How-to videos are more popular than ever and Instagram Stories and Snapchat has made How-to videos a preferred medium to learn and teach new things. NYC startup Jumprope‘s platform empowers people to create how-to videos through a unique step-by-step format that allows anyone to build an informational how-to video without any previous video editing or specialized skills. Creators can personalize the look and feel of their videos through animation themes, colors, patterns, and background music and easily export their work, tailored appropriately for each distribution channel – currently YouTube, Facebook, Pinterest, Stories, IGTV, your website, and more. Jumprope even allows the creation of shoppable pages that features the products from the videos so that creators can monetize their content as well.
AlleyWatch sat down with cofounder and CEO Jake Poses to learn more about the origin of the business and its future plans.
Tell us about the product or service that Jumprope offers.
Jumprope is the place to discover, create and share step-by-step how-to videos.
What is the business model for Jumprope?
Right now, Jumprope is focused on growing creators and viewers using the platform.
We plan to monetize via advertising and commerce. Brands will be able to create Jumpropes showcasing their products and promote those to a wider audience. We’ll also generate revenue off of products sold directly through Jumprope.
What inspired the start of Jumprope?
I’ve always loved breaking things down into steps to show other people how to do them. My brother has learning differences, and I started doing this at a young age to help him learn.
In 2016, I started using Instagram Stories a lot to tell stories about what I was seeing in the world. I found the medium to be both super engaging and a really easy way to tell a powerful story. I realized that the step-by-step nature of Stories could be applied really well to learning how to do new things, which sparked the idea for Jumprope.
What are some of the most interesting uses of your platform that you have seen?
We’ve seen a collection of elementary and middle school teachers creating how-to’s on Jumprope to show their students and the broader Jumprope community how to do interesting, useful art and science projects.
What are the milestones that you plan to achieve within six months?
Our goal over the next six months is to grow the number of people creating engaging and useful how-to’s on Jumprope each day.
What is the one piece of startup advice that you never got?
Learn to be really good at using contractors: The needs of an early-stage startup vary so much over its early life. Learning to find and ramp up contractors quickly has enabled us to move much faster than we could have otherwise.
If you could be put in touch with anyone in the New York community who would it be and why?
Mike Bloomberg. I admire both the amazing company he’s built and how he’s given back to the NYC community in a wide array of ways.
Why did you launch in New York?
I believe NYC is the best city in the world, and I wanted to spend the next chapter of my life in my hometown after a 7-year stint in the Bay Area. On top of that, NYC is a logical home for Jumprope because it’s a hub for consumer brands, creators and media companies.
What’s your favorite restaurant in the city?
Vic’s – It always has good energy, it’s delicious without being fussy and it’s tourist-free.
