The co-founder of MoviePass, Hamet Watt, is moving on after the company’s notable decline to establish a new venture studio aimed at developing and funding startups. Watt, who helped launch MoviePass in 2011 with a groundbreaking subscription model for moviegoers, is now focused on his new initiative called Share Ventures.
Share Ventures has already secured nearly $20 million in funding from notable backers, including companies like Alphabet and Amazon. The new venture will concentrate on startups in the fields of future work and longevity. Watt believes that the current environment of rising interest rates and the AI boom has created an opportunity for a differentiated investment model. As a result, Share Ventures is developing its own software and advanced language models to streamline its internal operations.
Watt noted that with less capital, it is now possible to identify promising opportunities much earlier in the investment process. He stated, “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 also pointed out that while many venture firms are investing in new technologies, they are not fully utilizing them in their operations. “Using novel data and automation in our process is something we think is uniquely special to us,” he added.
Watt’s interest in health and longevity was sparked by the loss of his mother at the age of 25 when she was just 49. He reflected, “When you lose your mom at a young age, it forces you to think about your own mortality.” His experiences with MoviePass and the insights he gained from it, which he recently shared in the documentary “MoviePass, MovieCrash,” have only fueled his desire to innovate further. He expressed that he is now ready to pursue new ventures, accepting the possibility of failure while holding onto the hope of success.