Hamet Watt, co-founder of MoviePass, is moving forward from the company’s downfall and is raising funds for a new venture studio aimed at developing and financing startups.
Watt, who launched MoviePass in 2011 with the concept of offering moviegoers unlimited theater access for a monthly fee, shared with Business Insider that he has been diligently working on Share Ventures. The new company has successfully obtained nearly $20 million in funding, with contributions from major investors including Alphabet and Amazon. Watt indicated that Share Ventures will concentrate on startups related to future work and longevity sectors.
He believes that the current surge in AI and elevated interest rates present a favorable environment for a “differentiated model,” which is why Share Ventures plans to develop its own software and complex language models to streamline its internal operations, as reported by Business Insider.
“You don’t need as large of funds, and you can get signal on an opportunity much earlier with much less capital,” Watt explained. “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 noted that while many venture firms are investing in new technologies, they often do not integrate or utilize these advancements in their operations. He expressed that employing novel data and automation in their processes is what sets Share Ventures apart.
His interest in health and longevity is deeply personal, stemming from the loss of his mother at the age of 25 when she was just 49. “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,” he reflected.
Watt’s experiences with the collapse of MoviePass, which he recently addressed in the documentary “MoviePass, MovieCrash,” have only fueled his desire 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?”