The player: Ran Harnevo, CEO and co-founder of 5min.com, an online video how-to site and syndication service.
The play: 5min.com aggregates how-to videos and syndicates them to premium Web publishers. “We are helping existing Web sites enrich themselves with our video technology and player, so we match relevant videos with a targeted audience,” Mr. Harnevo said. 5min.com syndicates many of its more than 40,000 how-to videos from content partners such as NBC, Ford Models, Britannica, Elle Magazine, Women’s Daily, Home Depot and Kiplinger’s.
The pitch: Mr. Harnevo is betting on the company’s syndication strategy as a competitive differentiator because 5min.com offers both videos and a video player for syndication. “Our promise to content creators is to bring their content to the right audience on the Web, and our technology enables that. That’s how we do the match between the video and the site,” he said.
In the mix: Across its network of sites and syndication partners, 5min.com reaches 110 million unique users. Sites to which it distributes how-to videos include Wikihow.com, Answers.com, Dictionary.com and others. “Some are lifestyle articles, recipes, fashion, health—every vertical that needs how-to info,” he said.
The backstory: Mr. Harnevo founded 5min.com, which is based in Israel and New York, in 2007. He moved to New York in April to run the company from the United States.
The money guys: After an early angel round, 5min.com raised $5 million from Spark Capital. The company makes money via a revenue share of advertising associated with the videos.
The pros: The service appears well positioned for growth. Online audience measurement firm Hitwise reports that the early-adopter groups on the Web increasingly are turning to how-to video sites such as 5min.com.
The cons: Competition is fierce in the how-to video segment, with sites such as Wonderhowto.com, Howcast.com and Videojug.com all angling for a share of the market.
Background: Mr. Harnevo was born and raised in Tel Aviv. He studied philosophy and computer science at Tel Aviv University. After working as a fighter pilot in the Israeli Air Force and a journalist at a Tel Aviv newspaper, he started 5min.com. He now lives in New York with his wife.
Who knew? Before founding 5min.com, Mr. Harnevo lived in Angola and ran a large-scale unmanned air vehicle project for the Angolan government, helping American oil companies with air surveillance of their offshore drilling. “Working in Africa, surprisingly, gives you the best experience to run a start-up. Plans are changing on a daily basis, forcing you to react fast and not be dependent on structured plans,” he said.