The co-founder of MoviePass is moving past the company’s dramatic downfall and is now seeking funds for a new venture studio aimed at developing and financing startups.
Hamet Watt, who launched MoviePass in 2011 with the innovative concept of offering moviegoers unlimited theater access for a monthly fee, revealed to Business Insider that he has been diligently working at Share Ventures.
The new venture has attracted nearly $20 million in investments from notable backers, including Alphabet and Amazon. Watt mentioned that the focus of Share Ventures is on startups that target the future of work and longevity sectors.
He believes that the current AI boom and elevated interest rates present an ideal opportunity for a unique venture capital approach. Share Ventures plans to develop its own software and complex language models to streamline its internal processes.
Watt expressed, “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.”
He pointed out that while many venture firms are investing in emerging technologies, they often fail to fully integrate and utilize 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 spurred by the loss of his mother at the young age of 25. She passed away when she was just 49, which profoundly impacted him. “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.
Despite the challenges faced by MoviePass, which he discussed in the documentary “MoviePass, MovieCrash,” he remains motivated to continue innovating. He stated, “What have I learned, and what do I have the guts to go out now and try — and maybe fail, but maybe succeed?”