Steve Baxter invests $1million in Brisbane startup Clipchamp

One of Queensland’s most high profile investors has ploughed $1 million into a Brisbane startup saying the company’s revenue growth was “too enticing to ignore”.

BRISBANE-based video compression and editing platform Clipchamp has received a $1 million investment from high profile Queensland entrepreneur Steve Baxter.

The startup, which helps users interact with large video files by compressing them down to more manageable sizes, will put the former Queensland chief entrepreneur and Shark Tank judge’s investment to work by hiring more staff, developing new features and attracting more users.

Clipchamp has already grown rapidly to 6.5 million users worldwide – including team members from companies such as Google, Tesla, Sony, Microsoft and Deloitte – since launching its product in 2016.

The startup had previously raised $1.65 million from investors including QUT’s innovation, venture and investment arm, Bluebox.

Clipchamp chief executive Alex Dreiling said it was no secret the company had been “chipping away” at Mr Baxter for some time before he pulled the trigger on investing.

“Steve is (now) the biggest investor in the company,” Mr Dreiling said. “As our user base grows, we are excited to have someone like Steve in our corner, helping to bring our vision to life.

Former Queensland Chief Entrepreneur Steve Baxter. Picture: AAP Image/Steve Pohlner

“We are thrilled to have him on board now that we’ve surpassed the key performance indicators he previously set for us.”

Mr Baxter was already a user of the Clipchamp technology when the company moved into the Fortitude Valley-based startup hub The Precinct in 2016.

“When we first walked into The Precinct, we had a big world map in our office that would light up a dot for every new user who registered,” Mr Dreiling said. “Steve’s office was … across from us, so he saw our user-count grow from two million, to three, to four.

“He was already a user of ours and saw tremendous potential, so when he saw us growing, he decided it made sense to engage with us.” Mr Baxter, who took a small stake in the company in 2017, was the major participant in the latest funding round.

He has joined the company’s board, and said Clipchamp’s user and revenue growth across the past 12 months had “proved too enticing to ignore”.