Sharing production gear via a club or a non-profit media center offered solutions to pricey hardware. I worked at Young Filmmakers in the 1970s; it had to have been one of the first successful approaches to offering reasonably-priced production gear, studios and edit rooms.
I also have fond memories of hanging out at Rafik’s film processing center and camera club around that time. Both made it simple and fun to join in the then nascent indie media scenes.
Now, New York City-based startup KitSplit updates those models, building on the more modern sharing scene. This is still a distance from what a top rental house offers, but many producers now need just a minimum of gear. Seems like a good idea for indies.
NEW YORK — KitSplit (http://www.kitsplit.com), the fastest-growing marketplace for camera rentals, today announced a $2.1 million seed round of funding. The company accepted investment from HearstLab, Entrepreneurs Roundtable, 3311 Ventures, NYU Innovation Venture Fund, WTI, and Instagram cofounder Mike Krieger, among others.
“Every KitSplit partner, including every investor we’ve just bought on, is an advocate of our creator-first philosophy,” cofounder and President Kristina Budelis added, “and we’re thrilled to have their support.”
KitSplit saves filmmakers, photographers, and other visual creatives time and money, making it easier to get gear and insurance. They can rent from thousands of vetted owners, and get a better experience with individualized attention. KitSplit also provides a comprehensive gear advice and concierge service as well as monthly community events. Gear owners can earn extra income renting out their gear and marketing their services.
“KitSplit unlocks potential by making it easier for creators to source the gear they need,” said Chris Wilkes, VP, HearstLab. “It’s a game-changer for the creative community and as an investor we see big promise in the ability to grow into a very large collaborative network that gives visual creators better solutions.”
The seed funding round follows impressive growth since the company’s initial pre-seed round in 2016. KitSplit has grown revenues more than 10 times, acquired a competitor, and built a community of over 30,000 members in New York and Los Angeles.
About KitSplit
KitSplit (http://www.kitsplit.com) enables visual storytellers to become their own studio with access to world-class gear and services. It’s been called “the AirBNB of cameras” because it enables its vetted community to rent gear to and from each other. Ultimately, the company is building a one-stop shop empowering visual storytellers. Follow us on Facebook(https://www.facebook.com/kitsplitmarketplace), Twitter (http://twitter.com/kitsplit), and Instagram(https://www.instagram.com/kitsplit).
