REMINDER -- ROUND 8 ENDS NEXT WEEK!

Last week Legion M launched our new Shareholder Certificates. We wanted to take a moment to talk about the product, and what it means for shareholders of Legion M.

BACKGROUND

Prior to the digital age, companies used paper stock certificates as proof of ownership. Like paper currency or the pink slip of a car, a stock certificate was a legal document that determined who owned the shares.

Today, these sorts of records are all held electronically (ours are at https://legionm.koreconx.com). This is a good thing – you don't need to worry about somebody stealing your certificate or selling you a counterfeit, and you can change your address without traveling to a company’s HQ and talking to the person who maintains the records in a big book using a quill. That said, there's also something very cool about old-school paper stock certificates, and we get a lot of requests for them. So we set out to create some of our own.

Since these certificates are not legal documents, we decided to lean into the art, craftsmanship and collectibility. After all, the reason a lot of people want certificates is to hang them on their wall, and shares of notable companies are a collector's item in their own right. Our goal was to create an "heirloom quality" document that shareholders could hang on their wall with pride. If Legion M goes on to achieve our goals, we hope these certificates will become just as valuable as the early certificates issued by iconic companies like Disney and Ford.

Our plan is to issue multiple releases over time, with each “edition” featuring different artwork in the center. The first-edition design, available now through May 15th, features the "Spotlight Art" designed by Legion M shareholder Ben Lee, which celebrates our first 5 years of projects. Future releases will feature different artwork. The certificates/editions aren’t tied to what round you invested in or how many shares you bought – if you like this design go ahead and grab one. If not, feel free to wait for the next. If you find a second design you like sometime in the future, feel free to start a collection. Or don't buy any at all -- the choice is yours. As we said, this isn't a legal document but a fun way to show off shareholder pride and prove "I WAS THERE!" at this moment in space and time.

ABOUT THE CERTIFICATES

We spared no expense when it comes to materials and craftsmanship. In a day when so many products are disposable, we used 100% cotton paper from a storied manufacturer (Crane) responsible for the paper used for events ranging from The Queen Mother’s 100th Birthday Party to to the inauguration of Statue of Liberty. One of Crane’s first customers was actually Paul Revere, who used their paper to print some of the first currency of the American Colonies in the 1770s.

And while most paper products today are simply spat out of a digital printer, these certificates are made using 5 different mechanical operations (offset printing, stamping, embossing, debossing, and trimming) allowing the use of 3 different foils (red, black, and gold) and rich texture to accent the art deco-inspired "Golden Age of Hollywood" border design.

While the mechanical steps mentioned above all need to be done in very large volumes, we also wanted to be able to customize each print run with different artwork and personalize each certificate (for those willing to pay a small up-charge) with individual shareholders names. To accomplish this, we added a digital step as part of the process. That's why we're treating these as pre-orders -- we'll get all the names together and print as one big batch. Then we'll retire this design and wait until sometime later this year for issuance #2.

Ultimately, the product speaks for itself. While the video above (thank you to Taylor Gledhill) and product page (thank you to Eric Lam) show off a lot of finer details, it's not until you hold them in your hand and feel the cotton paper that one truly appreciates what a beautiful and unique piece of artwork these are. We couldn't be prouder of how they turned out, or the fact our merch and licensing program led by Mandy Bardisbanian has the ability to create such world class products.

HOW CAN I GET ONE?

The first-edition certificates featuring “Spotlight Art” design will be available through May 15th at https://shop.legionm.com/pages/investor-certificates

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR LEGION M?

Obviously, Legion M isn't a paper products company -- we develop film and TV. As such this project isn't a strategic step on our path as much as a way to have some fun along the way. As with most of the products designed for our shareholders, we've priced it very fairly. Our aim with Legion M gear isn't to optimize for maximum profit -- we think of our shareholders more like "family" than "customers". At the same time, we don't want to lose money on a product like this – the goal of Legion M isn't to provide goodies for shareholders but to build a business that changes the world and increases the value of your stock.

The economics of this product were tricky. The mechanical manufacturing steps I mentioned above require investments in tooling and must be ordered in large quantities to achieve economy of scale. We had to go out on a limb, investing in design and development without knowing for sure if we'd be able to recoup. Fortunately, the early response from the community has been very strong, and we feel confident we made the right choice. And that's good news for all of us – whether you buy a certificate or not – as every dollar the company earns makes us stronger, decreases our need to fundraise, and takes us one step closer towards achieving our long-term goals.

Finally, it's also worth noting that while this particular product is targeted specifically at our community, MOST of our product sales (and the revenue they generate) come from outside our community. Our product development, merchandise and licensing capabilities are a HUGE asset for Legion M, and are proving to be a critical advantage as we grow and get involved in bigger and better projects. I'd like to write more about this, but that's another blog post for another time...

Onward and Upward!!