The Pitch Season 2, Episode Seven: Seed&Spark – Funding for Films

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The Pitch Season 2, Episode Seven: Seed&Spark – Funding for Films, Startup, http://betabeat.com/2013/05/the-pitch-season-2-episode-seven-seedspark-funding-for-films/,

It’s a crowdfunding week on The Pitch. In episode six we met Funderverse, a crowdfunding platform serving natural gas projects. This time Emily Best, founder and CEO of Seed&Spark – a crowdfunding platform for films – hopes to prove to SoftBank Capital’s Nikhil Kalghatgi and Lerer Ventures’ Steve Schlafman that Kickstarter and Indiegogo don’t yet have a lock on the creative project market.

Seed&Spark grew out of a necessity to finance a film Ms. Best and her friends had undertaken. A member of the group had worked on Ed Burns’ Newlyweds, which was famously made for $ 9,000, and was convinced they could create the film on a shoestring budget. But the realities of making a film are a bit different for first time filmmakers than a film festival darling, so the team put together a wedding registry for the project. Blown away by the amount of goods and services they received in response from the community, Ms. Best realized she had a business opportunity on her hands.

But is the industry ready for crowdfunded films, especially with platforms like Kickstarter and Indiegogo already in full swing? Can Veronica Mars’ success be replicated for lesser-known projects? Watch episode seven and see if Ms. Best’s pitch has what it takes to win.

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It’s a crowdfunding week on The Pitch. In episode six we met Funderverse, a crowdfunding platform serving natural gas projects. This time Emily Best, founder and CEO of Seed&Spark – a crowdfunding platform for films – hopes to prove to SoftBank Capital’s Nikhil Kalghatgi and Lerer Ventures’ Steve Schlafman that Kickstarter and Indiegogo don’t yet have a lock on the creative project market.

Seed&Spark grew out of a necessity to finance a film Ms. Best and her friends had undertaken. A member of the group had worked on Ed Burns’ Newlyweds, which was famously made for $ 9,000, and was convinced they could create the film on a shoestring budget. But the realities of making a film are a bit different for first time filmmakers than a film festival darling, so the team put together a wedding registry for the project. Blown away by the amount of goods and services they received in response from the community, Ms. Best realized she had a business opportunity on her hands.

But is the industry ready for crowdfunded films, especially with platforms like Kickstarter and Indiegogo already in full swing? Can Veronica Mars’ success be replicated for lesser-known projects? Watch episode seven and see if Ms. Best’s pitch has what it takes to win.