Stephen hoping his start-up will Voom into Virgin boss's favour
A Loughnavalley entrepreneur is hoping that last minute votes from around Westmeath may help him make it onto the shortlist of the prestigious “Voom 2016” competition.
Stephen Bennett is the brains behind Fanstream, a live streaming programme that is currently attracting a lot of interest from the world of music.
He is hoping to get Fanstream’s name even further out into the world through his participation in “Voom 2016”, run.
Run by Richard Branson’s Virgin Media, the competition is tagged as “the UK and Ireland’s biggest and most valuable pitch competition”.
Stephen’s pitch can be seen at: https://www.vmbvoom.com/pitches/fanstream
That’s also the link for voting for Fanstream.
“The public voting ends on Monday,” reveals Stephen, who has been working full-time on his Fanstream project for two years now.
The names of the 160 who are to be on the shortlist will be released next Wednesday.
If Fanstream is on it, the next stage will see Stephen and the other finalists take part in the “pitchathon” a 29-hour, live-streamed attempt at a Guinness World Record. on June 1-2.
The 40 entrepreneurs with the most impressive pitches will be taken through to the next round.
Stephen has big plans for making Fanstream a force to be reckoned with. The shot in the arm that the Voom prize (£50,000 in cash and a £250,000 advertising package) would mean would definitely help.
“Fanstream is a live streaming technology - high quality streaming of live events, whether bands, deejays or solo artists,” explains Stephen, who runs the business from his home in Loughnavalley.
Prior to a gig, fans who can’t attend in person can sign up for the live coverage - which means instant up-close and intimate action from the event, courtesy of mobile phones, livecams - any of the increasing number of devices capable of streaming live footage. It can be used by any band: from a major global force like U2, to a garage band just starting off.
The beauty from the band’s point of view is that the gigs are “ticketed” - in other words, fans pay to participate.
If Fanstream makes headway in the competition, it will give the project a real boost.
“Anybody who has used it wants it ‘now!’” he says. “It’s very encouraging.”
Into the future, users will be able to use virtual reality headsets to absolutely immerse themselves in the experience they are viewing.
Eighteen months of the lead-up time to today was undertaken with students in Athlone Institute of Technology’s School of Engineering before Fanstream launched as a start-up company, and two weeks ago, Stephen used Fanstream to livestream events from the Bealtaine festival on the Hill of Uisneach. All went without a hitch.
To see more about Fanstream, check out:
https://uisneach.fanstream.tv/
https://www.facebook.com/fanstream.live