The co-founder of MoviePass is moving forward after the company’s dramatic decline and is raising capital for a new venture studio aimed at developing and funding startups.
Hamet Watt, who co-founded MoviePass in 2011 with the innovative concept of offering moviegoers unlimited theater access for a monthly fee, shared that he has been diligently working on Share Ventures. The new company has attracted nearly $20 million in funding from notable investors, including Alphabet and Amazon. Watt indicated that the focus of the venture is on startups that revolve around the future of work and longevity.
According to Watt, the current environment of AI advancement and elevated interest rates has made the venture capital landscape conducive to a “differentiated model.” Share Ventures plans to develop its proprietary software alongside advanced language models to streamline its internal operations. He expressed that this approach does not require as extensive funds and allows for earlier identification of opportunities with significantly less capital. “This is advantageous for us as we build companies from the ground up using the latest tools proactively,” Watt stated.
Watt also noted that while many venture firms are investing in new technologies, they often do not fully utilize them. “Employing novel data and automation in our process is what we believe makes us distinctive,” he remarked.
His interest in health and longevity was sparked by the loss of his mother at a young age. She passed away at 49 when Watt was just 25. “Experiencing the loss of a parent at such an age compels you to reflect on your own mortality in a way that I didn’t fully grasp initially,” he explained.
Watt’s experiences with the failure of MoviePass, which he recently addressed in the documentary “MoviePass, MovieCrash,” have only fueled his desire to innovate. He expressed his commitment to learning from past experiences and having the courage to pursue new ventures, regardless of the risk of failure.