Emily Best on Crowdfunding That Works: How Seed&Spark Helps Filmmakers Succeed

Emily Best is the founder and CEO of Seed&Spark, a platform that makes entertainment more diverse, inclusive, connected and essential. Seed&Spark’s platform and national education program have helped thousands of bold storytellers raise millions to bring to life entirely new stories, and Seed&Spark delivers those stories into workplaces for employee training, engagement, and intelligence through an enterprise SaaS platform Film Forward. 

In 2023, CNBC named Seed&Spark one of the top 200 fintech companies in the world.  She serves on the Advisory Board for a variety of early stages startups and the Board of Film Impact Georgia. In 2024, alongside Christie Marchese at Kinema, Emily spearheaded an effort to launch The Distribution Playbook, a free and open- sourced field guide for independent filmmakers to succeed in distribution. 

She has produced films, VR, shorts and series that have premiered at Sundance, SXSW, Slamdance, Tribeca and more. She is currently touring with a feature documentary she produced called RATIFIED about the 100+ year struggle for the Equal Rights Amendment.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 1:15

We cover successful crowdfunding techniques with Emily Beth of Seed and Spark.

SPEAKER_01 1:24

Our very special guest, Emily Beth, is the founder and CEO of Seed and Spark, a platform that makes entertainment more diverse, inclusive, connected, and is essential. Seed and Spark's platform and national education program have helped thousands of bold storytellers raise millions to bring to life entirely new stories. And Seed and Spark delivers those stories into workplaces for employee training, engagement, and intelligence through an enterprise leaning platform film forward. In 2023, CNBC named Seed and Spark one of the top 200 fintech companies in the world. She serves on the advisory board for a variety of early stages startups and the Board of Film Impact Georgia. In 2024, alongside Christy Marcese at Kinema, Emily spearheaded an effort to launch the Distribution Playbook, a free and open sourced field guide for independent filmmakers to succeed in distribution. She's produced films, VR, shorts, and a series that have premiered a Sundance, a South by Southwest, a Lamb Dance, Tribeca, and more. She's currently touring with a feature documentary she produced called Ratified about the 100-plus year struggle for the Equal Rights Amendment. And Carol, you've supported Seed and Spark since they started.

SPEAKER_00 3:14

Yes, Claire, I know that Seed and Spark takes really good care of filmmakers. And Emily, thank you for joining us today.

SPEAKER_02 3:22

Thank you so much for having me.

SPEAKER_00 3:24

Well, you've built Seed and Spark into one of the most trusted crowdfunding platforms for independent filmmakers. So tell us what inspired you to start the company.

SPEAKER_02 3:36

Well, it was my own problem, of course. Um I was trying to make a feature film about women friendships. This is now, you know, 13, 14 years ago, where uh it was rarer that films about women friendships were getting made at all. Um and we were facing down um a lot of the industry biases that I think everyone faces, which is that we were we were trying to tell an unconventional story in an unconventional way. And we were told um that, you know, it wouldn't be good for distribution, there wouldn't be an audience for this movie. Um, and we knew there would be an audience for this movie because we were making the movie because we as the audience felt underserved. And we knew there were more people like us. And so uh, you know, Kickstarter and Indiegogo were relatively new to the marketplace, and we didn't, you know, we didn't know that they could be trusted yet. Um, and so we decided to take inspiration from them. Um, but I also have a cousin who's like one of the most remarkable humans named Charles Best, and he started a platform called Donors Choose. And donors Choose is a place where uh teachers can go to um effectively like crowdfund school supplies and class projects. Honestly, it's very sad that it has to exist, but it is a wonderful, incredible resource, and hundreds of millions have been raised for education on that platform. Um, but what I loved about Donors Choose is that you listed the actual items that you needed so that your funder could see exactly what it was uh that they were funding. And so we took inspiration from that and we built a little wedding registry basically for our movie, um, where we listed, you know, everything from the camera rentals to the bugs brand sunscreen, and we sent it out to everyone we knew. And this really interesting thing happened is people started sharing it because they were sort of excited to see like sort of the behind the scenes look at like what is it gonna take to make this movie? And uh and then uh it we ended up raising, we needed to raise$20,000. We ended up raising$23,000 in cash and hundreds of thousands of dollars in loans and gifts of things like locations and goods and services. Um and that really was the beginning. I started getting contacted from creators all across the country, uh, wondering how we did what we did. And I also started getting distribution offers uh for the film because all of a sudden we had built up this um this email list of 458 super fans.

SPEAKER_00 6:25

Super fans, wonderful. And what what made them super fans, Emily?

SPEAKER_02 6:31

Well, first of all, their willingness to like uh many of them got involved in the movie much more deeply. Like somebody drove to set and dropped off. We we we were filming this uh movie in Maine. And if you're gonna make a movie about being in Maine in the summer, you gotta have a lobster bake. And this guy shows up with like 30 lobsters in a giant container and drops them off in this remote place where we were filming and says, you know, you kids have fun, and drives off. Um, many of them became extras in the film. But then when we premiered the film, everywhere we brought the film at festivals, we had lines down the block and around the corner for this little film with no really named actors in it. Um, it was like a first feature for a lot of us. Um, but they showed up and showed out uh through and through. And that's really what made the film possible. And they have become, you know, dedicated fans of kind of that collective who made that film, of our careers, which have all gone off in different directions ever since then.

SPEAKER_00 7:36

Oh, that's so great. It's it became personal. They really went to the film and brought their friends and supported you.

SPEAKER_02 7:44

Yeah, I mean, I think what's really interesting about crowdfunding is it's it's about building relationships with your audience much more than it is selling something. Um, and I think that's what makes it unique in the world of film funding.

SPEAKER_00 7:59

Yes, definitely. You are unique. I can say that from the feedback because I always think I'm at the uh the center of the wheel here, at the hub of the wheel, because I get uh information from filmmakers whether they were successful or not. And uh we know that those people who work with you uh have what I've seen, 99% are successful, which is a fabulous track record. And actually, some say that you have a success rate of over 80% of the people that run campaigns are successful. So, what factors do you believe contribute the most to this success?

SPEAKER_02 8:44

Uh yeah, so number one is that we invest heavily in creator education and uh support. And so rather than like buying, I don't know, Google ads or something to try to drive people to the platform, um, we built relationships with uh arts organizations, film festivals, you know, state and local film offices across the country to really uh meet creators where they are and learn about the unique challenges that may be regional, they may be cultural, they may be class-based, to be perfectly honest. Like there are so many uh different factors that go into challenges that creators face, and we really wanted to build a platform that really but really anybody could use, right? That it's not just built for creators in New York and LA. And it is my firm belief in technology more broadly that if you build for the margins, you build something that's better for everyone. So that was really our focus. Um, and we went out and have since 2013 taught about 100 to 150 live workshops every year in like 30 to 50 cities, um, and really focusing on how creators can leverage crowdfunding to build a sustainable career. And then we extend that onto the platform. So in your onboarding process, there are lots of um like tip tools to help you build out your campaign the smartest way possible. And then you don't just go live when you feel like it. We have you submit, and a real live human crowdfunding expert reviews your campaign and provides feedback on everything from the pitch video to the incentives to your outreach strategy. Um, and also if we think you're overextending, right? So if we think you're, you know, kind of thinking that crowdfunding is like a miracle and you want you're gonna raise$100,000, but you've never made anything before and you don't have a mailing list and you haven't uh built any relationship with audiences, we can also help reset some of those expectations and help creators build a slightly more reasonable pathway forward. Um, and so I think it's really the combination of all of those things that leads to our high success rate, which these days is I think uh 80% for feature films and 93% for short films.

SPEAKER_00 11:24

Wonderful. Well, tell us three tips for filmmakers who want to run a successful crowdfunding campaign, please.

SPEAKER_02 11:33

Uh the success of a crowdfunding campaign is one or lost in the preparation. Um, very much like making a film altogether, right? Your prep is really uh what is gonna make you succeed. In this case, preparation for a crowdfunding campaign is all about audience building and audience priming, right? So um if you're starting from scratch, you're gonna wanna start talking about your project out in the world and getting people excited about it and learning from them, you know, how they like to find out about new projects, right? So you'll find out what social media channels make sense for you and how what how talking about your project really resonates with people. Um, and then from there you can start building, you know, social channels or an email list or organizational partnerships that can help you reach more people faster. Um and you want to have all of that set up in advance of the campaign because what we what we see from the data is that campaigns that hit 30% in the first week have a 90% success rate. So we really, really want to drive campaigns to hit that 30% mark uh in the first week. And so that means you have to have built a lot of momentum before you launch your campaign. Um, so my my tip number one in summary is um you want to launch your campaign at the peak of your momentum wave, not at the trough, right? You don't launch a campaign and then build momentum, you build momentum and then you launch a campaign. Um the second is to really understand how unrelenting your communication calendar has to become. So you're sending emails, personal emails every day, you're creating cool things for social, you're interacting with the folks who have funded and followed your campaign so far. And then the third thing is to keep your community informed once you've been successful. Because the real long tail value of a crowdfunding campaign is not the money that you raised for this one project, it's the audience that you build along the way. And I think a lot of creators forget about that audience is they sort of take the money and run. Uh, and then you'll see a lot of um campaign updates that start with, sorry, it's been so long. And what that says is like, I forgot I had to communicate with you, and now I need something from you. I think it works a lot better if you keep people updated on what's happening, uh, what your cast and crew are up to, where the progress is with the film, and really delivering on uh everything that you promised, both the film and the incentives, that's what keeps the audience close for the next project. And then they'll tell their friends about your next project. And the next project is much easier to get off the ground than the one before.

SPEAKER_00 14:32

Well, this is brilliant, very good. But audience building is critical to crowdfunding. So, what advice do you have for filmmakers who don't have a strong following? How can they find and engage their audience to get started?

SPEAKER_02 14:48

Yeah, I think that technology, sort of the culture of big tech, has kind of ruined us all for community building because everybody thinks in terms of such massive scale that they forget that uh it's possible to build something amazing with 10 people, with 50 people, with a hundred people. Like you don't need a million followers in order to really galvanize something if you build a deep connection with folks. So I recommend creators start in their own communities, right? Like go to your local film festival and interact with those audiences, go to local artist meetups and interact with those folks, get out in the world, join things, volunteer, and then just talk about your work and see whose eyes light up and build a relationship with them and find out more about what gets them excited, and then tell them about what you're working on and um and how they might like to find out how they might like to see something like that. And the more you learn about like real human individual audience members, the easier it is to learn how to find more people like them. But you don't have to start big. You can find five people who got excited about your movie and learn where they hang out on social media or what organizations they belong to or who they follow or what news they read or even what music they listen to. I really like to find out like where do you watch things? And how do you find out about what to watch? Um, because that helps you design strategies for um, you know, building and growing an audience who's really engaged. Um, something I like to recommend that people read, and it came out in 2009, is this article by Kevin Kelly called A Thousand True Fans. And he explains the economics, in this case for a musician, but I think it's really applicable for filmmakers as well. Of if you have a thousand true fans who are willing to spend a hundred dollars a year on you, well, that's a hundred thousand dollars, right? So, how many fans do you really need to fund this project or to buy this movie? Um, and start to work towards that. And I think part of that is also being strategic about how you build your own career, meaning we all have that like really big, bold, amazing project that we fantasize about all the time. But that might not be the best first project because that's the project that you don't want to create inside a bunch of resource constraints. That's the project that you want to have like tons of creative freedom and uh lots of resourcing. So, can you start making smaller things that can be great inside really tight resource constraints that you can still make and make amazing? Um, so yeah, I think it, I think it really is also about being strategic in how you grow your career and being thoughtful about uh not spending all your time trying to reach millions of people, but actually maybe just trying to reach a hundred or a thousand who are going to be really, really dedicated to what you're making, um especially in the early part of your career.

SPEAKER_00 18:13

Wow, those numbers are uh fabulous. That's a great way to work it, is through the numbers and see how many perfect fans or what did you say, super fans you can get. Good. Well, I love the distribution playbook that you and Christy Marcese created. So tell our audience about it and how beneficial it is.

SPEAKER_02 18:39

Um, so the distribution playbook came out of a workshop we actually built back in 2019 called the Distribution Downlow. And we built that workshop because um, you know, CD and Spark has always been both a funding and a distribution platform, although now we don't handle the distribution, we partner with um with Kinema and other uh platforms for filmmaker distribution. Um but we were fielding so many questions that creators had about just how distribution works. And what we learned is that it felt like a black box. Like they weren't really teaching film distribution in film school. They still aren't. Uh, I wish they would more. Um there's it just felt like everything was kind of behind closed doors, or even worse, like sealed off behind some velvet rope. Um, and it was hard to know even what you didn't know. So we we went and we interviewed uh a bunch of folks in in theatrical releasing, in festivals, in television. And um, from their expertise, we built this distribution down low workshop. But in order to cover, even at a high level, the breadth of what is what you need to know in distribution, it was a 66 slide deck. And this workshop, if you were really going to teach it well, would take like two and a half hours to teach. It was like, was like the better part of a whole college course. Um, and even though we did, I have taught it many times live, um, it also felt like it was like too overwhelming and also not necessarily detailed enough to really empower creators to build strategies. It was more like a 101. And um, the distribution landscape is changing so fast that you can't like publish a book about it right now because in three months it'll be obsolete. Um, so Christy was having the same experience I was, which is we were spending many hours each week just on the phone with creators talking to them about the distribution landscape and distribution strategies and who do they need to know and what platform should they be thinking about, and what are the new tools? And so I went to Christy and I said, Would you be open to working on like an open source document that uh that's just publicly available that is kind of like all the details and then some? So we we broke out the distribution down low into um almost like a choose your own adventure uh digital destination called the distribu distributionplaybook.com. Um and then we also added um a place where creators could submit questions they felt like it didn't currently answer, or people could make us aware of tools or case studies that we weren't aware of yet. Um, and then we could update it quarterly in order to make it as relevant and um uh up to date as possible. Um, and so we launched that at Tribeca last year. And yeah, it's been um it's been really awesome. Just creators approach me all the time and say, thank you so much for that. It was everything I needed to know. Um, and my favorite is when they approach me and they say, hey, there was a question that I didn't get answered. Because when they do that, then we go add that information to the playbook and it becomes even more relevant for more people. Um, so yeah, we're really proud of that effort. Um, it was worth it. But it was really just like me and Christy ferociously typing for several weeks uh until we built out this full playbook that um that people could explore.

SPEAKER_00 22:31

Yes, and it's free, right?

SPEAKER_02 22:34

Totally, totally free. Um, it's just oh I I sort of object to anything being behind a paywall that is necessary for you to make a living. Do you know what I mean? Um it's like, yeah, universities should be free. And uh and a lot of these educational tools should be free because it benefits everybody in the ecosystem. It benefits distributors if creators are really informed and strategic, much more. Then it does. I mean, look, the power imbalance in Hollywood is extremely intentional, right? And having creators feel clueless about distribution makes it much easier to take advantage of them.

SPEAKER_00 23:23

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 23:24

On one hand. On the other hand, a creator that is building a really smart strategic distribution plan is going to make way more money with their project than somebody who's been hosed. And that's better for everybody. That's better for the whole ecosystem. So we just um yeah, we just wanted to kind of crack it open. Um, and we really believe in like the rising tide floats all boats.

SPEAKER_00 23:52

Right. So where do they go, Chris, uh, to find the distribution playbook? It's just distributionplaybook.com. Great. It's that simple. Okay. So now, amongst all of these other jobs and creations you're working on, you have two films in production: Ratified, which is in distribution, and Jesus just kicking off. So tell us about these.

SPEAKER_02 24:19

Um, Ratified, it has been a labor of love. It's the hardest thing I've ever made in my entire life, and the hits just keep coming. Um, but it's a feature documentary about the Equal Rights Amendment, the 101-year struggle uh for uh a fully ratified Equal Rights Amendment in the United States. Um that project has been going on for eight and a half years, and we are in the last week uh before we deliver completely to ITVS. Um, it'll be distributed by Independent Lens for broadcast. Um, and then we're in the process of um setting up a deal for uh digital and educational, um, which is very exciting also. Um PBS, you know, public media was always the goal for this film because this is a film about American history and American present and American future. Um and really we wanted it to be accessed by as many people as possible. And public television is by far and away the best way to do that. So um we're really excited, in spite of all of the horrific uh cuts that have come to public television. It will be released in October. Um and so yeah, you can uh you can go to ratifythefilm.com or you can follow our Seed and Spark page because I do still post updates there. Um and then we I am in the middle of a crowdfunding campaign of my own for my next narrative project, which is a short that I co-wrote with my husband um and that I will direct called Mr. Jesus. Um and it is about a down-on-is luck actor who wakes up one morning to discover that his image has been stolen to make a generative AI Jesus. And now everyone thinks he's the second coming. And it's uh I'm glad you giggled. Um, it's a it's really a film about um what agency we have as artists and as people and as citizens of the world uh against the forces of AI, um, who are really also just people. I mean, we we treat AI like it's this like cosmic force, but it's actually just like people at tech companies making decisions. Um uh so yeah, so it's it's it's a movie, I think a little bit about um how we might take our power back. Um, but it's it's the beginning of a longer project. And whether that will be, you know, serial or uh or like long form narrative, I don't know yet.

SPEAKER_00 27:01

Well, that sounds wonderful, but it's fun, and uh I'd love to see how you handle AI in there, it's great, but just getting ratified on ITBS is an incredible achievement. Congratulations.

SPEAKER_02 27:17

Thank you. Yeah, I'm I'm really proud of it, and I honestly don't think I will ever make a feature documentary again. It's the hardest thing I I've ever done. Um, and also like we really stuck the landing with this one. We we got the distribution deal we really dreamed of. And so um, yeah, I feel I feel really honored, but it's also because you know, the directors made a great movie. Um, and that is really the key to unlocking so many things. Um, because I think this is sort of the uncomfortable conversation we have to have at this point in time in the film business where everything has kind of fallen apart. Um, is that if we want to build new infrastructure that we control as creators, we have to be offering audiences the best possible experiences. So we have to be thoughtful about what we're making and can we make it as like high quality entertaining as possible? That doesn't mean like super expensive to make, it just means like really high quality entertainment. Um and can we deliver it to them in ways that are delightful and that are more thoughtful than slapping it on a streaming platform and calling it a day? Um can we really actually build audience engagement strategies that feel delightful for people who maybe don't want to spend the rest of their days with their heads in their phones?

SPEAKER_00 28:46

So you build audience engagement strategies. Tell us more about that.

SPEAKER_02 28:53

Sure. I mean, um, does the film need to tour? Is the film trying to start conversations? I think about Mr. Jesus, right? Like what I really want to do is make a comedy that makes it uh easier and more delightful for people to have interesting conversations about the role of AI in our lives and society. And so uh we want to make this film, we want to take it on the festival circuit, but we don't just want to like, you know, go play in a bunch of shorts programs. Like, I want to host panels in communities about AI and agency. Um and I want to have, we're we're hosting a um a webinar next week on August 12th, uh with um Jermaine Johnson from Three Arts Entertainment, you know, one of the larger management companies uh in entertainment, uh, to really talk about what, you know, how artists can really lead the conversation about AI, um, as opposed to feeling like they're being led or being forced into it. Um, so yeah, I think you you think about what is this film really for? What am I trying to do with this film? And what are the ways that I can actually take care of the audience and the community around this film in the way that I distribute it? Does that make sense?

SPEAKER_00 30:12

Yes, it does. It's very clear. Well, tell us what makes Seed and Spark different from other crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter or Indiegogo, because they're coming in at 32, 34% success rates. So um what why do you think so many filmmakers choose Seed and Spark?

SPEAKER_02 30:35

I mean, I think there's a few reasons. One is definitely the education program. So a lot of people meet us for the first time at a workshop, and we offer a lot of value in those workshops. And so even before they've used the platform, they trust that we're we have their best interests in mind. Um, and then as I mentioned before, the the um the campaign feedback process um that even further demonstrates that we really do have their best interests and their success in mind. And we we build a little bit of friction on the platform um to make sure that they're actually ready to launch and be successful, as opposed to what most of the platforms do, which is just like let people launch, and if they fail, they fail, right? Um we don't charge creators to use the platform. So it's free to use Seed and Spark. We don't take a cut of your earnings. Instead, we earn tips from backers. Um and uh you there so Kickstarter is is well known for being an all-or-nothing funding platform, meaning you have to raise everything or you get nothing. Um, Indiegogo is better known for having this sort of like keep what you can funding model. And we fall a little bit in the middle, um, which is that we have an 80% uh or nothing um requirement, which is that if you hit 80% of your goal, you're gonna keep your money, you're gonna keep everything you raise at the end of your campaign. Um, and while most creators raise 100% or more, um, that's a very useful target because it allows creators to really ask for what they need. And then we all know independent creators, like they will make what they promised for 80% if they need to. Um yeah.

SPEAKER_00 32:29

Okay. Well, tell us what you think of the common mistakes that you see filmmakers make when they launch a campaign.

SPEAKER_02 32:37

Just not really being dedicated to the outreach. Like it is so much more intense than you think. Like, I am supposed to be, you know, one of the experts of record crowdfunding, and this Mr. Jesus campaign is really hard. You know, it's August. Um, and so a lot of people are away and getting attention in this really chaotic global environment is difficult. And so you have to be willing to stay top of people's minds. Um, one of my team members uh surfaced for me from Amy Polar, I'd so much rather be annoying than boring. And uh yeah, I think you have to lean into being a little bit annoying in how hard you are standing behind your project for a period of time. And if you're creative, you can find lots of ways to make that fun and engaging for audiences, right? Like if you look at the social media for Mr. Jesus, we have um uh we have some like silly ways that uh our cast and crew are introducing themselves, and it's as if they're um approaching Mr. Jesus' house, and so they're introducing themselves into like a ring doorbell. Um uh we have hot takes, hot and spicy takes on AI. We have blooper videos, we have like really sincere missives on artists' relationship to AI. There's lots and lots of different ways that we are working to get audience members interested in what we're doing and and caring about what we're saying. So that's um yeah, I think I think that's really like you you have to put your ego aside and let your creativity really lead.

SPEAKER_00 34:31

Well, tell us the website for Mr. Jesus.

SPEAKER_02 34:34

Oh, it's Mr. Jesus.ai, but that will just redirect you directly to our crowdfunding campaign at this moment.

SPEAKER_00 34:42

Okay, all right. So, but that's something to look at because I'm sure there's a lot of things in that crowdfunding campaign that other people can take advantage of your knowledge from that. So uh does Sedenspark currently support filmmakers in other countries?

SPEAKER_02 34:59

In Canada and any, I mean, really anywhere as long as you have one member of your team that has a US or Canadian bank account.

SPEAKER_00 35:07

Oh, great. Good to know. Uh, and so what are your plans for expansion, Emily?

SPEAKER_02 35:15

Um, that's a great question. I think um the next layer that we're building is really a set of social tools so that you can do more community engagement and management on the platform as opposed to having to having to take audiences off-platform to really engage with them as a community. So right now there's a lot of like one-to-one uh like creator-to-fan or fan-to-creator engagement. But really, if you're trying to start a conversation, you want your community to be able to talk to each other. Um, and so that's that's a sort of the next big layer for us. And then international, further international expansion is is a bit out over the horizon uh 2026 and seven.

SPEAKER_00 36:01

Oh, wonderful! That sounds great. Well, now tell us how people can find Seed and Spark and what they need to read and to make decisions to join you.

SPEAKER_02 36:12

Um, you can find us at Seed and Spark on pretty much all the social channels or SeedandSpark.com.

SPEAKER_00 36:20

Great. And it's very simple to read the instructions and sign up. That's right. Oh, how exciting! Thank you, Emily. We sincerely appreciate the information. I know from talking to people for years about Seed and Spark, how much they love working with you, how proud they are to have been successful. Uh, because that's the most important thing is to build confidence in filmmakers. And you are doing that. You're taking them by the hand and walking them through the process, explaining how to make it work and helping them achieve their goals. So thank you very much for taking such good care of independent filmmakers.

SPEAKER_02 37:06

Thank you so much. I really look forward to uh being in touch again soon. Thank you so much for this opportunity.

SPEAKER_00 37:14

Okay, thank you, Emily. Thank you, Claire, for hosting the show. All right.