DeepSummary
In this episode, Mike Rowe interviews Neil Harmon and Jeff Harmon, the founders of Angel Studios, a crowdfunded movie studio. They discuss their upbringing in a poor family of eleven children and how their entrepreneurial spirit led them to sell potatoes door-to-door as kids. The brothers then talk about their advertising agency, where they created viral videos for products like Poo-Pourri and Squatty Potty, and their venture into the movie industry with Vidangel, a service that allowed users to filter out objectionable content from movies.
The conversation turns to the $62 million lawsuit filed against them by major Hollywood studios for copyright infringement, which they fought by crowdfunding their legal defense through their customer base. Although they ultimately lost the lawsuit, it led them to start Angel Studios and their groundbreaking project, 'The Chosen,' a crowdfunded series about the life of Jesus that has become a global phenomenon.
The Harmon brothers explain the concept of the 'Angel Guild,' a community of over 250,000 members from 155 countries who vote on and fund the projects they want to see made. They discuss how this 'wisdom of the crowd' approach allows them to create content that resonates with their audience while mitigating the risks of traditional Hollywood studio models.
Key Episodes Takeaways
- Neil Harmon and Jeff Harmon, the founders of Angel Studios, came from a poor family of eleven children but had an entrepreneurial spirit from a young age, selling potatoes door-to-door as kids.
- Their advertising agency created viral marketing campaigns for products like Poo-Pourri and Squatty Potty, which led them to create Vidangel, a service that allowed users to filter out objectionable content from movies.
- Vidangel was sued by major Hollywood studios for copyright infringement, resulting in a $62 million lawsuit that the Harmon brothers fought by crowdfunding their legal defense through their customer base.
- Although they ultimately lost the lawsuit, it led them to start Angel Studios and their groundbreaking project, 'The Chosen,' a crowdfunded series about the life of Jesus that has become a global phenomenon.
- Angel Studios operates on a 'wisdom of the crowd' model, where a community of over 250,000 members from 155 countries, called the 'Angel Guild,' vote on and fund the projects they want to see made.
- This community-driven approach allows Angel Studios to create content that resonates with their audience while mitigating the risks of traditional Hollywood studio models.
- The Harmon brothers' journey highlights the disruptive power of crowdfunding and community-driven models in challenging traditional gatekeepers and empowering creators to bring their visions to life.
- Despite facing numerous obstacles, including legal battles and financial challenges, the Harmon brothers' perseverance and innovative thinking have allowed them to build a successful and unconventional movie studio.
Top Episodes Quotes
- “We don't want rape scenes in Game of Thrones, but my teenager wants to watch Game of Thrones, so I'm gonna pull out the rape scenes. And he got that. He said, oh, if the end user is the one doing it, rather than you as a company, you're just like, the control.“ by Neil Harmon
- “We were making them money, but they wanted us out. It was about the example.“ by Jeff Harmon
- “The guild measurement. There's a score, one to 100. That score tells you how passionate the group is about your show or your movie.“ by Neil Harmon
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Episode Information
The Way I Heard It with Mike Rowe
The Way I Heard It with Mike Rowe
4/2/24
The serial entrepreneurs and founders of Angel Studios talk about growing up poor in a family of eleven, how they went from selling potatoes door to door to being the ad agency of record for Poo-Pourri, Squatty Potty, and Orabrush, how they survived a $62 million lawsuit from four of the biggest studios in Hollywood, and how their Angel Guild is cracking the code to finding the next big film.
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