The Big Pugh

Thanks to everyone who came to VHX House Party 4!

We had the best time. FYI here was our party checklist:

Lots of friends

Bottomless pit of entertainment: Phhhoto booth

Delicious Braven beers

Multi-hour dance party

Videos everywhere

Hey. You left your jungle neon on.

A new VHX jungle to spruce up your desktop background. Or maybe your phone. 

2015 is off to a big start!

We’re excited to announce that we’ve closed a $5M Series B fundraising round led by Comcast Ventures, with participation from many of our existing investors: Union Square Ventures, Keith Calder, Lerer-Hippeau Ventures, Lowercase Capital, Alexis Ohanian, John Johnson and others. Comcast shares our vision for building the best way to distribute video online, and we’re excited to be working with them and welcoming Comcast Ventures’ Sam Landman to our board.

Two years ago, VHX started out as two people and a comedy special. Now, we’re a team of 20. Our platform is feature-rich and constantly growing, with over 3,500 titles and $4.7M in total sales. Big 2014 launches like Dave Grohl’s Sonic Highways series, Kevin Spacey’s Now, Harmontown, This American Life’s second release, and some wildly inspiring Internet-native success stories like Expelled, Camp Takota, and Black & Sexy TV helped make last year an awesome one, full of promise for all types of video publishers who want to distribute their work directly to fans.

This round of funding will pave the way for a few major goals. First, apps! Just last month we launched our new iOS app with another app announcement soon on the way — two big steps in our push for the best watchability across all devices. And, community! With thousands of titles and over a million customers on the platform, we have the opportunity to better connect our buyers and sellers, and build the vibrant, creator-friendly network we’ve always wanted.

VHX Gift Guide, Pt. 1

Here are a couple ideas for the folks on your “nice” list. Use this new feature to deliver video gifts on December 25th!

For the skaters, skiers, adventurers, and risk-takers:

Sugar Mountain: A stunning ski adventure film tracking the search for a mythical mountain

12 O’Clock Boys: An award-winning portrait of Baltimore’s most notorious urban dirt bike crew

Meateater: Much-loved hunting/foodie mash-up series for the non-vegan

Days of My Youth: Red Bull brings you death-defying extreme skiing + the philosophy of Alan Watts

All This Mayhem: VICE made this epic skateboarding portrait

The Motivation: Skater fanatics, cont’d.

Maidentrip: A 14-year-old girl fought tooth & nail for her right to sail around the world on her own. Her story, her footage.

For the Makers (aka crafters, illustrators, painters, picture takers…)

In No Great Hurry: Thirteen life lessons from legendary photographer Saul Leiter

Ai Weiwei: The Fake Case: A stirring, intimate portrait of a radical, world-changing artist after his stint in Chinese prison

Harmontown: A saga of creation and destruction (aka Dan Harmon’s podcast tour)

Stripped: A doc that goes beyond the art of comics (And if you know someone who’d love this, also check out Dear Mr. Watterson)

Sign Painters: "A cautionary tale about the head-long rush into a technology driven time and a meditation on what’s lost along the way" … And some beautiful painting.

For your friends who love getting smarter (with a bonus for your friends who want to marry Robert Downey Jr.*)

Particle Fever: You don’t need a background in experimental physics to be captivated by this acclaimed doc about the Large Hadron Collider

Helvetica: Designers and typography aficionados will go nuts. Also check Gary Hustwit’s other docs - Urbanized & Objectified

This Is Not a Conspiracy Theory - Awesome series

* OffCamera (with Sam Jones): Beyond RDJ, get up close and personal in intense, in-depth interviews with everyone from Sarah Silverman to Dave Grohl

How to score points with other people’s kids (and please parents)

Things from Kabillion: All the “Chloe’s Closet” and “Hero 108” a family can handle

SoSmart: Because these days most babies have their own iPads

Yummyfun Kooking: The most fun cooking show ever

Cat in the Hat: FYI, he knows a lot about Christmas

Sid the Science Kid: His movie debut! Feat. Christopher Lloyd as the quirky scientist, naturally

Expelled: For kids of the squealy female tween and teen varieties