ReelGenie, a Maryland-based startup, is hiring two Rails developers. The company, which was a SXSWi Accelerator finalist this year, is in the late stages of a "significant" seed round of funding, according to David Adelman, ReelGenie's founder.
"We feel good about the amount," Adelman says. The initial friends and family round of funding included investments by private angels and professors from Wharton's business school, where Adelman attained his MBA.
ReelGenie lets anyone with photos and a story to tell create a movie. Adelman created the suite of tools on ReelGenie after he launched
Reel Tributes, a production company that made client films for families and family businesses. "It's labor intensive to product a [quality] film," he explains. "People don't want to pay thousands." ReelGenie gives users the tools without the overhead of a production company. Adelman thinks current tools on the market, such as iMovie, are also labor intensive and lead to user frustration.
"We give people the tools to tell a great story and to engage and inspire others," Adelman says. The data for that content can come from any number of places, including online genealogy sites, family photos and stories that have been passed down through generations.
ReelGenie guides users through the video creation process, using templates to start. One feature Adelman highlights is the ability to record voice-over narration in the video. "You can hear people telling the story that goes along with the picture in their own voice," he explains.
In addition to recording birthdays, weddings, family stories and memories, ReelGenie has applications for sports teams, schools and other groups, such as military associations. Adelman hasn't finalized price points yet; current models indicate a per-movie model and a monthly subscription rate. He is also working on partnering with other organizations to offer ReelGenie services on their websites.
ReelGenie's need for a front-end and a back-end Rails developer come as the company is working to exit private beta at the end of the summer. Adelman anticipates additional hires over the next year.