What are you looking for

[CaseyB]

I am not looking for investors now, I am just looking for information.
I want to create a reality tv show for much music and I want to find out what investors are looking for in a project like this. I am in the midst of creating a pilot for the show. I am expecting this will be very beneficial for raising capital but what else are you looking for in a presentation
Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Casey

[teabenny]

Personally, I am sick to death of reality TV. The market, however, may still be able to absorb it. I suggest you go and do a survey on the street - "Would you watch a show about...?" Ask your target audience - I'm assuming teenagers and 20-somethings, right?

Then you have to plan the whole thing out. It's not good enough to have a pilot but then no idea of how to finish it. You need to show how the show is going to progress over the season. What will make it different? Will the audience have a chance to interact with the program (vote for contestants, etc.)? I'm not sure you even have to make a pilot. If you can approach the TV studios and make a good pitch, they might pick it up and make a pilot for you.

[CaseyB]

I have the majority of the needed financing.
I have everything planned for the progression of the show, viewer interaction, advertisment sales, and even a follow-up grand finally.
This should be an exciting venture.

[jayk]

they look for potential success. what's your unique selling point? what will grasp the audience?

[akula]

I am not looking for investors now, I am just looking for information.
I want to create a reality tv show for much music and I want to find out what investors are looking for in a project like this. I am in the midst of creating a pilot for the show. I am expecting this will be very beneficial for raising capital but what else are you looking for in a presentation
Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Casey

Great question. I'm sorry for these people giving you unreferenced, unsubstantive, inconclusive answers...

I've worked in tech finance, it's a little bit different from show biz in form, but not in substance

1. There are different kinds of investors. They all have different criteria. See WHAT DO INVESTORS LOOK FOR IN A BUSINESS PLAN? A COMPARISON OF BANKERS, VENTURE CAPITALISTS AND BUSINESS ANGELS

In show biz, you get the same thing...there's different kinds of investors (government organisations, independent studios, actors-turned-producers etc etc) and everyone's got different things they look for

2. Investors don't invest in businesses, presentations or tv shows. They invest in people. This means that the brilliance of your idea is not the investment trigger. The trigger is trust and familiarity bias. In other words, if you have an "A grade" idea but a "B grade" team, your project is gonna get passed over for a "B grade" idea, but one backed by an "A grade" team. An "A grade" team is one where at least one member of the team has made money for investors.

3. Of course, in movies, the rules are the same as technology commercialization. Both are hit-driven businesses, and so the investors look for the following;

- bankable team members (i.e. familiar producer, familiar stars, famous director)
- bankable script (i.e. a script that resembles the last box office hit)
- exclusivity (you don't want the deal to be over shopped)

[teabenny]

And our friend is "bankable"?

Sorry, but by your rules no new actors or directors would ever be discovered as they're not "bankable". Plenty of people will take a punt on an idea, and you're right in that the idea must be backed by a good team, but the team members don't necessarily have to be proven moneymakers. They just need a good, well thought-out plan that shows they have what it takes.

[akula]

no no, read the post carefully

what I said is that deals need "bankable team members"

our friend here is new talent, and so, by definition, he is unbankable

to correct the problem, he needs to associate the deal with bankable players

this will either be done formally, where the producer (our friend) retains an LOI from a brand name actor/director/cinematographer/writer/distributor to participate in the project, pending finance - or it's done informally, where he retains an introduction to the financier from a bankable player, who puts her reputation on the line for him

look, I dunno where you're getting this "they just need a good, well thought-out plan that shows they have what it takes", but you've obviously never financed anybody. any kid off the street will show you a great plan. plans don't count for anything - they're an ex-post formality, subject to change

familiarity bias counts for everything

p.s. if you wanna discuss things with me, have the courtesy to reference your points of view - as I do

[jasaunders]

The hardest thing with this venture is going to be getting your foot in the door. It will be hard to get your foot in the door with potential investors and even harder to get your foot in the door with studio executives.
The only chance you really have of getting in, is making contacts with people already in the industry (as Daniel alluded to). You need to have a friend, business contact, partner, or endorsement of someone who is well-known in the industry or has contacts in the industry.
Senior executives get offered thousands of pitches for shows and movies every year, you need a way to get past the fence and really be heard, otherwise you are just another Joe Schmo with an idea, and tv show ideas are a dime a dozen.

[akula]

that's right, the point josh emphasizes is very important

"what investors are looking for" is credibility

if you ask anybody in show business (as well as in tech), they'll tell you the same thing - success is random, there is no way to predict it

investor portfolios are littered with thousands and thousands of shows (and products) which seemed like a great idea at the time (hence, they got funded), but which flunked miserably (and visa versa, every single show/movie to ever go block buster was turned down by at least one person who thought it was a terrible idea)

the point: under these conditions of uncertainty, investors do a couple of things you wouldn't normally expect;

a) they herd into groups and invest into what everybody else is investing in

b) they invest in people they are familiar with, so that if the project fails, the investor can both;

i) blame other people
ii) have an excuse to feel less guilty (i.e. how could I know war of the worlds would flop?? tom cruise + steven spielberg!! I did my job. I picked a bankable team. the flop is not my fault).

what this means: if you wanna get deals through, you have to play to investor familiarity bias and investor herding. if you don't, the financier will feel a lot less comfortable with what you're offering, as opposed to what their buddies are offering.

[teabenny]

Ah, I got you now. Fair enough, he needs to make contacts in order to skew the "familiarity bias" his way. I wasn't counting industry contacts among the "team".

But you aren't discounting the importance of a plan and idea, are you? These are the things that will win you backers in the first place. South Park, for example, was just a concept by two unknowns in college. It was their concept and rough product that won over George Clooney, who then helped them get studio backing.

PS: I've been courteous, please don't suggest otherwise. What I'm stating as far as plans are concerned is pretty common knowledge. I could dig up a reference saying "planning is important" but we already know that.