Newsflare was co-founded by CEO Jon Cornwell and former co-founder Bevan Thomas. The company was inspired by watching a news report which featured gripping video footage shot by an amateur. It was a lightbulb moment – why not set up an online marketplace to sell user-generated content like this direct to media outlets and split the profits with the original filmer? Newsflare was founded with the proposition – “Shoot video. Tell the world. Get paid.” – and quickly found a market.

Newsflare soon attracted interest from mainstream media and social publishers, with limited means to access rapidly breaking viral videos, while suppliers could be certain of getting the best price for their efforts.