Movie and TV financing has lengthy been an unique membership dominated by legacy establishments. However Jon Gosier is rewriting the script and doing it on his phrases.
As founder and CEO of FilmHedge, a fintech platform that gives as much as $25 million per manufacturing in non-public credit score, Jon Gosier is opening new pathways for buyers, particularly these outdoors the Hollywood bubble, to share in one of many leisure trade’s most worthwhile areas. Since launching in 2020, FilmHedge has invested greater than $200 million into movie and TV productions, proving that innovation, entry, and inclusion can thrive on the intersection of finance, leisure, and expertise.
BLACK ENTERPRISE sat down with Jon Gosier to discover how he’s de-risking investments in Hollywood, empowering underrepresented creatives, and shifting the ability dynamic in a multibillion-dollar trade.
BE: What impressed you to launch FilmHedge, and the way does it problem conventional fashions of movie and TV financing?
JON: In 2017, I had simply offered an organization. With extra free time and new cash, I needed to discover one thing totally different. So, I invested in a $10 million sci-fi movie referred to as Skylines (2019).
In tech, it usually takes 5 to 10 years to start out an organization, develop it, and efficiently exit. However with this movie, I obtained my cash and earnings again in simply six months. I couldn’t imagine it. That have made me ask: Why don’t extra folks finance movie and tv?
That query led to the creation of FilmHedge. Since then, we’ve raised over $350 million to make movie and TV investing accessible to accredited buyers and, most significantly, secure. Our crew has financed greater than 50 productions with a median finances of $15 million, reaching a 100% reimbursement fee with zero investor losses. Our companions earn between 15% to twenty% on every deal.
BE: As a Black founder in fintech and leisure, what obstacles did you face coming into this house, and the way did you overcome them?
The primary barrier is psychological. An important entrepreneur is mostly a tireless downside solver. Regardless of your background—Black, white, Asian, something—you’ll face obstacles. Once I accepted Ernst & Younger’s 2025 Entrepreneur of the Yr Award in Georgia, I advised the room, “Entrepreneurship is a mindset.”
The movie and TV world is notoriously gatekept. The information wanted to succeed isn’t shared. I needed to deconstruct all the things by first investing my very own cash, then proving to institutional gamers —these with billions to allocate —that I knew defend their capital. Consider it or not, not dropping cash is usually extra necessary to them than making it.
BE: Many buyers nonetheless view movie as a high-risk funding. How does FilmHedge work to shift that notion?
Buyers usually deal with movie like they deal with tech startups. They wager on a good suggestion and a charismatic founder and hope the remaining falls into place. However movie is nearer to commerce finance than tech.
Consider it this fashion: the film is the product. The filmmaker is the producer. Our job is to fund the manufacturing till the ultimate product is delivered to a purchaser reminiscent of Netflix, Amazon, or Sony. As soon as that occurs, they pay us again. They tackle the chance of whether or not it sells, not us.
So, the concept movie is at all times dangerous? It’s only a misunderstanding of how movie finance works.
BE: Why did you select to construct FilmHedge in Atlanta as an alternative of relocating to Hollywood or Silicon Valley?
Humorous sufficient, in 2018, I nearly moved to Santa Monica. I had even positioned a suggestion on a home. However then I stepped again and regarded on the panorama.
Hollywood has been on the high of the trade for over 100 years. Atlanta, alternatively, the place I grew up, was on the rise. Extra persons are shifting right here. The economic system is booming. The movie and TV trade is increasing quickly. And nobody else was doing what I used to be planning in Atlanta.
It made good sense to remain. The town had momentum, and I needed to be a part of constructing one thing from the bottom up.
BE: How does FilmHedge guarantee fairness and entry for numerous filmmakers and producers?
Hollywood has by no means been identified for fairness. It’s lengthy been managed by gatekeepers with deeply embedded networks.
At FilmHedge, we’ve damaged down these obstacles by making our platform accessible to everybody. Any producer can contact us or submit a venture by our web site. And extra importantly, our standards are constant, whether or not you’ve made 100 motion pictures or are simply beginning out.
We’re one of many solely financing corporations at this degree that actually ranges the taking part in discipline for numerous and rising expertise.
BE: With over $200 million directed to productions, what affect have you ever seen financially and culturally?
We’re happy with the affect we’ve had. Over 40% of our funded tasks have been led by ladies producers, and greater than 20% by Black producers. Many had been first-time filmmakers, receiving a median of $5 million per venture.
One current instance is The Dutchman, directed by Andre Gaines and starring Zazie Beetz, Aldis Hodge, and Kate Mara. The forged and crew had been predominantly folks of coloration.
We additionally push A-list productions to shoot in underserved areas. In 2024 alone, we financed 10 options, eight of which filmed in low-income communities utilizing state financial improvement packages. That results in native jobs, infrastructure boosts, and actual change. Movie finance isn’t only for celebrities. It might uplift total neighborhoods.
BE: What recommendation do you may have for aspiring Black entrepreneurs who wish to sit on the intersection of tech, finance, and leisure?
Study to deconstruct techniques, whether or not it’s enterprise, legislation, media, or tradition. Don’t simply assume one thing is damaged or stacked in opposition to you. Perceive the way it works first.
When you grasp the mechanics, you’ll find your function and start to map out a path for change. The individuals who win on this house aren’t at all times the loudest. They’re those who research the sport earlier than they make their transfer.
To be taught extra about Jon Gosier or FilmHedge, go to: www.Filmhedge.com
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