Equity investment platform Untold.io hopes to reshape entertainment industry financing with a platform that allows anyone, including the average private investor, to put money into movies for as little as $1,000. I’m here.
Headquartered in Universal City and New York, Untold was founded by film producer, director and entrepreneur Ali Aksu. Aksu says it seeks to address the loose and unscrutinized financial model used in the entertainment industry, which is hampered by unreliable financiers. undermine investor confidence.
“Here in Hollywood, there aren’t always people trying to do things the right way. It’s mostly investors walking around and actually cheating a lot of people,” Aksu says. “Every time I speak at an event, I ask the audience: ‘Hey, have you ever invested in a movie? How was that experience?’ is profiting.”
Untold isn’t Aksu’s first venture at the intersection of entrepreneurship and entertainment. He also founded his Auteur Academy, an online film platform that teaches producers of all kinds how to create products and find success in the industry.
But when it comes to Untold, which soft-launched in 2019, Aksu wanted to bring more certainty to funding movies, shows, and streaming content.
The platform is registered with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and is a funding portal registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These registrations allow companies to accept investments from accredited and non-accredited individuals. more dangerous. )
According to Aksu, registering with the agency was a challenge. Previously, the platform could only be used to raise funds through individual investors.
It took Untold about a year and a half to complete the licensing process. This was such an obstacle for Aksu to pass the bar exam. “There must be certain necessary background to sell securities and demonstrate that securities can be placed on the market,” he added.
Untold is the only entertainment-focused investment platform on FINRA’s list of regulated fundraising portals.
Pandemic impact
Another challenge came in the form of starting the business just months before the Covid-19 pandemic. The Covid-19 pandemic has rocked the film industry, resulting in production shutdowns, financial hardships and accelerated consumer adoption of streaming content. Aksu said the move to streaming has led to more acquisitions of content by companies like Apple and The Walt Disney Co.
But as the pandemic subsided and entertainment content production revived, Untold emerged on the other side of the agenda, looking for people to use the platform.
The company has yet to raise seed funding, but has received pre-seed backing from lead investors Forty33 Ventures and Prescient Capital. According to Crunchbase, Aksu has also funded some of the startups itself. Pre-seed funding he raised in 2020 with $500,000 recorded.
Untold operates in a digital space full of crowdfunding websites used to raise money for entertainment, including Patreon, GoFundMe, and Indiegogo.
Through such sites, often indie-level filmmakers allow fans to support their projects with subscriptions or one-time donations ranging from pennies to thousands of dollars.
However, just like movies hosted on the platform, investments made through Untold work in a different way.
The Untold platform allows you to invest in movies with established directors and actors for as little as $1,000. Untold hosts the movie Comeback Trail on its portal, starring Robert De Niro, Morgan Freeman, and Tommy Lee Jones. Potential investors can watch the movie and decide whether to invest. The money in this case will be the refinancing of old debts.
The first film featured on Untold was ‘Alaska’, a film that used the platform as a budget source for its entire production.
“We offer different levels of investment, just like when investing in startups that can be angel investors, seed investors, or series A, B, or C investors,” Aksu said. I’m here. “In this case, ‘Alaska’ came to us as a scripted seed, and we nurtured it almost like an angel and a seed.”
Investments made through Untold are directed toward vetted projects and people that are an integral part of Untold’s model.
“Our job is to really make sure the producers have gone through their due diligence, the film has gone through their due diligence, they’ve gone through the bad actor checks.” By the time we can, we will be SEC compliant.”
no hits… yet
Untold’s evaluation of film executives is based on past commercial performance, personal and industry reputation, awards, and more.
On the investment side of the platform, investors using Untold will need to carefully consider the box office potential of films hosted on the platform. So far, Untold hasn’t hit hard on its platform.
Untold has only hosted three films so far, but it has big ambitions not only for surface-level growth, but also for sustainability.
“We want the content to be relevant to the UN’s 17 sustainable goals, and we want that content to be impactful from the start,” said a young Southern expert. Ambassador Aksu of the United Nations Association of the United States California Chapter said:
The United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals include ending poverty, combating climate change and promoting inclusive institutions.
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