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My Startup: Veritent, Newcastle-upon-Tyne

Veritent

Veritent helps business and individuals keep track of where their images are being used on the internet, and has recently opened its public beta.

Photographers can acquire data insights to see how pictures are performing, as well as quickly find and prevent any unlicensed uses. Veritent uses artificial intelligence to connect to where photos are saved and posted, then search for wherever else they are being used.

There is also the option of legal support, so creators can actively combat the misuse of their images. Founder Ryan wants to give back control to the people who own the content used across the internet, who often receive a bad deal.

Founder: Ryan Mottershead

Founded: 2018 

Website: veritent.com

We spoke to Ryan to learn about the innovative new solution.

Ryan Mottershead, Veritent


Why did you start Veritent?

The idea of Veritent came about when I was noticed that digital creators and businesses were complaining that other people were using their images without their permission or knowledge. After some research, we realised that creators had no control over other people using their content and as a result of this, businesses were losing out on vital market insights. 

We set about creating an automated solution to address these problems. Veritent is an online platform which allows creators and businesses to know exactly how and where their images are being used – we Verify Content.

Tell us more about the product?

Veritent is an automated solution enabling businesses and creators to truly understand and manage the full reach of their images. There are three components:

  1. Digital Connection – Veritent connects to where images are shared or stored. Every time an image is posted online (social media, website, etc) or saved to the cloud (iCloud, OneDrive, etc), an automatic search looks for where the image is used online.
  2. Big Data Insights – Results are analysed for context, to extract underlying information from large data sets to inform marketing, strategic, and legal decisions.
  3. Takedown Support – Informed by data, any misuses of images are identified, allowing the user to request a takedown notice and seek monetary compensation – all from within one platform.

Where are you at right now?

We’re in the development stage, with V0.2 having just launched. Over the next few months we’re offering completely free use of the platform to early adopters in return for feedback for market-driven development, before the full market launch in September!

We’re also on the hunt for funding to grow our team.

What are your aims for the next year?

Now that our MVP is live, we’re testing Veritent with live customers for feedback to give us direction on what we need to develop next, so we’re not making what we think is cool, we’re making what the customer needs. Over the next year we’re looking to get our first few hundred paying customers, raise seed investment and continually develop our MVP.


Veritent


What’s been the hardest thing about getting Veritent off the ground?

I’m a non-technical sole founder of a tech company – the challenges I’ve faced are huge, but the feeling of overcoming them has been well worth it. Every day has been a learning curve and there have been a number of mistakes along the way, but I’ve made sure to learn from all of them. 

Having a background in business, when I came up with the idea of Veritent I quickly saw the commercial potential of it, but I didn’t really think too much about the technical challenges. Over the past several months I’ve become more technically minded, focusing on the small wins we can get, rather than looking to progress in big leaps.

Why should more people be using Veritent?

Every year, 1 trillion images are shared on the internet. 85% of them are used without a valid licence. Creators who rely on images to make money have no way of knowing if it’s their images being stolen or misused, and businesses who use images to tell people about their brand and get new customers are missing out on insightful data about how their images are performing online. Veritent is a solution to both of these problems.


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Veritent is an automated solution enabling businesses and creators to truly understand and manage the full reach of their images.

It analyses results for context, to extract underlying information from large data sets to inform marketing, strategic and legal decisions. Any misuse of images is identified and highlighted, allowing the user to request a takedown notice and seek monetary compensation – all from within one platform.

How much will it cost users, and why is it worth the investment?

We’re still finalising our prices based on first user feedback, but Veritent is a customisable monthly subscription (with an annual discount) allowing users to create a package which suits their needs based on how many images they have and how often they want them to be checked.

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