Hamet Watt, the co-founder of MoviePass, is moving forward from the company’s dramatic decline and is now focused on establishing a new venture studio aimed at supporting and funding startups.
Watt, who launched MoviePass in 2011 with the innovative concept of an unlimited monthly movie subscription, revealed to Business Insider that he has been actively working at Share Ventures. This new company has raised nearly $20 million, with investments from major players like Alphabet and Amazon. Watt mentioned that Share Ventures will concentrate on startups in the future of work and health longevity sectors.
He believes that the current AI surge combined with high interest rates creates an opportunity for a distinct venture capital model. To this end, Share Ventures is developing its own software and implementing advanced language models to enhance its internal operations, according to the report.
Watt stated, “You don’t need as large of funds, and you can get signal on an opportunity much earlier with much less capital,” highlighting the benefit of building companies from the ground up using the latest tools available.
He pointed out that many venture capital firms are investing in new technologies, but they aren’t fully integrating them into their operations. “Using novel data and automation in our process is something we think is uniquely special to us,” Watt noted.
Watt’s interest in health and longevity was sparked by the loss of his mother when he was just 25; she passed away at the age of 49. This experience profoundly influenced his perspective on mortality. “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 shared.
Reflecting on his experiences with MoviePass, which he discussed in the documentary “MoviePass, MovieCrash,” Watt expressed that his past failures only serve to fuel his drive for innovation. He concluded by contemplating, “What have I learned, and what do I have the guts to go out now and try — and maybe fail, but maybe succeed?”