Working at 3Play Media: Making Video Accessibility Easy

Keith Cline, VentureFizz 

Josh and Chris, thanks so much for joining us.

Josh Miller, 3Play Media 

Thanks, Keith. We're excited to spend some time with you.

Chris Antunes, 3Play Media 

Absolutely excited.

Keith Cline, VentureFizz 

Yeah, we got a lot to talk about because 3Play Media as a company that it's doing very meaningful work. I mean, you guys are working on technology that is helping companies create a more accessible world. So let's talk about the company. What do you guys do?

Josh Miller, 3Play Media 

Yeah, so we are all about making video content, all your content more accessible, and more engaging. So we work with video content publishers Most commonly, to really get captions, audio descriptions, live captions up on their video as efficiently as possible. When we started the company, I will say, you know, there was a lot of question about what does that even mean. And what I think is really exciting today is that not only is there a greater awareness for what accessibility is all about, but it's also really about making video content engaging, and really enabling people to consume content, however, they really want to consume it. Because the reality is, people might have three different devices going on at the same time. Or they just need to need to have a better way to focus and have text or additional audio along with the content so that they can really consume it. And we can be extremely helpful.

Chris Antunes, 3Play Media 

Yeah, like Josh said, you know, we've been focused on this sort of enterprise suite of video accessibility solutions at scale. And that scale point has really mattered a lot over the last two, three years, as we've seen the market tailwind just accelerate what we saw already happening, which is this migration of content online, in video format, with a, like Josh said, increased focus on accessibility and inclusivity. And all these issues. In our software, our platform, from the beginning has had scale in mind. And so fortunate, well positioned to address that trends. It's gone.

Keith Cline, VentureFizz 

So how did the company come together? Like, how did the idea originate? Because you were early to market?

Chris Antunes, 3Play Media 

There were so maybe Josh, I'll start with this one. And you can chime in. So So Josh, and I were in business school together at MIT with our two other co-founders, you know, more than a decade ago, at this point, and, and to a degree, you know, right, right place, right time there, there was a group at MIT called OpenCourseWare. That was really a predecessor to edX. And now, you know, for-profit companies like Coursera, Udacity, that have come afterwards. But open courseware is mandate, they were privately funded. And their mandate was to put these engineering courses online for free. And part of that funding required that all those videos they were putting online had to be accessible. So had to be closed caption for the deaf and hard of hearing community, there was no litigation, there was no legislation, really, that was forcing them to make this decision, it was their private funding, which really meant there weren't a lot of solutions out there on the web, yet, they were at the scale at the price point that it helped them solve this problem. There were traditional broadcast captioning companies, you know, etc, out there. But when they looked out, they realized they'd spend three quarters of their budget, you know, with some of those providers and maybe couldn't hit the scaler, or turnaround that they needed. So, so look to us, you know, we had a relationship with the director there and looked at us to say, you know, can you help us solve this problem. And so we worked with an advisor in the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab to think to look at ways to use ml to use speech recognition to use technology, however we could to solve this problem at scale. And, and we could solve it for MIT not with technology alone with technology plus, trains, professional captioners. And largely, that's how we solve it today. But But again, MIT early to market, we saw the education market emerge afterwards, and in all the other industries follow over the last decade.

Josh Miller, 3Play Media 

Yeah, what was really interesting at that time was is, as Chris said, there's no legislation or compliance need at that time, it was really pure accessibility. And this needed to really are this idea of doing the right thing. For people consuming the content. A couple of things that kind of came out of that, that we thought were interesting, that got us really motivated to try to push this forward. One is we started to play around with the benefits of search and navigation with that caption data, the text and we, we found different ways to really create new viewing experiences where you could actually search across video libraries really easily, which is really fun for the video publishers in particular. And then the other part was just this audience engagement and expansion idea. So their content was being viewed all over the world. And they were getting people writing in saying thank you for adding captions. I'm learning English and following along easier now because of that, and so that really helped opened up this other idea of, you know, not just about accessibility, but thinking about this global audience. And that's just the reality that we're in today, for sure. Those, those really important. And the other thing for us in the beginning was, you know, education is actually very progressive, when it comes to accessibility, they have to address student accommodations when they come up. And so we felt like with video emerging, this was going to be a very real issue for education, and that was a good area to really start and try to create a differentiated solution because no one was really doing it very well. And really avoided the media space entirely in the beginning.

Chris Antunes, 3Play Media 

Yeah, and I'd say on, you know, being early to market, you know, having customers before product has a lot of advantages, like you can keep the lights on, maybe you can hire a person, you know, you can, you can do all that, but, but also you have to avoid the pitfalls of you know, becoming, becoming a consultant for your first customer, etc. And we were able to navigate that, but really, you know, bootstrapped in a lot of ways, you know, and not trying to raise money as fast as we could. So really the entrepreneur, the true entrepreneurial story, you know, hang a shingle in an apartment outside of Davis square and get to work and, and solve a problem for MIT and then for Yale's our next customer and, and, you know, capturing the work yourself and, and really saw all phases of the, of the growth of the company early on. And, and obviously, in the last few years, things have accelerated tremendously. With more and more content coming online, we still do nostalgia eyes for that early phase, and it wasn't a garage, but it approximated it.

Keith Cline, VentureFizz 

Now, fast forward to today, like you did share some examples of different use cases, which I think we could spend a whole hour plus talking about different use cases. But like, what's the typical customer today that you guys are working with?

Josh Miller, 3Play Media  

Yeah, it's a great question. So we really do work with anyone publishing content at scale. So anyone publishing content with some regularity, or maybe they have a large library of content, and it spans all industries. So we now do quite a bit of work in the education space. Certainly, we're in we're in mainstream media, with large media companies, we work in the enterprise, and really anyone publishing content. And we do have tools that are simple, you know, simple enough for a single project, a one off project for, say, an independent film creator. That would be something we could support. But we're really geared towards that kind of bigger, more complex scenario where automation is important, and peace of mind, for the customer to know everything is going to get done well and done right and done on time. Because a lot of the customers we work with have really tight deadlines, for example. So we're working with a news organization who's putting up video clips of the today's news, that news has a shelf life, I mean, that has to be captioned and ready to go within hours, if not minutes, let alone days. And that can be different for a higher ed institution where they have a little more leeway with the time because, you know, classes are on a more extended basis. So we built the tool to be or the platform to be extremely flexible for customers, but also very powerful to handle. Really any scenario when it comes to video accessibility.

Chris Antunes, 3Play Media 

And just to underscore that phrase, Josh used peace of mind, it's just such an important thing. And it's really what we do sell at scale for our customers, because whether it is the media and entertainment space, where like Josh said, a video has a short sell flat shelf life or in the education segment, maybe a student needs an accommodation, and they need that video to study for a test or whatever it is. There's urgent, expiring deadlines for our customers. And it's hundreds, if not 1000s of videos a day in some cases. And they need to know with a high degree of confidence, they're getting this high quality caption file back on time, 99% of the time, and they don't want to have to worry about that they're worrying about so many other things to produce the content and push it through their workflow. And so that's what we've been able to deliver on repeatedly industry agnostic for, you know, the last decade.

Keith Cline, VentureFizz  

So what's the current stage of the company now, like the number of employees or other details you can share?

Josh Miller, 3Play Media  

So we are right around 90 employees. We have a large distributed workforce that works on some of the more task specific work with regards to the transcripts in the capturing pieces of things. But the core team of employees about it right around 90. We grew that team probably about 50% last year and this year in 2021. And growth is still the number one thing for us and that creates challenges but lots and lots of opportunities for all of our existing employees and certainly new employees, which is really, really exciting. 

Chris Antunes, 3Play Media  

Yeah, this is a really Really fun phase, you know, I, as compared to the earlier phase, right? When we were early to market the markets now it's growing, we are limited by capacity and resource not opportunity. Even in our core sort of product offering today, that's true. And there are so many adjacent products adjacent markets that, that we're just, you know, getting ready now to start exploring. And, and like Josh said, hired 50%, you know, you know, about 40 people last year, we're focused on growing the engineering team, the product teams, the data science teams, obviously, always sales and marketing. So really organization wide, we're just kind of adding that scale now and leaning into that growth.

Keith Cline, VentureFizz 

And what's it like working there, as far as the day to day culture at 3Play Media,

Chris Antunes, 3Play Media 

I think we're pretty biased. But, you know, we've been at this ourselves for, you know, I guess, 13 plus years, started the company with two other co founders who decided to go, you know, sort of do other things, still very close friends. But the reason we do it every day, I mean, speaking for myself, because I'd love to come, you know, virtually, or in office and work with the people we do every day. I know, it's a little trite to say, but, you know, fundamentally, we're going in, and we're solving really difficult problems with really smart people that actually matter in the world. And at the core of it, you know, that's, that's a, that just so rewarding day to day. You know, we use the term entrepreneurial, you know, culture of teaching and learning and seeking improvement, mutual accountability, you know, these are all things you see, you know, everyday through play. And, you know, at a high level, when you're kind of mission oriented company like we are, you also get, I think the the structural advantage of having employees who raise their hand and self select to work at a company like 3Play Media, which over time just creates this really positive flywheel and this really bright, vibrant community around that mission.

Josh Miller, 3Play Media    

Yeah, I would echo everything Chris just said, I mean, ultimately, we work with really great people. And that's number one, right? We get to go to work, you know, whether, whether it be at home or, or in the office these days, but we're ultimately working with really smart, really good people who are all working towards the same goal. And that's hard to replace. So as long as that's happening, and certainly the market dynamics don't hurt. Like I said, we were we were a little early to the market, when we started this thing, the whole idea of video accessibility for web video wasn't really being discussed much. But now it's front and center. And so even though the market is really moving, it's still think we're in the beginning of this, and there's still just so much opportunity in front of us. And that's just incredibly exciting. We have we have real competitors now, which is, which is good, but it made me it holds us to a higher bar means we have to work harder to be better, and continue to figure you know, figure out new ways to maintain our place as the leader in the market. And as the premium product or as the best product. And that's that's a fun challenge. It really is and figuring out ways to win.

Chris Antunes, 3Play Media 

I think you'll find Josh and I are you know, I think people do find and I think a lot of the reason why, you know, a lot of you know, our employees have stayed for many years, and we've got some, some some some people who've been with us almost the entirety of the journey. And, you know, Josh and I are really hands on and cares about solving the business problems that we face on the ground every day alongside every single person who works with us. And that's what's interesting. That's why this is exciting still for us and keeps us motivated all the time. You know, it's really a privilege to be in the position we've gotten to now and most entrepreneurs don't find themselves here. And, and I think we spend time to reflect and recognize that, you know, every day and hopefully it's reflected in the decisions we make and the type of company we've built.

Keith Cline, VentureFizz  

Now, the job market is very active out there. It's very competitive, people have options, which is a good thing. So why is now the ideal time to join 3Play Media.

Chris Antunes, 3Play Media 

Josh, I can I can maybe start and then, and then you can jump in. You know, maybe everyone's saying this, but the markets happening now for us. Video. Number one, the you know, our business is entirely correlated to the use of video on the web. And whether it's recorded video or live video, there's entire industries that didn't exist, you know, five, five years ago that now are flourishing today around e fitness or virtualized event platforms or whatever it is. And all these industries are grappling with how at scale to solve video accessibility. So solve video accessibility. There's adjacencies near adjacencies like podcast market, right. There's been, you know, some lawsuits in the news recently around how you know, transcription and accessibility issues will be resolved for podcast platforms and content providers. So there's huge market trends. Right now our market tailwinds around the proliferation of content. And then secondarily, when we got started. This was MIT OCW doing this because it was the right thing to Do and because their foundation, you know, thought so too. They were the anomaly. That's the exception, not the rule. You know, almost all the, you know, the companies or the universities we were talking to it was a compliance concern. It was a lawyer or a regulation that they were responding to. And now it's shifted so dramatically with, you know, the focus on inclusivity. at the corporate level, and accessibility at its core is an inclusive issue or an issue around inclusivity. So, you know, fundamentally, just the tone around the sales process has changed, and there's a lot more PR activity we see. And that's really exciting. So, from a growth opportunity perspective, from a market opportunity perspective, that's why we're hiring so much right now. It's a unique opportunity at  3Play Media. I mean, Josh, you can talk maybe about the environment and what it's like for, for the employees at this phase of the company. But that's the view on the market.

Josh Miller, 3Play Media 

Yeah, I completely agree. I mean, not only is it such a hot market, but we're actually in some of the most important issues of today's market, which is that inclusion, that accessibility at angle of things, and in really making an incredible impact on it in a way that I think is really unique with solving hard problems with technology with people. You know, I think one of the things that we're really proud of is that that that distributed labor force that we alluded to, we treat them really well they get paid fairly. That's something that differentiates us that loan differentiates us from other players in this market, and certainly other gig economy players. And so there are certain aspects, the way we do things. And when you put it all together with the growth, it's just a really exciting place to be. Yeah, I think from a tone perspective, when the conversations on the sales side, I mean, used to be explained to me why to do this, or how to do this, it is now all about how can I do this? And three other things, right? And how can we solve all these bigger problems with video workflow and publishing workflows? And, and people are realizing that this isn't something you tack on at the end of your video publishing process, but it's something that's part of your video publishing process. And so we have an opportunity to think through how can we build the platform to actually collaborate with and to really be compatible with the existing tools in the market? So that this is about tech, you know, really about technology? And not so much? How do we figure out how to create a service really, that that is involved here, it's, it feels like a web application to the video publisher. And that's an incredible place to be if we can make it feel that simple. We've done something very special.

Chris Antunes, 3Play Media  

Yeah. And for employees day to day, right, like 70 people, 80 people 90 100 150, this phase is really a sweet spot. I know, a lot of big companies probably look back nostalgically to this phase, where you sort of crossed the chasm and achieved real scale. So the business problems that you're solving have real impact in the world, but you day to day can still have tons of impact on the organization. We're building new departments foundationally, and people can have their fingerprints on those decisions. They can, you know, grab a beer or coffee with me or Josh and talk about how we should present a town hall, or you know, how we should approach the market strategically. These are things that, you know, unfortunately, you get to 500 1000 plus people across many geographies. They're hard to maintain. And I think this area, this part, where this phase we're in right now is, I think, particularly magical.

Josh Miller, 3Play Media 

Yeah, I think that's a really good point is that we're in this phase of growth, where we're still establishing roles, we're just now putting in managers in certain positions. I mean, there's just so many opportunities for growth for the employees that that's gonna continue for a while. And that's, that's really exciting for everyone.

Keith Cline, VentureFizz

In terms of that growth in hiring, is it across all the different functional areas?

Chris Antunes, 3Play Media   

Yes. The short answer to that one is yes.

Keith Cline, VentureFizz  

Makes sense? Well, if you are instant exploring opportunities that 3Play Media you need to go to their company page on VentureFizz, which is venturefizz.com/3play-media, and you'll see all their listings there. And again, if you're looking for a situation to join a company, that is it, that super inflection point of rapid growth with an early market, but the time is absolutely now. And you also have the added benefit of working on something incredibly meaningful, as Chris and Josh alluded to, they're hiring across the board. So go check out their company page for their listings, Josh and Chris, thanks so much for taking the time to walk us through all the great work you guys are up to. 

Chris Antunes, 3Play Media  

Thanks, Keith.

Josh Miller, 3Play Media  

Thank you appreciate it.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai