Jesta Digital (www.jestadigital.com) a leading global provider of next-generation entertainment content and services for the digital consumer, has committed $15 million to launch and invest in Jesta Labs, an independent business unit dedicated to the entrepreneurial development and growth of new direct-to-consumer products for the web, mobile and social spaces. Jesta Labs will introduce several new digital and mobile products to the consumer market this year and plans to open funding to other entrepreneurs worldwide next year.
Jesta Labs will focus its creative efforts and technical know-how on identifying capital efficient digital business models that will benefit from the company’s experienced full-time staff of developers, product managers, and marketing professionals. Leading Jesta Labs is newly appointed managing director, Joe Bilman, who has a long history of successfully recognizing and building new products and services where the potential for scale and revenue is clear. Bilman is the chief architect of the groundbreaking mobile video subscription service Bitbop that launched in August 2010 in the U.S. and in Germany in September 2011 where it was the first mobile video on-demand service for web, tablet and mobile devices. Since launching his first start-up more than 10 years ago, Bilman has developed more than 20 popular consumer brands and created value for stakeholders at seven companies. While leading Jesta Labs, Bilman will continue in his role as Chief Product Officer for Jesta Digital.
Said Bilman, “There has never been a more exciting time than now for a digital innovation incubator like Jesta Labs. With the rapidly growing array of smart phones, tablets and other mobile devices in the market, the demand for next generation products, content and services that allow consumers to create their own engaging experience with these devices increases exponentially. Our highly experienced team is passionate about finding and growing new businesses that will transform the way people interact with mobile, web and social spaces.”
Jason Aintabi, CEO of Jesta Digital, said, “Since the acquisition of Fox Mobile Group and its subsequent renaming to Jesta Digital, it was apparent that not only did we gain a number of successful and valuable consumer brands but also an unparalleled amount of intellectual capital, global infrastructure and know how. Joe Bilman recognizes the importance of innovation and has the ability to execute on it. Under his stewardship and with the collaboration of our growing team, I am confident that Joe will bring great value to our planned new ventures."
In early fall, Jesta Labs will debut Gush, a cloud-based photo organization and sharing service, as a public beta. Gush will automatically grab every digital picture stored across laptops, desktops and mobile devices and store them in the cloud where they can be sorted and shared to all popular social sites.
The company has two direct-to-consumer products ready to roll out this year as well as a small number of other products in various stages of development.