Casting startup iCasting from the Dutch city of Zwolle has raised one million euro. The company that delivers al kinds of performers in the entertainment industry such as actors, models, extra’s, singers and dancers intends to use the new capital infusion for further growth. The founders of iCasting, Bob Breeman, Erwin Arkema and Yillmaz Schoen have all participated in this round. An angel investor who doesn’t want to disclose his participation has also invested.
The newly appointed CEO, Esmée Paters has big ambitions. “iCasting is going to disrupt the casting world by making it more transparent. Our matching technology takes the extremely expensive middlemen out of the equation. Making it for our clients and entertainment professionals much easier to find each other”, says Pater who is at the helm of the company since several months.
iCasting claims to have 900 client companies and 30.000 professionals on the marketplace. The 30.000 professionals exhibit a variety of 75.000 skill set combinations. “This is one of the main features of the iCasting technology: the matching proces takes places on physical appearance with the combination and diversity of personal skills and talents” , says Pater. Specific skill sets can for instance relate to an actor that has a particular dialect, sports or dancing skills.
Right now the service is free for both the iCasting clients as well as the entertainment professionals. The startup plans to role out different revenue models, based on specific metrics, such as scale of users and traction data. Running targeted pre-roll adds is one of the revenue models it’s currently experimenting with. Another idea is to create additional revenue streams by charing clients for add-one services. “Having a platform that is free for both clients as well as professionals is the perfect marketplace for the industry” says Pater.
The startup plans to expand quickly to the epicentre of the entertainment industry, the USA, as well as some European countries. It’s agnostic to the size of companies it serves. These can be TV production companies, media groups like RTL, brands, media agencies and small business owners.
Esmee Pater is a familiar face in the Dutch startup scene. Previously she founded the employer review site Jobsome. Currently she is running both companies. Yillmaz Schoen is also making a dent in the Dutch startup scene by co-founding Tradecast.tv and iCasting. During the process of writing this article the news broke out that Tradecast.tv has raised 2 million euros on top of 1.2 million euro it raised in 2015.
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