5 Questions with New Form Digital SVP JC Cangilla - My Exclusive Q&A

New Form Digital, a digital-first studio, launched with great fanfare almost exactly one year ago by Hollywood legends Ron Howard and Bryan Grazer who joined forces with Discovery Communications.  I recently spent some time with SVP JC Cangilla who runs overall operations, among his many other hats.  Cangilla previously worked as a senior executive in video at Yahoo! and has been a digital dealmaker for years.  In a digital video world still dominated by low production values and large doses of serendipity (not necessarily bad traits, by the way), New Form Digital's approach is very different and, well, a bit more "traditional" -- focused on high production values and scripted story-telling -- but with digital, mobile and millennials top of mind. 

Despite New Form Digital's high profile roots, most of you likely still don't know much about the company.   JC changes that here -- giving extremely detailed responses that offer real insights about the company.  Definitely worthy of reading and consideration, since New Form Digital is a "must know" company in the digital media "space." 

Here are my 5 questions to JC -- and his answers unedited.  Enjoy ....  

(1) What is the reason your company exists (and what problem(s) are you looking to solve)?

New Form fills a white space that exists in the digital landscape: we are solely focused on developing, producing and releasing scripted series on digital platforms.

We’re an entertainment company with a technology mindset. Our scripted originals (typically episodic shows in sci-fi, drama, comedy, horror genres) feature digital-native talent (typically from Youtube, Vimeo, Instagram and Vine). We use data to make informed choices in the development, packaging and distribution of our scripted originals. And we tie it all together with really compelling story.

Our creative is led by Kathleen Grace, our Chief Creative Officer, who works with our Head of Development and Production, Melissa Schneider to find talent, develop the projects and build out a complete story.  We are producing great stuff, with 14 series sold since we launched just one year ago. Some of my favorites are here.

My job is to take these great stories and use my knowledge of the larger video ecosystem to find the right homes for the stories and the right models for the business. It’s a fun job. We’ve done great deals with major media companies, MCNs, marketers and agencies. This content market has exploded in the past few years and there is significant demand for high-quality scripted series.

It’s hard to believe how much we have grown in just one year -- with nearly 25 pilots in development and 14 series sold and going into production over the next year. We’ve already announced 4 showswith Vimeo and have a number of deals on the horizon that we will be announcing in the weeks ahead.

(2) How are you different from your competitors?

We are the only entertainment studio built specifically to focus solely on scripted originals for digital platforms.

We’re not a multi-channel network (but we work and partner with MCNs like Fullscreen, Maker and Machinima), we’re not simply a production company (because we’re focused on developing story and talent) and we’re not a media company. 

We are huge fans of creators and digital video in general. And we are in an explosive market with an incredible product. The digital video business is seeing record investment from traditional media holders, new platforms and, increasingly, marketers. We look to partner in each of those spaces.

(3) Why will you succeed (and what is your single most important ingredient for success)?

Scripted content and cinematic stories have historically shown massive value—both to the content creators (e.g. studios) and to the distributors (e.g. TV channels like AMC going big into scripted originals in the early 2000s or more recently with premium subscription platforms like Netflix and Amazon developing their own original programming).  Our continued success will be dependent on successful stories and listening to the audience and creators.

As one example of our model in action, we recently released 14 “shows” on YouTube, within the channels of the most prominent actor or director on that show. We looked at performance of  New Form Digital’s content vs. mostly non-scripted, conversational content that was consumed over the last 90 days on those channels. Our shows had a significantly longer watch time (+262%) and more shares and likes (+60%) than anything else in that time period.  So we are excited to replicate that success with individual series across multiple platforms.

We’re uniquely positioned in the digital space to leverage the vast amount of data  like this to help make the right creative choices. Digital efficiencies allow us to ideate, create and release quickly. We’re building the business to support scaled development and release.

(4) What makes you unique (and what do you enjoy most outside of building your business)?

The company is unique because of what we talk about above: focus on scripted, marrying tech into the entertainment process and focusing on digital talent, distribution and audience.

I’ve been fortunate enough to be involved in digital video for the last 10 years (first at Spot Runner, then at Yahoo and now at New Form) and have seen growth and challenges in the space. The business that I’ve been able to generate is always dependent on having a wide knowledge of the entire ecosystem while being opportunistic. Flexibility, deep relationships, perseverance, and willingness to try new things are all important qualities that lead to success in this space.

From a professional standpoint, it’s never been a better time to be in digital video and yet the opportunity is still growing and evolving. 

On a personal level, my son Jack is eighteen months old and nothing gives me greater joy than spending time with him and his mother. Jack’s favorite toy is a pink stroller and Sundays typically find him pushing through a crowded local farmer’s market so we can get to the strawberries he loves the most.

(5) What digital media trend is most interesting to you (and what is the least)?

It’s fascinating to see how quickly the video consumption experience is changing; feels like tectonic shifts are all happening at the same time. They include (but are not limited to): 1. major media embracing direct-to-consumer services and OTT experiences, 2. audiences, especially younger audiences, flocking to digital platforms and 3. marketers investing in content as means-in-itself and not just around the content.  All three of these make us excited about the potential of  our own projects.

Least interesting question that I get asked daily: Are you making short-form or long-form?  Our episode lengths fit the story they are telling. Some are long, some are shorter. There is a structural legacy from TV that leads to assumptions that episode lengths less than 22 minutes in length aren’t “high-quality.” With binge consumption, DVR, and millennial video consumption patterns, we don’t think 22s are necessarily the best ways to engage and retain audiences.  Thus you’ll see 10 minute episodes, 15 minute episodes and 5 minute episodes from New Form. And we’re confident that distributors and platforms will love the content, the audience engagement will be significant and then the monetization rates and the ad-serving technology will fall in line. 

5 Questions with Patreon CEO Jack Conte -- My Exclusive Q&A

Patreon is a Bay Area-based company that enables all of us to be patrons of the arts.  The company takes a different spin on crowdfunding -- giving fans the ability to make recurring payments to content creators (musicians, video creators, artists) in order to support them monetarily on a continuing (rather than “one off”) basis for the art that moves them.  Another compelling ray of new hope in our brave new digital/social media age -- reflecting the power and opportunity of direct one-to-one engagement.  Interesting.  Compelling.  I met CEO and founder Jack Conte in the waiting room of Bloomberg, just before both of us went on the air live in separate interviews.  Conte is a musician himself. 

(1) What is the reason your company exists (and what problem(s) are you looking to solve)?

Patreon exists because the current system for "content monetization” is entirely broken.  How can a creator who routinely engages hundreds of thousands of people make only a few hundred dollars per month?!  How can a blogger who has 10k monthly uniques gets a fifty dollar check from AdSense for their readership?  How can a web comic artist be making less than minimum wage with twenty thousand daily readers?  Currently, digital content is monetized with ads, and that's a terrible way to monetize content.  It doesn't account for how much a fan CARES about the content itself.  To an advertiser, every fan is simply a pair of eyeballs, and ALL eyeballs are worth 1/1000 of a CPM.  However, some fans would be more than willing to support a creator monetarily for creating art that moves them.  On Patreon, many of our creators are literally making 100x their ad revenue - this might sound surprising, but that's how BROKEN the current ad based monetization system is.  Content monetization is a HUGE problem, and Patreon is fixing it.

(2) How are you different from your competitors?

Patreon doesn't have many competitors right now.  Recurring payments wrapped inside crowdfunding is an entirely new space.  Patreon takes it a step further by matching crowdfunding with media consumption.  The only competitor that is employing a similar concept is a company called Subbable, founded by the brilliant and thoughtful Hank Green.  Subbable is similar to Patreon but the reward structure employs the concept of a "perk bank," which allows backers to account for their cumulative donations and be rewarded with physical merchandise.

(3) Why will you succeed (and what is your single most important ingredient for success)?  

We are succeeding because there are very few companies that actually cut creators a check at the end of each month.  When creators learn about a service that PAYS them for making art, the adoption of that service is rapid and fervent.  There are thousands of services that help creators "grow” or "engage" their fans.  Very few services are actually increasing the bottom line for creators.

(4) What makes you unique (and what do you enjoy most outside of building your business)? 

Paying creators every month is what makes us unique.  What I enjoy most, outside of building Patreon, is making videos and music, and using our product to get paid for doing what I love!

(5) What digital media trend is most interesting to you (and what is the least)? 

The most exciting digital media trend right now is the inevitable move BACK to patronage.  For the last 100 years, patronage has been off everyone's radar.  Because artists were able to record their work and sell it as a physical product, patronage became unnecessary.  But now, because media has been digitized, because self-publishing is possible through social media, and because physical product sales are declining, patronage is re-emerging as the dominant source of income for artists.  This shift is inevitable, and it's already happening, right now.

5 Questions with Hallspot’s CEO Sean Thorne -- My Exclusive Q&A

Here’s my latest entrepreneurial spotlight as part of my continuing exclusive “5 Questions With ...” series.  This time, I feature Sean Thorne who is CEO of college-focused social/ad-tech company Hallspot based in Eugene, Oregon (in and around the home of one of my favorite VCs -- my former long-time childhood neighbor and inevitable entrepreneur Angela Jackson who co-manages Portland’s Seed Fun).  I like the hyper-local “what’s happening right now” college focus of Hallspot.  Ultimately, dialing in compelling revenue streams and determining what college students are prepared to pay for are key.  But, I certainly can envision cross-campus viral adoption -- and Sean definitely has the passion that is the foundation of all entrepreneurial success.

And, on with the questions:

(1) What is the reason your company exists (and what problem(s) are you looking to solve)?

College is one of the most exciting times of an individual’s life, and there are experiences that occur and connections that are made that simply should never be shared beyond the boundaries of a university network. Currently there isn’t a college exclusive platform for the localized student-student and student-campus business interactions that occur. We’re focused on providing each university ecosystem with an inherently local network to enhance the interactions that occur within its confines.

(2) How are you different from your competitors?

Hallspot is a map-based product that is focused on both local and real-time information. Many other social networks connect individuals from all corners of the globe while also featuring content that has already happened. Because college students live spontaneous lives, college life is all about the given moment, or what’s happening right now. Our real-time campus map highlights trends, hot spots, currently valid deals, and other user generated content to provide that sense of now – both on an acute level to a given friend circle, as well as on an obtuse level to the entire student body.

(3) Why will you succeed (and what is your single most important ingredient for success)?

We love college and we’re building Hallspot for ourselves! As students and recent graduates we fluently understand the dynamics of college life – and this passion fuels us.

(4) What makes you unique (and what do you enjoy most outside of building your business)?

I don’t view anything as a problem. Building anything takes so many moving pieces and getting all of the pieces in the right order means you’re going to fail on a micro level countless times. When things come up they’re simply an opportunity to improve.

Outside of Hallspot – I love being a college student. I would be an undergrad senior this year if not on a leave of absence, so just going out on a Friday night and realizing I’m still a kid at heart is fun.

(5) What digital media trend is most interesting to you (and what is the least)?

Local is fascinating to me. The fact that you can be in a given location and have relevant information pushed to you that provides real-world tangible value is pretty awesome. Can only imagine the future of this market and how much it can add to people’s lives. 

Least favorite:  The proliferation of photo sharing apps. 

5 Questions with Mixify’s CEO David Moricca -- My Exclusive Q&A

Mixify is a NYC-based digital media start-up at the heart of the already-massive (and seemingly unstoppable) electronic dance music (EDM) scene.  The company has its own portal for sharing EDM playlists -- but has really hit its stride with live remote, but full-scale, DJ sets.  Imagine attending a major university off the beaten track (like Des Moines) (by the way, I can get away with that reference because I myself am from the frozen tundra of the Midwest).  And, imagine your wanting to experience a live set by your favorite DJ.  Well, that ain’t gonna happen in Des Moines and countless other markets ... until now.  Now, your DJ can stream live from anywhere directly to a club in your remote city -- and can fully customize his/her set for you and the club.  Even more, your DJ and you can interact directly during the set.  Mixify, in other words, brings the virtual and physical worlds together to enable entirely new experiences.  That is powerful.

I have been watching this company for several months, and believe they are onto something.  For this reason, I asked Founder & CEO David Moricca to tell us more in this, my latest, post in my continuing “5 Questions With ...” series.  David is smart, passionate, and believes -- as do I -- in the immense power of music.

Now, onto the questions!

(1) What is the reason your company exists (and what problem(s) are you looking to solve)?

Mixify.com (live streaming site) exists as a platform to enable EDM DJs to engage their fans online and grow their social following.

Mixify Clubcast (2-way live streaming into venues) exists to provide venues and promoters in secondary US and international markets a way to bring big-name DJs into their events in an immersive and personalized way, but at a fraction of the cost.

(2) How are you different from your competitors?

With Mixify.com, we differentiate ourselves primarily through the level of interaction and access the experience provides. With a mixify.com live stream, the artist and fan have a truly shared, participatory experience as opposed to a one way consumption experience.

With Mixify Clubcast, we are redefining live streaming to be not only about streaming out from big events, but streaming desirable artists into smaller markets and events. The differentiation comes through our technology, industry relationships and the fact that we are creating a new market with promoters and venues.

(3) Why will you succeed (and what is your single most important ingredient for success)?

We believe we will succeed because we know how to execute well in a market full of challenges, and because we have created a revenue model that is purely additive to every part of the value chain (artists, manager, agents, promoters, venues and fans).

(4) What makes you unique (and what do you enjoy most outside of building your business)?

Outside of building Mixify, I am enjoying being a Dad of 2 young boys – a 4-year old and a 1-year old. It does not get better that for me.

(5) What digital media trend is most interesting to you (and what is the least)?

Clearly, given the market I am in, I am most interested and excited by how live streaming can change the way fans experience different types of content (music, comedy, sports) and in different settings (homes, movie theaters, clubs). We are only at the tip of the iceberg here.