Ribbit Films

(Post: English)
"My advice to others, when you're talking about something people haven't seen before, it's hard for them to envision. So wherever you can, show them rather than tell them."

I was working as a photographer for an ad agency when a retailer came to us in a hurry wanting a video clip of a couple being cuddly.

I suggested we find a place that could sell us the footage without a background. Turns out, there was no such place.

I immediately saw how we could build an online library of moving images that could be superimposed on any backdrop.

So we started shooting clips of iconic moments: three seconds of a soccer kick, a home-run swing, a handshake.

My greatest challenge?
I knew I'd have to educate designers about our services. That's where I got stuck. I'd tell them what we did and they'd say, "Why would we want that?"

Using our clips (which cost $299 each) was like wearing a pink shirt to work: Nobody would do it until they saw others doing it.

How I overcame it:
I put footage in people's hands. I sent potential clients a disk of our work and put free clips on our Web site that people could download and play with.

They could put the soccer player in outer space if they wanted. Pretty soon people were asking, "Where have you been?"

INFO:
Name: Navarre Joseph
Age: 37
Started: 2004

Business: Ribbit Films, a New York City company that provides stock video footage for use in ads and promotions

Annual revenue: $900,000

Source: CNNMoney