Jilion: A successful exit and a kick in return for the next generation of entrepreneurs
29.01.2015
Early 2014, our venture kick Alumnus Jilion (the creator of SublimeVideo, the world’s first cloud-based HTML5 video player), was acquired by Dailymotion. The team, formed at EPFL in 2009 by Zeno Crivelli and Mehdi Aminian, subsequently decided to support venture kick in return and provide capital for the next generation of entrepreneurs. Just one year after the exit, we interviewed Mehdi about his amazing adventure.
 Jilion was formed by Zeno Crivelli and Mehdi Aminian in 2009 at EPFL
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Mehdi, how and when was the SublimeVideo technology born and subsequently, Jilion?
We launched SublimeVideo, our cloud-based universal video player service (HTML5 + Flash), in August 2010. Everything actually started by accident: Our initial project was to develop a music social network. While working on this project, we launched a simple demo of the world’s first HTML5 Video Player (with custom controls), somehow for fun and to please our web and “geek” friends. Because of the huge buzz that followed in the web developer community, on some important blogs and on Twitter (we passed from 0 to 3.500 followers in one week!) we decided to freeze our initial project and build a working HTML5 Video solution for the web.
What need(s) did you fill with SublimeVideo?
A pretty big one: Video has become colossal on the web. However, simultaneously, the end user experience has significantly degraded: This is due to the fact that today, people have to deal with two incompatible technologies to play video within a web browser: A proprietary one, Flash, which is rather well supported on personal computers, and the official standard, HTML5 Video, which is the only way to play web video on the exploding mobile platforms. The result is that very often, videos are not playing at all, depending on the platform used. SublimeVideo was designed in a very Swiss fashion, as a universal platform supporting both Flash and HTML5 without any compromise on reliability and features.
Who have been your first customers, and competitors?
One key thing to note in the Jilion and the SublimeVideo story is that we have been identified as pioneers in the HTML5 Video field by the web developer community. This authentic blessing has been instrumental for everything we did afterwards and it brought us a lot of recognizance. Soon after we launched SublimeVideo, we rapidly had thousands of web sites using our service and ten of thousands at the time the company was sold to Dailymotion, including Sony, Breitling, Nissan, etc. From a technology standpoint, we did not have any real direct competitor. Our two main competitors were a well-established Flash player company and an open source package firm.
Let’s talk about the initial days of Jilion. How did you and Zeno meet?
We met at EPFL where we were both working. We discovered that we had really similar interests in web technology. We really took the time to know each other before starting to work together.
When and how did Dailymotion approach you?
They approached us in January 2013, right after our second technological milestone which really fitted their needs. In fact, during the “viral” buzz phase of SublimeVideo, we had already been approached by two well known US companies, both looking to make what they call a "talent acquisition". At the time, we decided not to pursue those discussions because we really wanted to implement our own vision, as we did. This was not an easy decision: But our guts simply refused to sell! We were happy to join Dailymotion as they wanted both the technology and the team.
What is the added value of your technology for Dailymotion?
In a nutshell, it allows them to bring a very reliable and customizable player to their content partners.
What changed for you and Zeno after the exit? Are you still on board?
Zeno is working hard at Dailymotion in the South of France, leading the player development team. On my side, I am “recovering” a bit: My entrepreneurial job having ended!
Did you invest in other startups?
Not yet but it might be the case in the future.
You very recently decided to kick the next generation of entrepreneurs in return by giving capital to venture kick. Can you explain why?
We were among the very first startups to receive support from venture kick. We really appreciate and admire the energy and passion of Jordi Montserrat and Beat Schillig, and what they are doing with their team for our country's startup ecosystem. We are also very grateful that wealthy foundations and donators were able to support us at a key stage, when you are “nothing”. This was very important. Another great thing about venture kick is that it is a Swiss-wide platform, which creates a sense of community and emulation among entrepreneurs.
What would you like to say to the next generation of entrepreneurs, if you had an advice to give them?
It's the best time to do a startup. Follow your passion and never betray what you believe in.
What is your view about the Swiss startup ecosystem, now that your exit is behind?
We are a small country with a rational and quite efficient environment where innovation is very much favored. That said, in order to scale from great innovation to big successes, we absolutely need to collectively improve on two important factors (which by the way are not a problem in the US for instance): First, a more "let's celebrate success" culture, more "good vibes" toward entrepreneurs. Second, in my opinion, startups need more capital and investors at later stages of their development.
Can you give us one best souvenir & anecdote about it?
We'd love to but we signed a non-disclosure agreement, and it does prevent us to tell a lot (laughs)! What we can say is that we learned a lot. The merger & acquisition (M&A) process is a key part of the startup life and must be more familiar to all entrepreneurs. One very important message to all startups founders is: Lead the M&A process yourself. Work with the best advisors possible. Never delegate it.
We launched SublimeVideo, our cloud-based universal video player service (HTML5 + Flash), in August 2010. Everything actually started by accident: Our initial project was to develop a music social network. While working on this project, we launched a simple demo of the world’s first HTML5 Video Player (with custom controls), somehow for fun and to please our web and “geek” friends. Because of the huge buzz that followed in the web developer community, on some important blogs and on Twitter (we passed from 0 to 3.500 followers in one week!) we decided to freeze our initial project and build a working HTML5 Video solution for the web.
What need(s) did you fill with SublimeVideo?
A pretty big one: Video has become colossal on the web. However, simultaneously, the end user experience has significantly degraded: This is due to the fact that today, people have to deal with two incompatible technologies to play video within a web browser: A proprietary one, Flash, which is rather well supported on personal computers, and the official standard, HTML5 Video, which is the only way to play web video on the exploding mobile platforms. The result is that very often, videos are not playing at all, depending on the platform used. SublimeVideo was designed in a very Swiss fashion, as a universal platform supporting both Flash and HTML5 without any compromise on reliability and features.
Who have been your first customers, and competitors?
One key thing to note in the Jilion and the SublimeVideo story is that we have been identified as pioneers in the HTML5 Video field by the web developer community. This authentic blessing has been instrumental for everything we did afterwards and it brought us a lot of recognizance. Soon after we launched SublimeVideo, we rapidly had thousands of web sites using our service and ten of thousands at the time the company was sold to Dailymotion, including Sony, Breitling, Nissan, etc. From a technology standpoint, we did not have any real direct competitor. Our two main competitors were a well-established Flash player company and an open source package firm.
Let’s talk about the initial days of Jilion. How did you and Zeno meet?
We met at EPFL where we were both working. We discovered that we had really similar interests in web technology. We really took the time to know each other before starting to work together.
When and how did Dailymotion approach you?
They approached us in January 2013, right after our second technological milestone which really fitted their needs. In fact, during the “viral” buzz phase of SublimeVideo, we had already been approached by two well known US companies, both looking to make what they call a "talent acquisition". At the time, we decided not to pursue those discussions because we really wanted to implement our own vision, as we did. This was not an easy decision: But our guts simply refused to sell! We were happy to join Dailymotion as they wanted both the technology and the team.
What is the added value of your technology for Dailymotion?
In a nutshell, it allows them to bring a very reliable and customizable player to their content partners.
What changed for you and Zeno after the exit? Are you still on board?
Zeno is working hard at Dailymotion in the South of France, leading the player development team. On my side, I am “recovering” a bit: My entrepreneurial job having ended!
Did you invest in other startups?
Not yet but it might be the case in the future.
You very recently decided to kick the next generation of entrepreneurs in return by giving capital to venture kick. Can you explain why?
We were among the very first startups to receive support from venture kick. We really appreciate and admire the energy and passion of Jordi Montserrat and Beat Schillig, and what they are doing with their team for our country's startup ecosystem. We are also very grateful that wealthy foundations and donators were able to support us at a key stage, when you are “nothing”. This was very important. Another great thing about venture kick is that it is a Swiss-wide platform, which creates a sense of community and emulation among entrepreneurs.
What would you like to say to the next generation of entrepreneurs, if you had an advice to give them?
It's the best time to do a startup. Follow your passion and never betray what you believe in.
What is your view about the Swiss startup ecosystem, now that your exit is behind?
We are a small country with a rational and quite efficient environment where innovation is very much favored. That said, in order to scale from great innovation to big successes, we absolutely need to collectively improve on two important factors (which by the way are not a problem in the US for instance): First, a more "let's celebrate success" culture, more "good vibes" toward entrepreneurs. Second, in my opinion, startups need more capital and investors at later stages of their development.
Can you give us one best souvenir & anecdote about it?
We'd love to but we signed a non-disclosure agreement, and it does prevent us to tell a lot (laughs)! What we can say is that we learned a lot. The merger & acquisition (M&A) process is a key part of the startup life and must be more familiar to all entrepreneurs. One very important message to all startups founders is: Lead the M&A process yourself. Work with the best advisors possible. Never delegate it.