Hamet Watt, the co-founder of MoviePass, is moving forward from the company’s dramatic decline and is now focused on raising funds for a new venture studio designed to support the development and funding of startups.
Watt co-founded MoviePass in 2011 with the concept of allowing movie enthusiasts to pay a monthly fee for unlimited access to theaters. He recently shared with Business Insider that he has been actively involved with Share Ventures, his new company that has nearly secured $20 million in funding from notable investors, including Alphabet and Amazon. The venture is targeting startups in sectors related to the future of work and longevity.
Watt believes that the current environment of AI advancements and high interest rates has created a favorable opportunity for a “differentiated model” in venture capital. To capitalize on this, Share Ventures is developing its own software and sophisticated language models to enhance internal operations, as reported by Business Insider.
He stated, “You don’t need as large of funds, and you can get signal on an opportunity much earlier with much less capital. For us, that’s a great thing because we’re building companies from scratch and using all of the most advanced tools to do that proactively.”
Watt pointed out that many venture firms are investing in new technologies but are not fully integrating or utilizing them in their operations. He emphasized, “Using novel data and automation in our process is something we think is uniquely special to us.”
Watt’s interest in health and longevity was sparked by the loss of his mother when he was just 25 years old; she passed away at 49. He reflected, “When you lose your mom at a young age, it forces you to think about your own mortality, in a way that I don’t know that I was conscious of at the time.”
Although MoviePass faced challenges, which he addressed in the documentary “MoviePass, MovieCrash,” Watt remains motivated to innovate. He remarked, “What have I learned, and what do I have the guts to go out now and try — and maybe fail, but maybe succeed?”