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M.R. Asks 3 Questions: David Moricca, Founder & CEO, Socialive

By November 4, 2021Article

Founder and CEO of Socialive, the self-service video content creation platform for the enterprise.

With 15 years of leadership and innovation in digital media, David’s experience and tenacity has shaped the company into the fast-growing innovation leader that it is today. Before Socialive, David developed and launched Scholastic’s first digital learning platform and worked as a strategy consultant at McKinsey & Company.

Our conversation is a great reference for entrepreneurs who have developed a technology with one function in mind, but are willing to pivot and adapt to meet an entirely different market’s demand. 

 

M.R. Asks 3 Questions: Where did the idea for Socialive come from?
 
David Moricca: Socialive is the self-serve video content creation platform used by enterprises globally. We enable business users and video professionals alike to easily create, broadcast and distribute limitless live and on-demand videos with studio quality – without the physical studio. I started Socialive twelve years ago, but the company went through a few iterations before landing on where we are today. 
 
My initial vision of the company began as an online music creation platform for kids. This evolved into an audio streaming platform for musical artists in the electronic dance music (EDM) scene, which then transformed into helping EDM artists stream exclusive sets into venues around the world through two-way video and audio. While these first iterations of our product may seem like disconnected offerings, there was a connective thread with each iteration that ultimately drove us to where we are now.
 
Because we experienced such great traction with video, we decided to pivot once again and really focus on that aspect of the business. Leveraging our foundational technology for streaming, we became one of the first companies to enable live streaming to Facebook Live, then later expanded our self-serve video content creation platform capabilities to become who we are today. 
 
 
 
M.R.: Amid the backdrop of hybrid work and increasing levels of virtual meeting fatigue, how can brands find refreshing and effective ways to engage with their audiences?
 
David: The power of human connection today has become more important than ever, as individuals seek out authentic and engaging ways to connect with brands. Since the move to remote and hybrid work, video has become the primary means of business communication and engagement, and many brands have turned to it as a way to develop meaningful connections and build thriving communities. Until now, businesses lacked the scalable, self-serve technology for non-technical users to easily create high-quality video content in a way that is continually relevant for their audiences.
 
Since the onset of the pandemic, businesses flocked to virtual conferencing tools like Zoom and Google Meet to maintain engagement with their core audiences. In fact, recent research we conducted from the State of Enterprise Video: Creation, Broadcasting & Distribution study found that 93% of enterprises have used standard video conferencing tools for virtual events in the past year. However, nearly half of respondents (42%) only experienced moderate engagement throughout the event.
 
To overcome many of the adverse effects of video conferencing, half of businesses plan to produce higher quality and more engaging video content to replace certain meetings. This high-quality video content offers a powerful way for brands to engage and connect with new and existing audiences across the globe. It also allows for participatory elements, such as calls-to-action, which can drive greater value for the business.
 
 
M.R.: How do you see the future of video content creation evolving?
 
David: Social media platforms like YouTube, Instagram and TikTok have sparked a massive shift in how individuals create and engage with video content in the consumer realm. Similarly, enterprises are undergoing a transformation in which video is becoming the preferred means of storytelling, communication and audience engagement. 
 
This evolution in the enterprise is validated by our recent research that shows the demand for video skyrocketed in the last year, with 84% of enterprises experiencing an increase in video content output over the last 12 months. This trend is by no means slowing down, as 88% anticipate their company’s video content output to increase in the next year. This signals that the next wave of transformation in the enterprise is already well underway.
 
The next stage of communication in the enterprise will be centered around telling better, more authentic stories and empowering more voices from across the organization through video. As we enter the next wave of digital transformation, the use of video for storytelling and audience communication will become ubiquitous. Creating, broadcasting and distributing video has historically been difficult, time-consuming and limited to those with deep expertise. Our intention is to democratize video content creation to make it not only easier for skilled video professionals, but truly accessible to everyday business users. By lowering the barrier of entry for video content creation, more people – regardless of their technical expertise – can produce high-caliber videos. This in turn will empower diverse voices across the organization to share their unique stories.
 
 
M.R. Rangaswami is the Co-Founder of Sandhill.com
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