ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — A new mobile video-hosting app for independent filmmakers, WAVES, launched earlier this month from St. Petersburg with a competition, where the winner will receive $10,000.

What You Need To Know

  •  The new WAVES app launched on Nov. 2

  •  The mobile video-hosting app was created for independent filmmakers

  •  The deadline to enter the $10K film competition ends on Jan. 28, 2024

  • The winner will be announced on Feb. 2, 2024

“We want it to promote new films, new ideas and artists that take risks,” said Jake Rabani, 25, WAVES founder and CEO. “That’s what the platform is for and I hope the filmmakers enjoy it because it’s for them.”

The WAVES team is made up of five friends who graduated from Florida colleges. The new company’s headquarters is located at the Station House in downtown St. Petersburg. Rabani said it took about a year and a half from concept to launching the app on Nov. 2.

“It starts with just ideas and we wanted these ideas to come at people,” said Rabani. “These new ideas to come at people in waves.”    

WAVES Chief Technology Officer Justin Rudolph, 22, was awarded $50,000 in seed money from the inaugural BUC Ventures competition launched by the Berkeley Preparatory School in Tampa.

“The students are the ones that make the ultimate decision on who gets the investment,” he said. “It’s a way that this committee can help alumni advance their startup career and receive money and get their product or idea off the ground.”

Rudolph said they put aside $10,000 of the seed money as the grand prize for their Headline Horizons’ inaugural digital film competition. It’s free to enter and open to independent filmmakers of all levels. The deadline for entry is Jan. 28 and the film must be no longer than 40 minutes.

“We’re giving it away to one lucky filmmaker who is able to tell a captivating story in a sense that attracts our entire audience towards them,” said Rudolph. “They might not have the biggest budget to run it, but if they are able to tell a story and get their voice heard, then their talent will be recognized.”

The film competition winner will be announced on Feb. 2.

The WAVES app is free to download and use with no paid advertising. Rabani said they make money when users pay for better quality.

“Some people prefer that their films be seen in higher quality which case they would pay for more perks and storage,” he said. “For their films to load faster or things like that.”

Rabani grew up in Naples, graduated from the University of South Florida with a degree in communication and said movies have played an important role in his life.

“Movies and films were always my escape,” he said. “I didn’t have the best childhood ever and movies were my way of learning about the world.”  

The young entrepreneurs hope their new app makes waves well into the future.