Five to watch: Emily Forbes, Seenit

Emily Forbes, 29
Company: Seenit
Web: www.seenit.io

While making a documentary at an anti-rhino poaching protest in South Africa, Emily Forbes realised there was already a wealth of footage being captured on the mobile phones  in the crowd. With the capability for high-quality video capture in most people’s pockets, she saw the potential for brands and businesses to harness this lucrative untapped resource.

In 2014 Forbes launched two-time Startups 100-listed Seenit, an online platform that enables brands to turn fans and employees into their personal mobile film crew. Using a video capture app and online studio to co-create video content, businesses can create a script to direct footage collection, while taking advantage of unique perspectives from around the world. Seenit – a finalist for the Women in Business Award at the 2015 Startups Awards – says this collaboration helps to drive consumer engagement, give employees a voice  and trust back into branded content

Major organisations such as the BBC, BT Sport, NBC Universal, Morrisons and Camelot with Team GB are just some of the 100 brands that have used the platform since launch collecting over 100,000 videos. The potential of this young company is clear, and with big growth plans for 2016 underway, we’ll be following the progress of Forbes and her team closely over the next year.

Image ©Peter Searle.