A North West-based animation business has been acquired by a US buyer.
Viddyoze was co-founded in 2015 by David Chamberlain, Jamie Garside and Joey Xoto.
The trio won the Judges Young Entrepreneur Award at the 2021 Northern Tech Awards after being described as a ‘young beacon of inspiration’.
Viddyoze has now been acquired by an unnamed US company for an undisclosed fee.
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Speaking today, Chamberlain told BusinessCloud: “The last 10 years have been a rollercoaster and a great education. We grew so fast we were almost learning on the job.
“I’ve learnt a lot about myself and I’m looking forward to moving on.
“The new owners are serial acquirers of software products. They acquired millions of pounds of IP.”
Viddyoze sold its offices in Bamber Bridge, Lancashire, last year and employed 20 staff remotely at the time of the sale.
The animation firm was able to count the likes of Tesla, Sony and Nike among its 220,000+ customers worldwide during the last decade.
Recalling how it all started, Chamberlain said: “Ten years ago, three guys decided to take on the world of video. We had no investors. No safety net.
“Just a crazy idea that anyone, anywhere, should be able to create professional animations with a few clicks.”
After surviving ‘10 years of startup chaos, 80-hour weeks, and a few near-death experiences’ he said it was the right time to sell.
“We signed the papers a few months ago…I didn’t post straight away, “ he added. “Partly because I needed it to sink in.
“Selling a company isn’t just a signature. It’s the end of a chapter that shaped your life.
“It’s relief, pride, nostalgia – and a little bit of ‘what now?’
“Viddyoze is moving to a new chapter under new ownership.
“For me, it’s surreal. I’ve spent almost a decade of my life building it.
“We started in a tiny office in Bolton (no windows, lots of coffee), and now it’s done.
“The biggest lesson? You don’t need permission. Start. Ship. Fail. Iterate. Survive long enough, and the exit will come.
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“To our customers, our team, my co-founders – thank you.”
Chamberlain is understood to be working with his co-founder Jamie Garside on a new venture.
As well as his staff, he singled out serial entrepreneur Ian Wright for special thanks for his contribution as long-term board advisor.
“He helped bring deals to the table,” said Chamberlain.
Writing on LinkedIn, Garside wrote: “Whilst it has been emotional to bring that enormous chapter of my life to an end (I am still unsure it has fully sunk in), I have learned an incredible amount during the past 10 years and it is the right time to move on.
“Growing and scaling a business is very hard but it is absolutely the best thing ever. Massive highs, and also huge lows.
“For me, that’s what you call ‘living’. With a decade of lessons, wins, losses and experience in the software growth and scale arena, I have a master plan to run it back and do it all again.”