurred by the talent shown at hackathons organised by Digital Jersey, whose advice and support over the years has been invaluable. That relationship has helped us prepare for this investment and the introduction to Faction.”

Richard Schiessl, co-founder of FeelUnique and Partner at Faction Digital, said: “We’re really excited about the investment in Flaze, both because it represents our first Jersey-based investment but more importantly we believe the business is well placed to solve a real problem and capitalise on a significant opportunity in paid-for premium content. 

“Callum and Ben impressed us from the first meeting with their passion and drive and the significant progress they had already made with limited resources to create a platform that had quickly proven the concept and was already generating revenues.”