Startup Profile: CINEMOOD
By
Richard Fairfield

Their Story:

CINEMOOD‘s founder, Mike Bukhovtsev, had been working at Huawei, the Shenzhen telecom behemoth for a decade in its Moscow marketing department when he had a moment of fatherly clarity: He really wanted to be present for his 4- ear old daughter, Alisa. Remembering stories and images from his own childhood and dissatisfied with the range of products available, he envisioned his perfect parent/child bonding solution: CINEMOOD.

Mike gathered a talented team of co-founders and advisors from Huawei and other international companies such as Kaspersky, Innoio, and Yandex. Prototyping started in early 2014, then acceptance in the Skolkovo Startup Academy and a first place prize at the Skolkovo Investors Demo Day.  By winter of 2015, CINEMOOD was released in the Commonwealth of Independent States (former Soviet Republics), selling 3000 projectors: 100% of their production.

CINEMOOD is a small, light, kid friendly, portable projector that creates an immersive experience and can be used to watch videos, listen to audiobooks, read digital books, and project play environments. There is a companion app that allows parents to control the projector remotely, send video messages to the device, and limit the amount of time their kids interact with media. Mike also includes 20 hours of pre-loaded content specially selected by educators and child therapists. Users also have the option of uploading their own content to CINEMOOD via USB or WiFi.

The Future of CINEMOOD:

For 2016, CINEMOOD has set its sights on American and European Union market expansion. After exhibiting at CES this year, they now have 15,000 pre-orders in the US and Europe for their Version 2 projector. Mike has several sales channels lined up, including a current IndieGoGo campaign, online store, distribution in US stores including Toys R Us and Brookstone, as well as distribution in the EU. CINEMOOD is also participating in the Next Step Challenge, Europe’s largest startup competition, and has had some initial talks with Bang & Olufsen, one of the primary sponsors.

Alisa is now seven and still enjoying her Dad’s creation.  Mike now has another daughter, Vaselisa, who at six months is inspiring him to continue to create new magical CINEMOOD experiences.

Richard Fairfield is a writer and the Chief Revenue Officer for The Social Media Monthly