The Low-Budget Startup
<p>On stage, a few months back, I quipped that <a href="https://www.indie.vc/" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">indie</a> was “more a24 than a16z”. Although it may have sounded nonchalant, there is a lot more thought, structure, and nuance than that off-handed comment might have suggested.</p>
<p>In most creative fields you tend to have BIG (studios, labels, publishers, etc) and indie versions. As we gear up for the reboot of indie, I’ve been going down the rabbit hole of the indie leaders in these various fields and what we can learn and apply to our own investing and company building.</p>
<p>One indie studio that has stood out in this exploration is <a href="https://blumhouse.com/" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">Blumhouse</a> and its founder Jason Blum. One thing in particular that stands out with Jason is his unapologetic commitment to destigmatizing the idea of “low-budget” films.</p>
<p>In <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/future-of-film-podcast-with-alex-stolz/id1213384613?i=1000515015438" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">interview</a> after <a href="https://www.indiewire.com/video/jason-blum-interview-screen-talk-1234824411/" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">interview</a>, he reiterates that low budgets are a superpower for experimentation, risk, and profits vs. crippling creativity through lack of capital and constraints.</p>
<p>A few of my favorites from the podcasts linked above:</p>
<p><a href="https://bryce.medium.com/the-low-budget-startup-f7d9ed7f139a"><strong>Learn More</strong></a></p>