Exclusive Interview with Yael Elish, eSnips' CEO

Gil Ruda from StarupIsrael.com recently had the opportunity to interview Yael Elish, eSnips's CEO.

eSnips is a social content-sharing site, where one can publish and share any media type. There is unlimited flexibility in choosing what to share, and with whom, in 1GB of free space.

We want to thank Hagit Katzenelson (eSnips' VP Marketing) for her help with conducting this interview.

Q: Hi Yael, Can you tell us a little bit about your background before you started eSnips.

I have worked in several Internet start-ups for the past 12 years, with management positions in marketing, product management and business development positions. Before founding eSnips / NetSnippets in 2001, I was the Vice President of Strategic Development for Sunnyvale based Commtouch software, where I was responsible for defining the company's strategic directions for new product and market development. I was part of the senior management that took the company to its successful NASDAQ IPO in 2000.

Q: Would you like to share any memories from eSnips early days? How did you create the initial team? How did you fund the early stages?

The early stages of eSnips were funded by Nahum Sharfman, eSnips' co-founder along with me. Nahum is formerly the founder of both Shopping.com (NASDAQ IPO in 2004, later acquired by eBay) and Commtouch. I met Nahum while I was working at Commtouch and have since enjoyed a great working relationship.

Alon Elish, currently the CTO, is the third founder.

In February of 2006 eSnips received seed funding from Gemini Israel Funds and in November 2006 eSnips received Series A funding from Gemini and Greylock. Up until pretty recently, we only had six employees here at eSnips, but we've grown quite a bit in the last two months to around 10 full time employees and a few more part-timers.

Q: Can you describe the evolution of the idea? How far was the initial idea from what it ended to be?

eSnips started out from the prior product- NetSnippets, which was an internet research and organization tool sold to universities, libraries and research facilities. Many features of NetSnippets have been adopted into the eSnips site, especially in the eSnips toolbar, including the capturing and snipping tools. However, the eSnips site has evolved significantly since NetSnippets, to the point where it is really an interest-driven social sharing site and a thriving online social community, not just a place to collect research.

Q: What do you think makes eSnips unique compared with other alternatives?

We think eSnips is unique because of the focus on interests. Many users upload many different aspects of their lives, such as their karaoke singing, watercolor paintings, family photos, remixes, and so on. As a result, communities have been formed around the various areas of interest. I think the focus on people's passions brings amazing and creative content to eSnips and the special micro-portal communities that bring these people together.

Q: What your secret for creating a large and active community? What's your opinion regarding large marketing budgets?

In my opinion, to create a large and active community you need to listen to its members and give them what they want. In most of our micro-communities, such as the DJ and Karaoke communities, the community formed around a shared file type (their own remixes in the case of DJs and their own covers in the case of the karaoke singers). The users needed a home for their files online, and eSnips with its huge free space provided just that. The community formed around these files came later, when a larger group of people with similar interests realized that there were a lot of them sharing their stuff on eSnips. The rest, as they say is history :-)

Q: It's said that a lot of time before success there's a big crisis, did you experience such a crisis?

Maybe not quite a crisis, but you need to believe in an idea for a long time, and be willing to adjust your "baby" when technology, paradigms and trends shift under your feet. Also, eSnips in the beginning was not exactly appreciated as the one place for all your content. People believed you should put your photos on a photo-sharing site, your videos on another site, and your music on a third – instead of all in once place. We always believed that this was the right way, and only now, with a really growing user base, we are beginning to see the fruits of our labor.

Q: To your opinion, is there a bubble?

As one who went through the first Internet bubble, this one seems a bit saner. Investments are more cautious, business models are more thought out, and the job market, while certainly hot, is not bubbly yet. I hope this time around stays saner.

Q: Do you have any tips for new entrepreneurs?

I believe the most important thing is the need to really believe in your idea. Enough to go through rejections from VCs, bad reviews, and the silent treatment from the press. If you believe in what you do, the world will follow.

Q: What are your future goals for eSnips?

eSnips communities are exciting right now, and with every new community we open we start seeing tremendous growth and activity in that area. This will be an interesting area to explore in the near future.

Thank you again for your time, I wish both you and eSnips good luck!