Seed&Spark
Film-focused crowdfunding platform
Type | Video on demand , crowdfunding |
---|---|
Founded | 2012 |
Headquarters | United States |
Seed&Spark is a film-centric crowdfunding and SVOD platform launched in 2012.
Business
Seed&Spark is a crowdsourced film & TV studio where creators can build audiences through crowdfunding and audiences can watch movies & shows through on-demand streaming. Distribution contracts are non-exclusive to Seed&Spark, with a caveat that a movie or show on the Seed&Spark must not be distributed free elsewhere online. [1]
Crowdfunding platform
Unlike other crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter and IndieGoGo , Seed&Spark is purpose-built for film & TV, and its crowdfunding page acts like a registry system, showing potential backers a budget determined by exactly what "WishList" items are needed and at what cost. The platform also allows backers to contribute cash or loan specific items to the project. [2] Seed&Spark takes a 5% fee from successfully funded projects, lower than other crowdfunding platforms, and allows campaign supporters to cover the filmmakers' fees. Seed&Spark currently holds a 75% success rate [3] for its crowdfunding campaigns, nearly twice that of Kickstarter, [4] and an average raise of $14,700 per project.
History
Founder Emily Best created the prototype for Seed&Spark with Caroline Von Kuhn and Liam Brady [5] while raising funds for their feature film Like the Water in 2010. Through the platform, the film was able to raise $23,000 in 30 days. The public site launched on December 1, 2012 [6] with 11 distributed films and 15 crowdfunding campaigns.
Seed&Spark raised more than $300,000 in its first 6 months. [7] Originally based in Brooklyn , New York , [8] Seed&Spark relocated to Los Angeles in 2014.
Funding
Best was the recipient in 2013 of $10,000 grant for Seed&Spark from SoftBank Capital and Lerer Ventures, [9] given via the New York Observer blog Betabeat's competition series The Pitch. Lerer principal Steve Schlafman explained that Best "proved to us that her product is working and solves a real problem that she experienced first hand." [10] In August 2014, Seed&Spark closed a million dollar seed round led by Wadsworth Family investment fund Manitou Ventures. [11]
References
- ↑ "Submit a Movie for release on Seed&Spark!" . Seed&Spark . Retrieved 12 January 2015 .
- ↑ Renninger, Bryce J (30 November 2012). "Filmmakers Create a New Platform for Crowdfunding and Streaming Distribution in the Same Place" . Indiewire . Retrieved 11 January 2015 .
- ↑ "Is Seed & Spark's high crowdfunding success rate for real?" . Stephen Follows . 2017-05-22 . Retrieved 2017-12-12 .
- ↑ Salovaara, Sarah (11 August 2014). "Ranking Crowdfunding Sites: Kickstarter, Seed&Spark, Rockethub and More" . filmmakermagazine.com . Filmmaker Magazine . Retrieved 11 January 2015 .
- ↑ Dunaway, Michael (5 December 2012). "Catching Up With Emily Best of Seed&Spark" . Paste Magazine . Retrieved 11 January 2015 .
- ↑ Best, Emily. "FAIR TRADE FILMMAKING: SEED&SPARK" . tribecafilm.com/stories/5130fa651c7d76ec6c00000f-fair-trade-filmmaking-see . Tribeca Film Festival. Archived from the original on 31 October 2019 . Retrieved 11 January 2015 .
- ↑ Harris, Dana. "Indiewire Influencers" . Indiewire . Retrieved 11 January 2015 .
- ↑ Rossini, Elena (30 November 2012). "Emily Best, 30s, Founder and CEO of Seed&Spark" . No Country for Young Women . Retrieved 11 January 2015 .
- ↑ Observer Staff. "The Pitch Season 2" . Beta Beat . The Observer . Retrieved 11 January 2015 .
- ↑ Observer Staff. "What Makes a Good Pitch? A Q&A With VCs Nikhil Kalghatgi and Steve Schlafman" . Beta Beat . The Observer. Archived from the original on 11 January 2015 . Retrieved 11 January 2015 .
- ↑ Ellingson, Annlee. "Q&A: Seed&Spark raises $1 million for indie-film 'wedding registry' " . bizjournal.com . New York Business Journal . Retrieved 12 January 2015 .