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I've just spent a half hour watching videos on 5min.com learning the Sicilian defense, how to make Thai egg salad (it's all in the pickled garlic) and how to cut my hair into a Mohawk (my office dresses "business casual.") It's a fun, well-designed site, which is what may have spurred early-stage venture firm Spark Capital to invest $5 million in the startup.




"5min has taken the clear lead in the instructional video market," said Alex Finkelstein, principal at Spark Capital, in a statement. "The company's combination of traffic, content and technology is impressive for a company of its age. We believe how-to video content will garner the highest online video CPMs, because someone watching a how-to is a super-defined niche demographic and someone viewing a how-to is typically in a purchasing mindset."

Well, maybe. As Eric Eldon at VentureBeat points out, 5min's Web traffic in the U.S. trails that of rival instructional video site DIY Network, which is owned by E.W. Scripps Co. [SSP] He cites Hitwise, Comscore and other data to drive home that 5min, which was launched in Tel Aviv and is setting up shop in New York, ranks behind not only DIY, but also other startups such as Videojug.

But in an interview Finkelstein says that 5min has some distinct advantages over other instructional video startups. For one, while rivals often present only a single video on a given topic, 5min offers a selection of clips ranging from user-generated pieces to professional content, including from premium publishers such as Encyclopedia Britannica. "They want a range of videos, and they let the community decide which is the best one," he says.

Finkelstein also says the company has an edge in its "smart" video player, which gives users more control over videos by letting them zoom in, roll in slow motion and view frame by frame, among other options. 5min is "the only company that's building a video player made specifically for 'how to' videos" he notes.

Another plus? 5min "hasn't spent a dime on marketing," Finkelstein says.

Spark's investment is the first institutional funding for 5min, which this spring raised some angel money in what TechCrunch characterizes as exactly how not to raise a seed round. If so, it's not a fatal error. More challenging might be how 5min, and even brawnier how-to video providers, plan to compete with YouTube, which could easily spruce up its poorly organized instructional video channel. - Alain Sherter

See Jan. 3 press release from Spark Capital
See Jan. 3 post from VentureBeat
See Nov. 7 post from TechCrunch
See Jan. 2 post from NewTeeVee

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