Todd Longwell It is often said that the secret to becoming a successful entrepreneur is finding a need and filling it. When Santa Monica-based BondIt Media Capital launched in 2013, it zeroed in on the deposits productions must leave with SAG-AFTRA, DGA, IATSE and other guilds to ensure that their members get paid in a timely fashion.
The company co-founders — CEO Matthew Helderman and COO Luke Taylor — knew from their experience working in the production trenches that these deposits, which sometimes take up to six months to be returned, can create a significant cash flow problem for low-budget projects during principal photography.
So they decided to offer a deal: producers would pay the unions, then BondIt would reimburse their cash outlay, minus a fee (typically 12%-15%), and collect the deposits when they were returned.
It wasn’t exciting, it wasn’t big-time, but it was a foot in the door. “No other financiers cared about it as a serious endeavor,” says Helderman. “It’s just too small.” Ten years later, BondIt has grown significantly, having directly invested more than $275 million across upwards of 400 film and television productions and 50 corporate media transactions encompassing unscripted TV, live music, professional sports, podcasts and digital content.
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