Stephane Herry, CEO of GigaTribe, enjoys working in various environments in different professions. He started working as an IT consultant helping big companies organize their business software architecture. He then joined the video game industry as a project manager for one of the first multiplayer online games. Working for Totem Entertainment, an online software editor, he worked in different jobs, from organizing manager to executive director. In 2005, he co-founded GigaTribe with Alexis Leseigneur, a very talented technical director. GigaTribe is a software community used by more than 1 million people to share files privately over the Internet.
Bijan Tehrani: How did you come up with the idea for Gigatribe?
Stephane Herry: It all started four years ago. I wanted to exchange a very big file with a friend, and the only tool I knew how to use to transfer big files was Peer to Peer. I just gave a fancy name to the big file and told my friend to find it, but he was unable to. So we decided that we had to make a system that would allow us to exchange files only between friends, so this was how it all started.
BT: How do you think Gigatribe can help our readers, who are mostly filmmakers?
SH: What is interesting is that there is absolutely no file limit and, once you create the file, you have the option of only sharing it with a selected list of people.
BT: One of the main concerns with file sharing is security. How secure is the Gigatribe system?
SH: We are very concerned about security and there are multiple steps we take to ensure it. For starters, we have an invitation network where only those that you have invited into your network and have accepted your request are able to access your files. Secondly, you can choose to only are a specific folder as opposed to your entire hard drive. Next, all of the data is encrypted, which prevents any of your footage from being deciphered. We also use
the same read and write access that is used on several local networks. Therefore, you can grant a person the ability to only view your footage, or you can grant the person the ability to download and view your footage.
BT: There are two different versions, a free version and a paid version. What is the difference between the two?
SH: There are three major differences. The first difference is how easy it is for an individual to connect, the second difference is the speed of the server: with the free version you can only download one file at a time. The third difference would be the length of access that you have to your own or someone else’s hard drive.
BT: What is the cost of the paid version?
SH: The paid version goes for $4.99 a month or $29.95 a year.
BT: One of the things that people always ask about a service that is so affordable is, “How do we know that this company will last?”
SH: We’ve been around for four years already and we have over 1 million people using the software and we are currently raising money to make our server even faster. So we hope that not only will the product last, but that it will grow even bigger.
BT: Are you planning anything new for the future?
SH: We are releasing Version 3 in September, and we have a new design interface which will make it much easier for people. We have been working on this version for two years so we think it’s going to be huge.
For more info please go to: www.gigatribe.com