Kiwi startup Videotaxi brings subscription trend to video production

VideoTaxi co-founder Ondrej Havas. Photo / Supplied

A Kiwi startup is tapping to the subscription trend but offering something quite different from the usual fare.

While everything from toilet paper to toothbrushes to meals are available through a subscription these days, Auckland-based Videotaxi has taken things in a slightly different direction by offering access to video producers.

By paying an annual fee, subscribers to the service get access to experienced video producers - dubbed cabbies - for a set number of days a year.

Co-founder Ondrej Havas, a media veteran of almost 40 years through his company Omnicron Productions, said he started the company after identifying a clear need in the market.

"While anyone can shoot video on a phone these days, the quality and consistency is not always up to standard, and the results can be very patchy," he says.

"VideoTaxi makes the creation of professional content easy, while also providing the back-end systems which take away all the guesswork."

It's an approach that's already attracted a few big names in the industry, Countdown, Genesis, AA Insurance and Westfield among 20 major firms to have subscribed.

VideoTaxi currently operates four "cabbies" in Auckland and one each in Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin.

"Clients work with the same producer throughout, giving them a strong relationship which offers continuity, reliability and value. And they can use their subscription for whatever, and however, they like. If they want to use their days for one big shoot or spread them throughout the year, that's fine by us," Havas said.