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 鈥榶oung beacon of inspiration鈥�.
Viddyoze has now been acquired by an unnamed US company for an undisclosed fee.
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Speaking today, Chamberlain told 老九品茶Cloud: 鈥淭he last 10 years have been a rollercoaster and a great education. We grew so fast we were almost learning on the job.
鈥淚鈥檝e learnt a lot about myself and I鈥檓 looking forward to moving on.
鈥淭he new owners are serial acquirers of software products. They acquired millions of pounds of IP.鈥�
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: 鈥淭en years ago, three guys decided to take on the world of video. We had no investors. No safety net.
鈥淛ust a crazy idea that anyone, anywhere, should be able to create professional animations with a few clicks.鈥�
After surviving 鈥�10 years of startup chaos, 80-hour weeks, and a few near-death experiences鈥� he said it was the right time to sell.
鈥淲e signed the papers a few months ago鈥 didn鈥檛 post straight away, 鈥� he added. 鈥淧artly because I needed it to sink in.
鈥淪elling a company isn鈥檛 just a signature. It鈥檚 the end of a chapter that shaped your life.
鈥淚t鈥檚 relief, pride, nostalgia 鈥� and a little bit of聽鈥榳hat now?鈥�
鈥淰iddyoze is moving to a new chapter under new ownership.
鈥淔or me, it鈥檚 surreal. I鈥檝e spent almost a decade of my life building it.
鈥淲e started in a tiny office in Bolton (no windows, lots of coffee), and now it鈥檚 done.
鈥淭he biggest lesson? You don鈥檛 need permission. Start. Ship. Fail. Iterate. Survive long enough, and the exit will come.
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鈥淭o our customers, our team, my co-founders 鈥� thank you.鈥�
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.
鈥淗e helped bring deals to the table,鈥� said Chamberlain.
Writing on LinkedIn, Garside wrote: 鈥淲hilst 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.
鈥淕rowing and scaling a business is very hard but it is absolutely the best thing ever. Massive highs, and also huge lows.
鈥淔or 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.鈥�