case studyJune 2021
Where's Rose Film
Size of the team:
1 director, 3 producers were primary team. Editor, cinematographer, lead actor, etc. also all helped out in the raise process.
Business model:
Signed with a sales agent prior to filming to have them sell the film on the team’s behalf once complete.
# of customers:
N/A
Amount raised/revenue pre-Wefunder:
N/A
Accelerator alums:
N/A
Post-close care:
Used Wefunder Updates to keep investors up to date with filming, editing, music processes. Also sent individual thank you emails immediately after someone invested.
Lights, camera, community 🎬
Where’s Rose is a thrilling horror movie with a critical lens – touching on themes of social media, masculinity, and privilege. We were stoked that the movie’s filmmakers chose to raise with Wefunder last year, raising $103K from 182 investors.
Pre-Launch Prep
- Connect with industry peers + leaders who’ve raised before.If you’re having trouble finding companies like yours who’ve raised with us, give us a shout at fundraising@wefunder.com and we’ll try to connect you!
- Give investors a taste of your work.Even if you’re pre-product, create something that shows prospective investors the quality of your work and the depth of your commitment to the project. For a film, this might be a high-quality reel or trailer to accompany the written pitch. The Where’s Rose team advised not to cheap out on this – it will be a powerful indicator to investors about the caliber of film you’re intending to make.
- Play to your strengths.Going into the raise, the team knew they didn’t have a large reputation yet, so they played into the homegrown feeling of their work process. They put out a series of home video style behind-the-scenes videos which allowed their investors to not only become invested in the story we were trying to tell, but their story as creators/founders as well.
- Strike a balance in your pitch.Your pitch should highlight both the economic appeal and the larger, emotional draw of the offering. Be sure to underscore your team’s passion for what you’re creating or the problem you're solving in the narrative – this is what people will connect to at the end of the day.
Day of launch tactics
- Get early reservations from friends + family.The team secured ~$10K from their personal networks before spreading the word more broadly. Jared reiterated the importance of this early capital as social proof – prospective investors want proof that those close to you really believe in your vision and have backed it up with their own money.
- Harness the power of multiple social media accounts.The team gravitated towards image/video-based platforms like Instagram, FB (shared weekly behind the scene videos) YouTube, etc. Choose platforms that suit your business best.
- Coordinate a wave of buzz.The founding team coordinated a social media push amongst themselves and their lead actor & ‘main attraction’ Ty Simpkins. Having individual accounts share posts that tag / mention one another simultaneously is useful for an algorithm bump.
- Get local press.The core team had gone to North Carolina School of the Arts together so had decided to film there in order to tap into the network they’d built there. Once they launched the raise, they reached out to local media outlets and got a few hits. People living in Winston-Salem were stoked to have a film being shot right in their backyard and some invested/spread the word on their own socials. They also got a piece on comicbook.com to which they credit a good chunk of attention.
Tips for Keeping the Momentum
- Team up with other founders in your niche raising on Wefunder.While they were raising, the Where’s Rose team noticed a really informal coalition of Wefunder filmmakers forming – to host joint virtual events to answer investor questions or just to cross-promote each others’ social posts. This is a sweet tactic to get in front of those interested in investing in your specific niche and a way to lend credibility to your team – it’s a way for peer founders to “vouch” for one another.
Right Before Close
- Ramp up Updates.In the last week of the raise, they shared updates nearly every day – noting that the raise was coming to a close. This may feel spammy but the team heard from many people they knew that these Updates were really useful reminders to seal the deal and invest – something many had been intending to do but hadn’t yet got around to.
General Tips
- 1. Set up a game plan to maximize your exposure to the Wefunder community.Hitting funding milestones is one way to guarantee coverage in the newsletter but hosting a webinar, partaking in a social media series you’re eligible for, or sharing updates are other ways to get in front of our huge investor base.
- 1. Set a high maximum goal!
Want to keep reading? Check out our other case studies.