Celebrating the Interns

Every summer, I’m privileged to work with the IndieFlix Interns, a group of self-starting business lovers who are motivated and passionate. They’re fearless. They have a thirst to learn. And while they have shown up once or twice a little "slow" after a late night out or sometimes pay too much attention to their phones, they makes summer really fun.

My favorite aspect of the program is listening to their ideas, which sometimes need coaxing. The teacher in me surfaces as I try to inspire these young adults to speak openly and confidently about their ideas, which are always fresh if not sometimes shocking. Watching them grow throughout the summer is inspiring.

They leave here knowing more about filmmaking to distribution and everything in between. Many of them happen to be in film school, so the fact that they get to go back to school and share with their class and professors is really special.

It’s not camp, although it sometimes feels like it. My hope is that they go out into the world and make a meaningful contribution whereby we all benefit. It stimulates and re-energizes us as a company and for sure they make us laugh. I appreciate every summer particularly because of our interns. I learn so much from them therefore we celebrate them and wish them well.

Crowdfunding: Day 35 of 35 101% funded!

We did it! $28,420K of $28,000.

A heartfelt thank you to the 91 backers who so generously donated and to the countless people who shared and supported us in other ways and finally to Team IndieFlix who worked this campaign from an idea to fruition. It was a tough decision to choose whether to do this on Seed & Spark, Kickstarter or IndieGoGo. We chose IndieGoGo because they are global, accept multiple forms of payment and have the ability to raise less than the ask.

Bottom line... it’s hard and scary to be so exposed but there are a lot of really wonderful things that came out of this experience. For instance, it gave us the chance to tell our story. People kept asking, why is IndieFlix crowdfunding? I'm pretty sure most people get asked why aren't you crowdfunding? What people don’t realize is that we are a very small company. We pack a mean punch. Yes, we are growing, but I still go out and raise money, especially to build, launch and market a bunch of apps in a very short amount of time in order to truly compete with the big guys who have tremendous resources; especially money.

I also wanted to go through this process because I tell filmmakers all the time to go out and crowdfund. I love the concept but I haven't gone through it myself. It's important for me to have firsthand experience, especially in something that I recommend to others. I am a filmmaker and I created IndieFlix because I want to serve the filmmaking community and movie lovers everywhere in the most efficient manner. I want our movies to be seen and for all of us to make real money. What I didn’t realize is that the model would disrupt the industry to the extent that it has and we’re just getting started :)

For me, crowdfunding itself is not a pleasant experience, but I’m really glad we did it. We learned a lot. Mostly that people are amazing and that filmmakers have been our biggest donors. IndieGoGo was great. I am incredibly appreciative. It's hard to explain the feeling but it's warm and fuzzy! We need each other to accomplish our mission and we will all benefit in the end. I look forward to incorporating this new information into what we do. Cheers to everyone and many many thanks. We are so appreciative.

Crossroads of Big and Small

I'm currently in the process of hiring a PR department and I've come to a crossroads. We could go one of two directions: a small, two-person team, or the Big Kahuna of PR, a huge team that's been in the business for years.

While we're growing, we're still a pretty small company, which could mean that we'd be handed off to a more junior person should we go with the bigger company. However, since PR is largely about who you know, working with the Big Kahuna would perhaps be beneficial to us, as they are widely known. It would take them a phone call to better connect with decision makers. The smaller team, without the connections of the bigger team, could very well work even harder for us because they are not having to serve as many large clients.

The question is: Will the Big Kahuna work as hard for us as the smaller firm?

At the end of the day, I think it comes down to relationships. You have to know who is going to put in the effort to help you out. Who is going to be just as dedicated to your cause as you are? Whether working with a big firm or a small firm, that's what matters most: who's going to have your back?

Customer Service

I recently had a horrible time flying United. Typically it takes a lot to upset me. I’m Miss Positive. My nickname is Fortune Cookie. I can’t wait to go to sleep every night because I can’t wait to wake up bright eyed and bushy tailed, eager to see what wonderful things the day will bring. Well, United managed to get under my skin and really piss me off.

We all have our own horror stories about revamped airline rules – no liquid, no shoes, no tweezers, no fun. The ridiculous policies that all airlines have to abide by weren’t what irked me. It was the implementation of such policies. These people were just plain mean.

I took my frustration out online, alerting the masses of my travel debacle and stewing in my own anger. I was upset with United for being such an enormous, soulless corporation that cares more about its rules than its customers. The people on the front line at the airports dealing with disgruntled passengers all day just seem so deeply unhappy and rude. They are not equipped to deal with frustrated human beings. They simply flip on the broken record and put it all on us. It’s time for companies like this to revise their script, simply adding an “I’m sorry,” or a “thank you” would suffice.

Then Miss Positive stepped back in. Maybe we need to give brands a break. We’re so quick to jump on any wrong move made by a major corporation but at the end of the day, behind every brand and every mission statement is a group of human beings trying to do the right thing, or at least it started out that way. Corporate America is powered by people. Maybe we ought to cut them some slack and treat them like people not an entity.

Just because they are enormous and have money, doesn't mean we can expect them to be perfect. What I’ve learned in the last several years is that companies are constantly evolving to find out what works. If we treat brands like the people they are, maybe they’ll reciprocate and be more kind to us. Let’s embrace the positive things that large corporations are trying to do and spend less time highlighting the negative. Let's allow them the room to make mistakes and to redeem themselves, as we would allow our friends or ourselves.

Compliments at a Conference

I recently presented at Kaltura Connect a tech conference at Lincoln Center. It was a whirlwind trip, as they all are, and to tell you the truth I felt a little bit out of my league giving a big presentation at a tech conference. While technology plays a huge role in my life in large part due to my business, I am and have always been a filmmaker, not a techie. Not only was I feeling out of my element, but I also happened to be pretty much one of the only female presenters.

It was a great trip and I met a lot of people, running between the conference and investor meetings for 2 days. Of all the people I met all weekend, one person I will never forget was someone completely unexpected. She was the wife of a vendor with whom I will probably never do any business. After giving my presentation she introduced herself.

“I just wanted to say thank you,” she said. “You got me interested in everything my husband does for the first time ever. I feel like I finally understand it. Before, it was just technology talk and now I understand how it fits into our lives.”

It was the greatest compliment. She didn’t have a card, she didn’t want mine, and she wasn’t trying to pitch her husband. She just wanted to thank me for helping her better understand the role of technology in our lives.

You never know when what you say will resonate with someone. We all hear things differently and find value in things depending on internal factors. This conversation made my day. Finally, I wasn’t sticking out like a sore thumb in a summer dress; I was exactly where I belonged, if even just to get through to this one woman.

Community & The Faces of IndieFlix - A Social Experiment

Consumers Are People but we commonly refer to them as "users", "subscribers", "IP's" and "emails" as if they're humanoids devoid of wants or needs, as if they’re just robots using a service. So, I got this urge to do a social experiment. I wanted to put a face on our community. I want to know who they are and what they look like. So, I called my very talented photographer friend, Coco Knudson, pitched my crazy idea and she immediately signed on. Coco has the ability to capture someone's essence and put it into a 2 dimensional format like no one else. I then called the extraordinary, Kathleen McInnis at the Palm Springs Int'l Shortfest, again pitched the idea and she too rallied and embraced this social experiment of community building.

This experiment, the idea of it has been gnawing away at me for months. There’s no concrete agenda. I just want to celebrate our community and learn a little bit about the people who make up this fabulous world of film. I know the filmmakers and many of the festivals but I want to know the audience. In the end we might make a coffee table book, put up an art installation or create a web-series featuring stories about real people from the filmmakers to the film lovers and everyone in between. There are so many people that make up our community and they are all important. Everyone plays a role. I want to celebrate them. I want to celebrate you.

Faces of IndieFlix is a new section on our website devoted to the people that make up the film community throughout the world.

Checking Your Ego

Dealing with our ego is part of being human. Those who are highly enlightened claim to have mastered the ego while the rest of us are constantly figuring out how to "check it" as they say. Our egos are fed when we're recognized and rewarded for something we've done. Whether it's winning an award, running a successful business or even submitting college applications, it's the ever-available glutton that can derail us from the real point of our mission. After enough acknowledgment, suddenly the ego is running the show and the intentions we were setting out for no longer have any basis in our own personal truth. Our journey becomes more about the acknowledgment than about the actual accomplishment.

The good news is the ego can be used as a tool to maintain our integrity. When we are suddenly ego-driven, we are an instrument out of tune. But the off-key instrument helps us recognize the sounds of one that is perfectly pitched. It's natural to fall out of tune and it is the process of getting back in tune that's important. The humbling experience of having an ego-based moment pushes us back on track; back in tune. Embrace your ego and the lessons available to you in the moments of getting back in tune.

Does Content On Multiple Devices Equal More Money?

It equals access.
It equals opportunity.
To turn it into money,
you must market.

Core Value of Communication: Expectations

We must have great expectations. They push us to strive for the best. However, the key to almost anything is that those expectations are manageable and well communicated. That is the bulk of my job as a CEO. Without feasible and clear expectations, delivery is impossible.

Lighthouse Customers

Right now IndieFlix is sitting on an enormous plot of land. The landscape is serene, it’s a lot of fun to run around on, but the best part about it is that we’re sitting on oil and a lot of it. Once we strike it - and believe me, we’re drilling –lives are going to be changed. Filmmakers will suddenly have enough money to make more movies and send their kids to college. Audiences will have access to incredible content from all over the world. It's going to change the independent film game completely and everyone who has touched IndieFlix will be affected. From the filmmakers to the audience to the people who support us, all of our early adopters will benefit enormously.

So, thank you to our lighthouse customers, who are securing their own spot on our enormous plot of bountiful land. We couldn't have done it without you.

Technology is the Great Equalizer

The corporate world is changing. The inequality many of us have been familiar with for generations no longer has a place on the corporate playing field. Women and other minorities are slowly becoming more commonly seen at the top of corporate ladders. There are, of course, many factors at play in making that so, but I think the rise in the use of technology is helping to pave the way for such differences on the corporate playing field.

Technology doesn't discriminate. Technology doesn't care about your gender or about the color of your skin. It doesn't care about how successful you've been in the past. It has enormous democratizing power. People who, in a different time, would have been considered unqualified, now write blogs and have millions of followers and are considered experts in fields that they've never before studied, all because of how they engage with people. The way we all engage is the only thing technology cares about. With the democratization of social power because of technology, the corporate landscape is changing.

Technology influences everything we do, from personal decisions to how to run a business. We rely on technology to tell us where to eat, what to name our dogs, which marketing trends to follow, how to interact with our followers. The corporate world is now fluid and dynamic; it’s a living, breathing infrastructure in which hierarchy and assembly lines are no longer pertinent. We hire people now based on how they communicate and engage, and hiring is not so strictly based on resumes and master’s degrees. I was recently told that my kids will have an average of five careers in their lifetimes, and that the jobs they’ll have don’t even exist yet. That’s how quickly and drastically things are changing. It no longer makes sense to be locked into one career, climbing your way up the ladder in one field until you've mastered it. We want creative thinkers, revolutionists, people who want to engage and change the world. And technology is paving the way for those people, the underdogs who maybe didn't even go to college, to rise to the top and prove their worth because they are going to be the ones who will guide a business toward success.

A successful business is like a successful movie. It’s not necessarily the movie that everyone loved, or that made the most money at the box office. A good movie is one that sparks conversations and urges people to reevaluate themselves and each other, to view the world a little bit differently; it stirs people up and causes people to question. It’s entirely about engagement. A successful business is one that engages its supporters and the world around them. A successful business is transparent and honest. It tears down the red tape and communicates directly with its audience. Technology gives us the ability to tell our stories to the masses, unmasked, and it lets us reach as many as we can. It lets us climb to the top of any corporation, or build an enormous following, not based on our credentials, but based on who we are, really. All because technology does not discriminate. Technology is the great equalizer.

The Competitors

I love my competitors. It's validation that you’re doing something right.

In this industry, there is a sense of “us v. them”: Hollywood v. Independents. What’s so interesting is that Hollywood films have well-known actors, a huge budget, and tons of help getting off the ground. They only produce about 600 films per year, all of which fill the screens – they don’t necessarily fill the seats, but they certainly monopolize the theaters. These movies have the most buzz, the most budget to promote and they also have the highest expectations of return.

In the independent film industry, there are closer to 60,000 films made every year with very little money to make or market them. The expectations for return are different, which is exactly where IndieFlix comes in. We don’t focus on how much it cost to make your film, or the fact that you can throw dollars at marketing. We care about the story you’re telling and how you connect with your audience. A million-dollar, well-marketed movie does not bring a return if there's no story; we've all been witness to that. Many times Hollywood will spend more money to promote a film than to make it. Independents don’t have that luxury, and that’s why IndieFlix exists. We are a community of filmmakers, film lovers and everything in between. We believe filmmakers should make money and film lovers should be able to find and engage in interesting stories from around the world.

Competition in any industry is the clearest sign that there’s a demand. I love our competition and I have great respect for them. They keep me on my toes. They keep me sharp. We’re all after a similar end goal: supporting independent film and distributing to the masses but at IndieFlix we really care about the filmmakers. It's in our mission statement. And maybe because I am a filmmaker. I believe in our model. I know it’s a game changer. it's going to transform the industry by offering a strong viable alternative. We’re done living on exposure.

Technology is the Great Equalizer: A Conversation About Money, Movies and Marketing

Here is a little excerpt from a conversation and presentation I am doing at this year's Cannes Film Festival. I'll post the whole piece closer to the date. I hope you'll join me. I would love to see you there.

"The world has changed and every aspect of the film industry has been affected. The inequality filmmakers have been familiar with for generations no longer has a place in today's landscape. Filmmakers are their own gatekeepers from funding to distribution. There are, of course, many factors at play in making that so, but it's the rise in the use of technology that is paving the way for such differences in this new world order and guess what? It's all manageable. Scilla Andreen will share insight into monetizing your movie from funding through distribution."

Friday, May 16, 2014 11:30am-1pm I am presenting at the Cannes Film Festival, NEXT Pavilion, Village International Pantiero, n°210

Chicken to Crowdfund

I have no desire to go sky diving. I don’t need to rock climb or free fall. I’m not someone who enjoys going outside my comfort zone; I really like my comfort zone. What I am interested in is finding something that needs improvement and jumping in headfirst to make it better. And sometimes that means having to sky dive.

We at IndieFlix, are getting ready to launch our first ever crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo. It’s going to be big and exciting and a lot of work for a great cause, but I’m terrified. It is way outside my comfort zone. But it’s for the sake of improving the way we find and watch movies and that is something that absolutely needs to happen. So we’re jumping in.

We’ll be crowdfunding to build and launch our own App that is fun and useful for anyone in the world to discover and watch movies. Everything in my life is based on certain parameters when making a decision. From what I wear, to what I eat, to what I watch, I choose all of it based on how I’m feeling. I think most of us do no matter where we are in the world. Since IndieFlix streams its content globally, this kind of universal recommendation system makes a lot of sense.

Movies can be hard to sift through; trying to find the right one to watch can be very difficult. Independent film can be especially challenging, since many movies don’t have recognizable names in them. This app is a no-brainer for me. It’s something that I absolutely must have, so I’m going to build it but first I must raise the money. I'm going to crowdfund it and I am terrified. It’s an ego-based fear; I’m afraid of failing. Doing this publicly is a really daunting concept, but this is a project that I absolutely believe in and I can’t do it alone.

I tell filmmakers to crowdfund all the time. I have told them that it’s the best way to learn about their project so they can make it the very best it can be. If they don’t succeed in crowdfunding, if they can’t raise the money, then there’s something big that they need to work on and fix. I'm chicken to crowdfund but I need to follow my own advice. Going through the process of crowdfunding will give me better perspective and a lot more information to share with others. It will help me when working with filmmakers and storytellers around the world because I’ll know firsthand what they’re going through. I want my journey to be helpful to anyone who needs it. So, I’m starting with full transparency, here: It’s happening and I’m terrified. But I’m also excited. We’re going for it, and whatever will be, will be.

Corporate Climbing Chicks: Can We Get to the Top?

I was in a meeting a few weeks ago with a man who's very high up on the corporate ladder at a company you all know. I was presenting the IndieFlix business model and he said, "Wow, this is amazing. Who helped you with it?"
I told him, "Well, I have a wonderful team that executes back home."
"Yeah, but, who helped you create this model?" he asked.
"Well, I did and it has evolved over the years and now here we are." I responded.
"Really?" he asked. "You did this all on your own?" I had a hard time truly understanding what he meant until his next question: "So, who watches your kids while you're traveling?"

We talked for a minute about this and I found myself making excuses like, "Well, my daughter will be off to college soon!" As if it were a detriment to be a single mom with kids at home, when in fact, it isn't at all. It's inspiring. The whole conversation got me thinking about gender roles and how I bet he's never been asked who watches his kids while he's working.

To be perfectly honest, I had never given much thought to the fact that I'm a woman in the corporate world until recently. I know myself as a mom, a filmmaker, the CEO and co-founder of IndieFlix but I'm just Scilla. As IndieFlix has grown I've found myself in big conglomerate board rooms and I'm realizing they're all men, and that it's always been all men, all the way up the ladder. I'm just used to it.

I can't help but think my awareness is heightened because we are producing and releasing The Empowerment Project Ordinary Women Doing Extraordinary Things, a documentary about women rising to the top and not being afraid to dream big. I'm meeting remarkable women who have incredible stories of success and empowerment, and in focusing on this subject, I've become more aware of how women are treated differently in the workplace and in the world in general. This awareness makes conversations like the one I had in my meeting a few weeks ago, pretty hard to sit through.

At the end of the day, I don't take it personally. Is there a glass ceiling? It's not in my reality. If I hit it, I'll let you know, but I don't believe I'm going to hit it. I think for those who think they're going to hit it, it's there. I think women have a harder time getting to the top because of the lack of role models and societal programming. We spend a lifetime blending in and longing for acceptance. How can we possibly know how to stand up for ourselves effectively? I think as women we are treated differently and that can be a challenge. Does it mean we can't do it? I don't think so. We can do anything but I'm feeling the inequalities for the first time so I'm going to do something about it. I've joined an amazing team of young, talented, female filmmakers and I am co-producing and IndieFlix is releasing The Empowerment Project: Ordinary Women Doing Extraordinary Things, Sarah Moshman (Director, Producer) and Dana Cook (Producer) made this film to spark conversations and to inspire young women all over the world to dream big and know they can get there. Stay tuned! This will be fun.

The Oscars: The Film Lover's Super Bowl

Movies Create Conversations and Build Community

When the Seahawks won the Super Bowl, the city of Seattle, the entire Northwest, and sports fans worldwide came together in celebration. There were over 700,000 people on the streets of Seattle when they brought the trophy home; the entire city shut down and everyone interacted as though they had been long-time friends. We were all connected by a shared sense of pride that was almost tangible. That’s what the Oscars do for movie lovers. The telecast unites us all over the world and for one night, we come together. The actors, the directors, the writers are all the guys on the field and we are their loyal fans, shouting from the sidelines, excited by the unfolding story.

Within everything there is a story. Super Bowl XLVIII had a plethora of stories tied to it. Some about rejection, some about long lost family members, and of course, the classic tale of the underdog rising to the top. These stories turned fair-weather fans into long-lasting supporters. When we engage in stories we evolve. A good story inspires both introspection and awareness of others, connecting us all, which is ultimately what we're all looking for: connection. And that's exactly what the Oscars are celebrating: good stories that connect us all. They are all winners and the shared experience is fun!

Charting Your Course

I'm currently in a hotel room in Los Angeles with a few minutes between meetings, and I'm thinking about the plans we make, the courses we chart, and the way those can change so instantly and usually for the best.

I had a big meeting today. One I've been waiting for for years, and didn't go at all the way I thought it would. A bump in the road like this is so often perceived as a sign of failure. We blame ourselves for not being prepared enough, for not wanting it enough, for not being good enough. But today, a bump in the road means something different: Find another road.

My expectations for this meeting were very high. I had this idea of exactly how it was going to go, and how everything would unfold afterward, and none of it came to fruition. When the meeting ended, I felt like I had misjudged my preparedness and mismanaged by expectations. But after five minutes passed, I took a breath and realized none of that was true. I couldn't possibly have been more prepared, and I believe there's nothing wrong with having high expectations, so there must have been something about this meeting that wasn't quite right. Instantly, I thought of my favorite Joseph Campbell quotation, "We must be willing to let go of the life we planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us."

I was so focused on what I wanted from this meeting that I was blind to the myriad other options waiting for me. So, today's lesson: Dream big and be open to the change in your course, it may be leading you to a much, much better place. It takes just as much energy to dream big as it does to dream small and there's nothing wrong with having high hopes, so don't skimp on your dreams, just be open to the dreams you have yet to dream.

Can we? Must we market market market so much?

I was listening to some people grumble about the gen-yer’s and their heightened sense of entitlement in the work place. The conversation made me think of many filmmakers that have this same sense of entitlement. They think because they made a movie the money should be flowing in. It would be nice if the world worked that way but it doesn’t. This isn’t the field of dreams. If you build it they won’t come. You can put your film on every screen in the galaxy and it still won't make any money. You must market, market, market and then market some more. Then you will see a return.

By the way, I apply this rule to myself. We built IndieFlix because we saw this huge demand and once it was launched I was scratching my head saying, "where’s the money?" Now we market and what we’re learning is we must market more and help our filmmakers and partners market. It takes a village but by God we are going to get there!

Films are like our children. It takes a village to distribute

I think of films as our children and filmmakers are the parents. Distributors and platforms are the educational institutions and the people that work there are the aunts, uncles and teachers. Hollywood is the government. We each play a role in the lives of these films and we need each other.

Some distribution companies are like an orphanage because the filmmaker has abandoned their film. I see IndieFlix as a full ride scholarship to a great institution. We even transport you there but its up to the filmmaker to show up, participate and work in order to benefit. I think this is true for anything we do in life. I am hard pressed to find a job or process that magically brings return on investment just by showing up and saying, I’m here. You have to put consistent energy into it. You have to work it. Distributing your film is similar to raising your child.

Talking about the letter "C" in the cab

The other night I was in London hanging out with some high level people in the film industry. They were from Canada and California. We were in a cab talking about creativity, community, crowd funding, collaboration and the cross media forum we had just attended. Of course this got me thinking about my favorite letter so I told them about my blog Living on the Letter C and like every time I tell the story we all start speaking in C words. Its quite fun and every time I am reminded how much I love the letter C. Call me crazy!

I challenge anyone to find a better letter to live on.