When Greg Clayman and Constantine “Chuck” Tsiamis founded VS Media Inc. in Boston in 1996, the two lifelong friends wanted to put their love of technology and business acumen to good use in an arena that was embracing the new and novel like a brush fire embraces dry weeds. The virtually unlimited potential for both innovation and revenue generation embodied by the adult entertainment industry’s new cyberspace branch was a lure they could not resist.
In 1999, the company moved across the country to Los Angeles, not only because Video Secrets—as the organization is more commonly known—had outgrown its East Coast digs, but also because Tsiamis and Clayman wanted to put their ideas, their drive and their abilities to work right in the middle of Porn Central. Many of the adult industry’s largest studios are located in the Los Angeles area, and consequently so are many performers. With the move, the formerly live-video-chat-only provider found itself in a position to begin recording performances by name-brand adult stars and offering that material to adult websites as leased feeds.
The company grew some more.
Fourteen years later—through major shifts in technology, consumer tastes, the legal landscape and the global economy—Video Secrets remains at the top of its game. With a corporate staff of 40 people and nearly 3,000 active performers who are independent contractors, the company is one of the largest of its kind in the world.
“VS has grown by several hundred percent since just 2005,” said Manager of Operations Brad Estes, noting that today, the company’s revenues are “more than double what they were back then—maybe even triple.” Considering the number of herculean mainstream technology companies that have collapsed under their own weight since 2000—and the number of adult industry companies that are grappling with the ramifications of the first honest-to-goodness porno recession in history—that’s not too shabby.
Although it’s tempting to place the credit for success on the shoulders of two men many view as trend-spotting wizards and gifted marketers, Clayman and Tsiamis are much more circumspect in their assessment of VS Media’s seemingly charmed existence.
Video Secrets’ secret, they say, is its people.
Lively Lifeblood
“The single most important factor for VS Media’s success and longevity, besides my and Greg’s lifelong friendship, belief and trust in one another, has been our ability to find, cultivate and retain bright, free-thinking, progressive professionals to operate and grow our company,” said Tsiamis, who today proffers the title “executive vice president” when he’s forced to mention one. “The team we have gathered and their drive to enhance every facet of VS Media is unrivaled. The employees take great pride in their work and share in some of the profits.
“Now while we’d like to take credit for this, we can’t,” he added. “This philosophy of hiring and retaining bright people to do the jobs that Greg and I can’t do was instilled in us by our families, who have run proven, longstanding businesses our entire lives.”
The men said a “family” environment infuses every aspect of Video Secrets’ daily operation, and not only in-house. The corporate staff goes to great lengths to ensure independent contractors, affiliates, business partners and consumers perceive the sorts of values usually associated with small, family-run establishments: genuine caring, warmth, friendliness and a positive, can-do attitude that seems to becoming rarer by the minute in corporate America.
“Chuck and I entered into this arena because we saw this as a very unique business opportunity, and not necessarily because we set out to be a leader in the adult entertainment industry,” said Clayman, who serves as the company’s president. “Although we had no problems about being in the [adult] industry, we felt that if we took many aspects of building a brick-and-mortar company and applied those aspects to building a leading-edge technology company, ultimately we would succeed.
“One simple yet often overlooked example of this would be to put the customer first,” he continued. “Albeit a simple and traditional business ideology, over the years we’ve seen many companies that haven’t taken this approach and are struggling to stay in business or are no longer in business. Whether our customer is the end-user or the affiliate, by placing them first and treating them right, many end-users and affiliates alike have continued to come back and help grow VS Media into what it is today.”
Affiliates consistently mention Video Secrets’ reliability and trustworthiness as two of the primary reasons for their loyalty. According to longtime business partners, the company doesn’t promise things it may not be able to deliver. It pays affiliates what they are owed when they are owed. And although Video Secrets may not be the first to market with every trendy new concept, the products the company does embrace are blessedly free of “new-technology glitches” by the time they hit the streets. In an industry where sizable and seemingly stable content and service providers, hosting companies and billing firms have been known to disappear overnight amid a storm of controversy, VS Media’s solid reputation is worth its weight in gold.
“Video Secrets is one the best programs I’ve ever had to deal with on a support and operations level,” Vivid.com Operations Manager Eric said. “They’re always on the forefront of creating tools and efficient new methods for making their clients more money. In my personal experience, members sent to Video Secrets properties stay longer and spend more money than any other live-cam network I’ve ever used. Their affiliate support is the best of the best. If you want to work with a company that just gets it done in the cam market, VS is your team.”
Vivid isn’t the only adult industry superpower to form an alliance with VS Media. In addition to its flagship product Flirt4Free, which the company markets directly to consumers through its own affiliate network, Video Secrets also provides white-label video-chat solutions for Hustler, Gamelink, FreeOnes and NakedSword, among others. Those companies market to consumers through their own affiliate networks. FreeOnes owner Roald Ripen said he couldn’t be happier with the partnership. “Video Secrets has been our number-one cam solution for over five years,” he said. “Our full white label is seeing an increase in revenue month after month, even in times like this. Working with a team who is on top of the cam game has been a real pleasure for us, and we’re looking forward to many more years to come.”
Gay companies and affiliates are just as satisfied with Video Secrets’ products and attitude. According to Estes, VS Media has offered gay lines since the beginning. Today, more than 40 percent of Video Secrets’ revenues are derived from the company’s gay products, and longstanding gay relationships are an important component of the bottom line.
The relationships are no less important to those on the gay side of the handshake. “Video Secrets is the best moneymaker for live cams,” Intense Cash Chief Executive Officer Mark said. “They helped me quadruple my income. I’m very happy with the support they provide and the money I make. No other live-cam company can even come close to what I make with Video Secrets.”
According to Cybersocket Partner Morgan Sommer, the entire team at VS Media goes above and beyond what many have come to expect from their brethren within the adult industry. “Video Secrets has been one of the top-converting sponsor programs and the top-converting cam program for us for at least five years,” Sommer said. “They have excellent affiliate support. When we need something special to do a promotion, they are instantly responsive and helpful.
“We do a lot of work to send traffic,” he continued. “VS does a lot of work to make a great product. I see this as a partnership where both parties are respectful of each other. This makes the relationship a pleasure.”
Of course, it doesn’t hurt that some VS affiliates are making enough money to finance a coup in a small Third World nation. “In 2009 we crossed $40 million in affiliate commissions,” Estes revealed, adding that the largest single commission check VS Media has delivered to date amounted to more than $100,000 for a single month’s sales. “Our average affiliate payout is over $1,500 [monthly]. Due to our lifetime revshare program and the ability of our product to retain customers for a long time, it’s entirely possible for affiliates to build a large base of long-term revenue.”
In fact, long-term is a key phrase for Video Secrets. “We believe in the live video-chat market and are not distracted by ‘the next great thing’ because we know we’ve already found it,” Clayman said. “Occasionally this results in us not being first to market, but as we all learned in the dot-com boom-bust cycle, being first to market isn’t always a recipe for success. A long-term mindset shapes every decision we make. When we enter into a deal with someone, it is not aimed at making a quick buck, but rather at building a long-lasting relationship that will be successful for the deal at hand and beyond.”
Heart and Sold
Clayman, Tsiamis and Estes are equally quick to point out that as much as VS Media values its affiliates and business partners, the company would be nothing without a cadre of amateur, and occasionally professional, performers manning webcams worldwide. The very thing upon which VS built its foundation—men, women and couples whose sexy on-camera personalities draw dedicated fans to their computer monitors day after day, night after night, minute after paid minute—remains the bulwark against which the company is building its future. Although Video Secrets sidetracked into the leased-feed model for few years, live cams are and always have been its core product. Broadcasts feature performers from more than 400 locations in countries like the Czech Republic, Russia, Canada, the U.S. and others. About 85 percent of VS models work from their own homes; the remaining 15 percent broadcast from third-party studios (primarily in Eastern European countries where extended families occupying the same residence can make working from home problematic).
What’s more, Estes revealed, “When the economy started to tank in the U.S., we saw a huge uptick in domestic performers.” Some of those models have risen to the upper echelon of Flirt4Free moneymakers, Estes said, partially because they’re hard workers, and partially because they’re not the kind of individuals consumers expect to find on so-called porn sites.
“DVD performers and strippers have trouble transitioning to webcams,” he said, because they’re accustomed to presenting a certain kind of image to the public. They have preconceived notions about interpersonal dynamics, and sometimes their professional training gets in the way. “Now office workers, retail clerks, people like that … Those are the girls and guys who know how to flirt,” Estes said. “They’re quick to pick up on successful strategies for hooking a paying audience, and consumers seem turned on by the girl- or guy-next-door mystique. The market is very good at dictating who’s successful and who’s not. Consistency [in broadcast schedules] helps build a fan base, but otherwise, there’s not a lot of rhyme or reason to popularity.”
However, Video Secrets goes to extremes to help each performer figure out what works for him or her so he or she can repeat the scenario. The company takes great pains to foster a community atmosphere among performers, and often the veterans step in to train newbies before anyone on staff gets a chance. “They’re the best at training each other and they’re eager to do so, so we provide them with a host of tools to make their on-camera lives and interactions easier,” Estes said. “We provide messaging systems so the performers can stay in touch with each other and their clients. They can take detailed notes on each performance right in the system, so the next time a client logs on, they have a baseline for what he or she enjoys.”
The system also collects all sorts of statistics and psychometric data about every minute of every interaction, making it easy for performers to participate in advertising and marketing. The data also help them tailor their performances to any perceived trends in consumer desire. “We let the math dictate,” Estes said, adding that most performers quickly determine the most profitable per-minute price points, show lengths and other performer-adjustable variables based on their daily reports. “One performer in Florida is doing five-hour shows Monday through Friday at $9 a minute. Her customers spend more than $2,700 a night.”
For their part, performers say the Video Secrets staff, independent contractors and technology enable them to adapt and embrace the milieu with more ease than they initially expected. Typically, they love the freedom to work when they want and avoid the hassle associated with commuting. Ages, sizes, gender preferences, skin tones and fetishes run the gamut.
“I’m 30 years old, in the MILF catergory, and have been web-camming since I started for VS in December ’09,” said Californian Bryanna Spanks. “I am an ex-exotic dancer, and yes, the money is better now. Plus, I work from home and make my own schedule. Being a web-cam model has been fun, and being part of the VS team has been a big part of that.”
Twenty-nine-year-old Honey Brown said she was happy to find a job she loves that allows her to work in safety, yet still interface with a broad cross-section of the American public. And she is quick to remark about the level of mutual respect she has perceived at VS Media. “I have been working with Video Secrets for eight months now, and I honestly feel like I have the best business on the internet backing me and what I do,” she said. “I look forward to ‘working’ every day and making strong positive connections with people. I absolutely enjoy what I do, and having one of the best teams on the net makes me feel positive in my pocket as well as my attitude. Video Secrets really does more than expected and goes above and beyond any other internet business around. They are the real secret behind my success.”
While some of the performers are old hands at the “sex biz,” some have found Video Secrets to be a more appealing option than flipping burgers or waiting tables while they work their way toward a college degree. “I’ve been a webcam model for a couple of years now, and it’s paying my college and grad school,” said Chelsey Eden, 23. “This is probably the most fun job I will ever have. I work from home in my underwear—and less—meet lots of fun people and let out my inner kink. What could be better? Plus, whenever I see ads on websites that say ‘make thousands a week working from home,’ I laugh and think I found the only one that isn’t a scam.”
Common threads are fun and convenience. “This is probably the best job I’ve had,” said Layne Taylor, 25, a gay model based in Pennsylvania. “Every day I get to meet new and interesting people—not to mention my regular customers, who keep me just as entertained as I keep them. I get to set my own hours and work from the convenience of my own home. I love working for VS.”
Of course, some are the ambitious type. Those performers, like 20-year-old Roxy Rayne of Washington, typically do very well, Estes says. “Working for Video Secrets has allowed me to work from my own home in my panties, act out all the naughty role-play fantasies myself and others think up, explore my fetishes, be a part of some hot, hot, hot lesbian shows, and all the while make enough money to put a down payment on a house at 20 years old. Could life be any better?”Performers make a percentage of every purchase. The percentage varies based on a number of factors, including sales records and the number of new accounts they bring in. In addition, performers are eligible for a number of bonuses and may participate in monthly contests that reward their production while adding humor and a taste of the exotic for both them and their customers.
Future Generations
No one can predict the future, and asking the folks at VS Media to try is an exercise in futility. What they know, they’re keeping to themselves. However, Estes did say “immediate plans include leveraging our archive of more than one million recorded shows in ways that will drive more traffic to the [live video-]chat and give affiliates a great conversion tool. We are also exploring mobile, more high-definition live video streams and overhauling our affiliate program to give more tools to our affiliates.” He said the initial rollout of new affiliate tools should occur in early April.
“Five years out, we see us continuing to gain a stronger position in our market by growing our customer base with an exceptional product,” he added, not really saying much beyond what the industry already knows. Still, one cannot expect Video Secrets to give away all of its secrets, now, can one? Perhaps just a hint?
“The more ways customers can interact with the performers, the better,” Estes responded with a chuckle, “whether that be on handheld devices, television screens or enhancements to our web interface. The same need to continue to learn and our ability to feed that need are key factors in helping to keep the Video Secrets products contemporary and our strategic plans fresh and on-track.”
However VS Media decides to proceed, one thing seems certain: The company will continue to value people and relationships over quick cash. According to Tsiamis, nothing will change that vital aspect of the business model.
Clayman agreed. “Growing a business with my best friend has been a true blessing,” he said. “When facing adversity over the years, we’ve always had each other to lean on and discuss how to deal with difficult situations together. We’ve had a lot of growing pains over the past 14 years, and if we didn’t have each other I can honestly say the company wouldn’t be in the position it is in today.”
Sounds like the company should be grateful, as well.
