The co-founder of MoviePass is moving on from the company’s dramatic decline and is now focused on raising funds for a new venture studio aimed at developing and financing startups.
Hamet Watt, who co-founded MoviePass in 2011 with the vision of offering moviegoers a monthly subscription for unlimited theater access, has recently been working on Share Ventures. This new venture has already secured nearly $20 million in funding from investors, including Alphabet and Amazon. Watt stated that the focus of Share Ventures will be on startups in the fields of future work and longevity.
He believes that the current surge in artificial intelligence and elevated interest rates have created an opportunity for venture capital that is in need of a “differentiated model.” To address this, Share Ventures will be developing its own software alongside complex language models to streamline its internal processes.
According to Watt, “You don’t need as large of funds, and you can get signal on an opportunity much earlier with much less capital.” He highlighted that this approach is beneficial for creating new companies from the ground up using the latest tools.
Watt noted that many venture firms are investing in new technologies but are not fully integrating or utilizing them. He emphasized that “Using novel data and automation in our process is something we think is uniquely special to us.”
His interest in health and longevity was spurred by a personal loss; his mother passed away at the age of 49 when he was just 25 years old. Watt reflected, “When you lose your mom at a young age, it forces you to think about your own mortality.”
Despite the challenges faced with MoviePass, which he elaborated on in the documentary “MoviePass, MovieCrash,” Watt remains motivated to innovate. He asked himself, “What have I learned, and what do I have the guts to go out now and try — and maybe fail, but maybe succeed?”