By Matthew Helderman, & Luke Taylor
Launched officially in January of 2014, BondIt found an audience fairly quickly. Liquidity (ease of cash-flow) proved to be a major issue for a large portion of the independent feature films being produced in North America – which was our target audience.
Providing cash-flow/financial coverage for union deposits was a new idea – a concept we devised after producing 30+ feature films between $200k – $4M budgets, We recognized a need to utilize union performers and workers – but the deposits (surety bonds) required often crippled the productions liquid assets.
The solution was a basic idea we formulated likened to insurance and financial underwriting, paired with a web based software component.
Before officially launching we market tested on a sample of about 200 producers, line producers, financiers, accountants and production managers — essentially talking through their experiences with the unions & the protocol required to clear a production with the payment of the union deposit.
The results were clear – the product & service was both valuable and desired. So, we developed a patented algorithmic process to underwrite the liability and cover union deposits for SAG-AFTRA, DGA and IATSE — focusing on the independent film markets as our primary target.
When January 2014 rolled around (after beta testing in December 2013) we were excited when producers and production companies responded to the service. The underlying reality was that each producer and production had endured different struggles with the unions in the past & the service BondIt offered eased their troubles.
Early on the projects tended to be on the smaller side – below $1M was the target audience for the first month through February 2014. We recognized that smaller films – which were continuing to sprout up left & right – had simple structures in terms of financing that needed liquidity provided in order to get through production and in to post-production.
Several productions even called after the fact — meaning they had already paid their union deposits and wanted relief during production and others yet had finished production and were struggling to finance their post-production period without access to the capital that was being held at various guilds. These instances became segmented as BondIt’s “retroactive” program which in essence covered deposits for a lower premium on the back end — after they had been paid.
Furthermore, March & April gave further proof of concept as projects increased in size and the demand for the service ramped up. While some line producers and production managers were struggling to grasp the concept of adding an additional cost/line item to their budget — many filmmakers were recognizing the intrinsic and long term benefits of having the coverage.
As the cyclical nature of the film business demonstrated (the annualized reality that Q1 is sluggish, Q2 beings ramping up, Q3 is hectic and Q4 slows down before the holiday season) BondIt was valuable to many project levels ranging from $50,000 to $10,000,000 within the first five months.
Protecting our work through patents, partnerships and leveraged financing/debt/insurance — BondIt continued proving successful both internally as well as for the partners involved.
Perhaps most essential, proved to be Los Angeles based ABS Payroll & Accounting. Having over 30 years of experience in the independent film & entertainment business — ABS joined forces as an advocate, strategic partner and financier.
Working together to introduce the concept to new, seasoned and returning filmmakers — BondIt gained market traction and continued the climb to become “a line item”.
Similar partnerships with Entertainment Partners, Impeccable Taste Catering, Tunnel Post, Marshak Zachary Agency and the weekly guest blogging with Ted Hope at Hope for Film — gave BondIt sustained traction and visibility to the independent film community.
Within the first three months the demand proved true, the concept proved successful and the operations both from a physical and a technological UI/UX proved effective.
As these elements became apparent – the excitement and business gained momentum. Soon producers from the theater business (overseen by Actors Equity Alliance – a similar guild to SAG-AFTRA in the film business) began phoning and inquiring for coverage.
Expansion for BondIt into the arena of theater, television and the continually growing market of digital & new media seems inevitable — and near term.
What has made BondIt so successful at the early stages has been the dedication to providing the filmmaker, the film business and the guilds with a singular solution. Film deposits are necessary. Film guilds are necessary. Film financing liquidity is necessary. BondIt ensures and assists with all three.
In the coming months BondIt will continue to focus on providing a customer driven experience and filmmaker first mentality — understanding the nature of the independent film process through both the eyes of the producer, the financier and the guilds.
There is much work to be done but we are excited for the challenges, solutions and improvements ahead at turning BondIt into an industry standard line item!
BondIt was founded by independent film producers Matthew Helderman & Luke Taylor of Beverly Hills based Buffalo 8 Productions. Having produced 30+ feature films, the team recognized a dilemma in the production process — union deposits — and launched BondIt to resolve the situation to assist producers & union representatives alike.
