Global startup Bambassadors is turning heads with its innovative approach to content creation. CEO Oded Farkash, who co-founded the company after success in e-commerce, and his team have developed a platform that streamlines the production of user-generated content (UGC) for brands. Bambassadors’ unique “challenge” model allows brands to review and select finished videos without upfront commitment, reducing financial risk and streamlining production. The company operates in over 30 countries and 22 languages, setting it apart from competitors focused on specific markets.

As it expands its reach and explores new technologies, including AI integration, the company is setting a new standard for efficiency and ethics in the creator economy. Oded provides insights into the company’s beginnings, its unique approach, and its services to brands in the complex world of digital content creation. 

The Birth of Bambassadors: Spotting Opportunity in TikTok’s Growth

The entrepreneur co-founded the company with Dan Kleinman and Joseph Flesh, leveraging their combined experience in advertising and e-commerce. Oded’s journey began with a successful e-commerce venture. “Dan and I had an e-com business. We ran [it] for, like, 4 or 5 years,” he explains. Their experience with TikTok’s rapid growth in late 2020 sparked a new business idea.

After selling their showerhead brand to a UK-based aggregator in early 2021, Oded and his partners launched Bambassadors. The company initially offered a service they call “product seeding” or “gifted collaboration,” connecting brands with micro and nano influencers.

“We started as a service around what we call today product seeding or gifted collaboration [which] lets you, as a brand owner, send a lot of free products and spread them all across with micro, nano, or whatever you want to call them influencers or creators,” Oded says.

As demand shifted, Bambassadors adapted its model. Oded notes, “We followed the money, and we started focusing more and more on paid collaborations.” The company now assists brands in selecting creators, developing concepts, and producing polished content for paid and organic marketing channels.

The CEO emphasizes Bambassadors’ content-first approach: “From the beginning, our main goal was always to support companies, brands, and advertisers with content and not necessarily with exposure.”

Filling a Market Gap with Innovative Content Creation

Bambassadors addresses a critical need in the content creation industry, offering a flexible, cost-effective solution for brands seeking high-quality video content. Oded explains the company’s unique positioning:

“When we started, there weren’t as many platforms, and the ones that were available were either too pricey, too committed to yearly contracts and stuff like that, catering only to the enterprise level.”

Recognizing the growing demand for performance-driven content, Bambassadors developed a novel approach they call “challenges.” This model allows brands to review and select finished videos without upfront commitment. “In those creative challenges, you can make videos without buying a particular one in advance, seeing the finished videos, and picking the ones you love. You only pay for those you love,” Oded explains, adding that this approach reduces brands’ financial risk and streamlines the production process. 

Bambassadors has expanded its offerings with “remix challenges,” tackling another market need. This service allows brands to repurpose existing video content, tapping into underutilized assets. “We also came up with a remix challenge where you get, again, video editors competing for your creative selection and making creative for you,” says Oded.

How Bambassadors Carves a Unique Niche

As a bootstrapped company, Bambassadors faces typical startup challenges while striving to innovate in the creator economy. “The biggest challenge is to keep the lights on as you invest all your excess resources into marketing and development,” Oded explains. Balancing profitability with reinvestment has been crucial for the company’s growth.

Additionally, Bambassadors has worked to perfect its content creation process across diverse markets. “Making videos in more than 22 languages across over 30 countries… There aren’t as many companies that do that in our space,” Oded notes.

This global approach makes Bambassadors stand out among competitors often focused on specific markets or languages. Oded proudly states, “Our process works across all these different countries and geos, and it just proves itself every time.”

The company’s selling points extend beyond its global reach. Oded emphasizes the importance of its team, many of whom are active creators. “It helps us keep ahead of our game and always know what’s trending and happening,” he says.

Bambassadors also distinguishes itself through its business model and streamlined process. Oded highlights, “With every production you make… You get the raw footage, all the ratios you need for different placements and unlimited usage rights. You don’t need to worry about anything.”

By focusing on simplicity and comprehensive service, Bambassadors aims to minimize marketers’ workloads. “We try to make it as little work and mental capacity as possible for the busy marketers,” Oded concludes, underlining the company’s commitment to efficiency.

Bambassadors’ Platform: Streamlining Content Creation

Oded points out that Bambassadors is not simply a connector between creators and brands but a comprehensive production platform. “What we build is a platform that goes through the entire production process with you,” he explains. The system minimizes communication points, focusing on efficiency for all parties involved.

For marketers, it offers “the fastest way you can get to the endpoint… to get the finished, polished video,” Oded states. Creators benefit from a streamlined upload process, while video editors receive optimized drafts and guidance on trends.

“We believe creators work less for the same money,” Oded explains the platform’s unique value proposition. According to the commerce expert, this efficiency stems from a one-time draft upload process that eliminates the need for multiple revisions or reshoots, ultimately benefiting all stakeholders in the content creation ecosystem.

Strategies for Success and Future Growth

Oded offers valuable insights for brands looking to optimize their UGC strategies, particularly leveraging platform-sponsored creative opportunities, and shares his vision for the company’s future. 

“On each social media platform… there’s all sorts of different plans they can take advantage of for making creative that is fully sponsored by those platforms,” he explains, urging brands to engage with their account managers across social media platforms to explore these often underutilized resources.

Another key strategy Oded recommends is testing content organically before investing in paid promotion. “Try things first in organic. And then take the ones that perform well for paid,” he advises. This approach can help brands identify winning creatives more efficiently and cost-effectively.

Oded reveals Bambassadors’ success in the gaming sector, citing specific case studies with companies like Bytro for their game Conflict of Nations and Million Victories’ for their game Million Lords. These companies exemplify best practices by extensively testing content, scaling successful campaigns, and leveraging platform resources. Bambassadors’ approach to localization has been particularly effective. “We replicate one winning creative in one language across different languages and countries,” Oded explains.

Most intriguingly, Bambassadors has discovered that recreating successful content with different creators and video editing teams can yield surprising results. Oded notes, “We replicated this creative exactly, frame by frame, with other creators as well. And we found some of these new creatives perform better, twice or even three times better, traits better, which is insane.”

Oded outlines ambitious plans for Bambassadors’ future goals. The company aims to expand beyond UGC and short-form content, positioning itself as “the best place to come and produce creatives for marketing organic and paid.” While cautious about AI-generated avatars, the startup’s chief sees potential in integrating AI to enhance video performance, production efficiency, and creative research.

Balancing Success and Ethics

In his closing remarks, Oded reflects on Bambassadors’ growth and success, attributing it to the team’s passion and ethical approach. Despite bootstrapping their way to success, the seasoned entrepreneur emphasizes balancing business interests and ethical considerations.

“We try to have fun, be nice and good to all parties involved, and try to find the sweet spot between the brand’s best interest and the talent’s best interest,” Oded explains. He contrasts this approach with those who might exploit creators or prioritize cheap content over quality.

Oded rejects the “race to the bottom” mentality, instead focusing on creating a “fun and efficient” environment while considering everyone’s interests. He believes this philosophy has been vital to Bambassadors’ success and will continue to guide the company’s future growth.