Welcome to Philly KitSplit, the AirBnB of Camera Equipment
Story by Explore Philly, photos by KitSplit
Called “the AirBNB of cameras,” by Forbes and Fast Company, KitSplit is making it faster and easier to get everything from high-end cameras and lenses to drones and virtual reality gear. It’s old news that companies like Netflix, YouTube and Snapchat are revolutionizing how visual content gets distributed. KitSplit is focused on transforming the beginning of the creative process. And they just announced that they’re acquiring CameraLends, which makes it the largest online camera rental marketplace. They will manage the combined entity under the KitSplit brand from their headquarters at the Hearst Tower in New York. Tens of thousands of items are available for rent, including high end digital cinema cameras, drones and virtual reality filming rigs.
CameraLends was launched by Adam Derewecki in January 2013, listing cameras and lenses in the San Francisco Bay Area. Designed for freelance photographers and filmmakers, CameraLends is a marketplace that connects professionals who own gear with verified renters. Since launching, CameraLends grew rapidly to 500+ locations across the United States, with thousands of community members and listings available for rental.
“There are more content creators today than ever before and they all need access to top quality, affordable gear. Since launching a little over a year ago, KitSplit has made huge improvements to the process of renting gear, making creative work and connecting with other creators. This has driven thousands of users and tens of millions worth of gear listings to the platform. The CameraLends acquisition will further our goals of democratizing access to great gear and empowering creators,” says KitSplit cofounder and CEO Lisbeth Kaufman.
“I’m very excited that CameraLends is joining the KitSplit family! The KitSplit founders are industry veterans who understand the pain points around equipment rentals. It’s a natural union, and I’m excited to see the community grow larger and stronger,” said Adam Derewecki, founder of CameraLends. CameraLends launched in 2013 in San Francisco. Like KitSplit, it has focused on empowering creators, broadening access to gear, and helping creators who own gear to safely make extra money renting it out. The acquisition follows very strong growth for both CameraLends and KitSplit, intensified by an explosion of visual content creation.
“We’re excited to be working with CameraLends’ forward-thinking founder Adam Derewecki, one of the innovators in the space. CameraLends has an impressive record of growth, and this partnership is an exciting milestone for KitSplit and the creative community,” said Kristina Budelis, cofounder and President of KitSplit.
KitSplit launched in late 2015 in New York, founded by Lisbeth Kaufman (CEO), Kristina Budelis (President), and Ken Amarit (CTO). The company’s users include thousands of filmmakers and creatives as well as several large media companies such as Hearst, NBC, Vox, and National Geographic. They have raised money from investors including Hearst, one of the largest media companies in the world, as well as Lorne Michael’s Broadway Video Ventures, Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator, and prominent angel investor Joanne Wilson.
All CameraLends members will be pre-vetted and welcomed into the KitSplit community. CameraLends users’ profiles and gear listings will be available on KitSplit. CameraLends users will be able to take advantage of KitSplit’s comprehensive insurance offerings, local delivery, robust customer service, and huge inventory of gear sourced from rental houses as well as individuals and production companies. CameraLends users join the thousands of award-winning and industry-leading filmmakers, photographers and artists of the KitSplit community.
“We’re thrilled to welcome CameraLends members to the KitSplit community. KitSplit will now be able to reach more people and companies than ever in our quest to empower creatives and build the biggest and best community of creatives in the world,” said Lisbeth Kaufman, CEO of KitSplit.
For more information, view a video about how KitSplit works, see some of the awesome projects #MadeWithKitSplit on our blog, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
