Should you be California dreaming? – Page 3 of 4 – StartupSmart

Ryan Junee, is co-founder and former CEO of Omnisio, which was acquired by Google in 2008. Omnisio, founded in 2007 by Junee, Simon Ratner and Julian Frumar, enabled users to annotate and share videos from any website.

 

What was your business idea?

Omnisio was a web-based video editing platform that allowed users to enhance their YouTube videos with annotations, PowerPoint slides and more.

 

 

How did you look to commercialise it?

 

We were considering licensing the platform to companies and educational institutions as well as generating revenues from ads.  

 

Why did you head to the US?

We started the company in Silicon Valley because frankly, there is no better place in the world to start a technology company.

 

There is a wealth of support here from other entrepreneurs, investors, lawyers, PR firms, etc, all well versed in start-up best practices.

 

How do you view the Australian market?

The Australian market is very small and unfortunately is often ignored on the world stage. However, if you can build a successful company and dominate a particular market in Australia, you may have just as good a company as if you are one of 10 players in a market in the US.

 

 

What does the Australian market need to do to better support these start-ups?

Access to expertise from experienced entrepreneurs – Startmate is a great start – and access to capital at an early stage.

 

For example, more angel investors willing to take risks on start-ups at the earliest stages rather than VCs who tend to be more risk averse.

 

What tips would you give to other tech start-ups?

I guess one of my main pieces of advice is “Just do it”. You will learn far more from getting out there and building something than you will sitting at home pondering ideas. Even if the idea is not perfect, just get started because the idea is bound to change anyway.

 

What are your ambitions?

To build another successful company or two, hopefully one that truly changes the world, and then spend my time angel investing and helping the next generation of start-ups.