Video is taking over the enterprise –Why we invested in cofenster
We’re thrilled to announce that we led cofenster’s €8M Series A, alongside Capnamic and business angels such as Georg Tacke (ex-CEO Simon Kucher). The team convinced us throughout our discussions with their customer-driven value proposition, stellar execution, and laser focus on forging an integral part of corporate communications. Read the summary of our thoughts behind the investment below.
The rise in video consumption
There is no doubt that video popularity has been on the rise for many years now. From seeking product insights to learning new skills, people all over the world increasingly rely on video for more than just entertainment. A survey by Google found that one in two Gen Z’ers and Millennials even say they “don’t know how they’d get through life” without video. While this mainly relates to consumer platforms like YouTube, Instagram, or TikTok, we see consumer world expectations often transferred into those of the business realm.
Video communication is making its way into the enterprise world – and is fueled by hybrid working
Companies are seeking better ways to engage with employees. A 2021 report estimates that employees’ disengagement at work costs the global economy USD 8.1 trillion annually, heavily driven by a younger workforce in which 68% say poor internal communications could be a catalyst for them to quit their job. Particularly since the pandemic, C-level and communications professionals found it challenging to maintain an emotional connection with employees. Given the need for effective communications in an increasingly decentralized organizational structure, more and more companies are going digital and exploring new ways of working.
However, there is a disconnect between the shift in corporate communications and the people with the necessary editing skills required to create this booming form of content: When videos are created by a third-party video agency or similar, companies in particular need a quicker and cheaper way to produce high-quality videos at scale. There are a limited number of video creation tools out there, but all lack features and a smooth user experience to excel in people-centered video communications. This is where cofenster comes in.
Powering people-centered communication
cofenster solves the lengthy and expensive process of video creation for businesses. The software enables every employee to create professional people-centered video content for corporate communications. The holistic video solution allows executives, team leads, or other employees to add empathy and authenticity to their various initiatives — especially in the areas of employee engagement, employer branding, recruiting, or knowledge transfer. The video creation process can be performed in three simple steps: content planning, video recording, and video editing. In the first step, a storyboard with video instructions can be created, either from scratch or from a pre-built story template. Next, the video can be taped, or a recording request can be sent to another person, who will be guided through the recording process. Lastly, when the recordings are finished, the video can be edited with music, effects, or subtitles while ensuring brand consistency and compliance across all videos.
Every step depicted above can be performed individually by different users, if necessary. A valuable flexibility that is particularly important for bigger organizations, where the end-to-end video creation has different groups involved. Today, cofenster is already used by virtually every department in their customers’ organization with an entire library of use-cases. This makes cofenster so powerful to effectively drive engagement at scale — a lead that heavyweight customers like Microsoft, Accenture, or Allianz are already following.
We believe now is the perfect timing for cofenster to turn corporate communication upside-down. The founders have demonstrated a deep understanding of their customers’ pains, and have built a compelling product vision around it. We greatly look forward to partnering with Tom Vollmer, Oliver Wegner, Finn Frotscher, and the entire team on the journey ahead.
Team cofenster — welcome to the signals Venture Capital family!
