Business Week Has Filmmakers Barking Up the Wrong Tree
A recent article on BusinessWeek.com offers this advice:
An Investor In the Biz
When looking for investors in the film industry, it’s helpful to reach out to the talent agencies, says Jeff Fishman, a Los Angeles-based financial adviser who works with many entertainment clients. “Agents have relationships with many movie financiers. If you’re looking to meet people at the agencies, try to attend film festivals or even enter your film in a festival. This is usually a great venue to meet varied people from throughout the entertainment industry.”
Your ideal investor will be someone from the industry who knows you well and can help you not only financially, but also strategically. “Such an investor will help you tactically take things to the next level,” says Channing Chen, a venture consultant with the San Francisco Small Business Development Center. “These people…understand what it takes to make this movie successful from a financial standpoint.”
Read more:
http://tinyurl.com/wqub5
I think Business Week missed the boat on this one. While talent agencies do play a critical role in financing, if you do not have an established set of relationships this path is not going to be helpful.
Likewise the advice about seeking investors with experience in film is probably just plain wrong. If you are just beginning your fund raising activities, you need to tap into people who can make an investment of $25,000 or greater. These people are business owners, doctors, perhaps people with family wealth. If they are already in the film business, I think you will find it particularly difficult to recruit them as an investor in your project.
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velochan
The BW article states that “the ‘ideal’ investor will be someone from the industry who knows you well and can help you not only financially, but also strategically.” I think you are hard pressed to tap doctors, lawyers, etc..when most of them don’t understand the film industry. Its wishful thinking and these people would most likely be investing for personal satisfaction (”I funded a movie!”) versus pure economics. Furthermore, you don’t provide a logical explanation as to why people in the film business are less likely to invest in a film versus doctors, lawyers, etc.. Do they not believe in the potential of their own industry? The best bet at attracting investors for any venture are the people who know your industry the best. That’s why venture capitalists generally speaking stick to what they know and invest accordingly.
Jun 12th, 2007
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