Hamet Watt, one of the co-founders of MoviePass, is embarking on a new journey as he pivots away from the company’s notable failure. He is currently raising funds for a venture studio aimed at developing and financing startups.
In an interview with Business Insider, Watt revealed his efforts with Share Ventures, which has already raised nearly $20 million. Among the investors are major players like Alphabet and Amazon. The focus of the new venture is on startups within the sectors of future work and longevity.
Watt believes that the current landscape of the AI surge and elevated interest rates creates favorable conditions for a unique venture capital model. Share Ventures intends to develop its own software and sophisticated language models to enhance its operations. He stated, “You don’t need as large of funds, and you can get signal on an opportunity much earlier with much less capital,” emphasizing the benefit of utilizing advanced tools to build new companies from the ground up.
He noted that many venture firms are backing new technologies but are not fully integrating and utilizing them. “Using novel data and automation in our process is something we think is uniquely special to us,” Watt added.
Watt became particularly interested in health and longevity after the loss of his mother at the young age of 49, which deeply impacted him. He reflected, “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.”
Despite the setbacks faced with MoviePass, which he discussed in the documentary “MoviePass, MovieCrash,” he remains determined to innovate. He expressed a desire to learn from his experiences and to approach new ventures with courage, acknowledging the possibility of both failure and success.