Creative projects: An exciting new asset class

Creative project investing in India today is at the same spot where start-up investing was about 5 years back

There is an explosion waiting to happen for new forms of cinema, theatre and other forms of art, that is drawing the best of talent from across the spectrum.

This new breed of creators are going to require investments from a whole new set of investors, who are willing to take bets on smaller budget productions and lesser known names, for projects that are viable both from creativity and profitability perspectives

As an active angel investor, I can see several similarities between investing in creative projects (films, theatre, events, documentaries, TV shows) and investments in start-up companies.

An investor’s decision to invest in both asset classes is driven by:

•  A great team
•  A promising idea/ concept
•  The revenue and profitability path
•  Available benchmark information
•  Investment along with several others minimizing individual exposure
•  And the understanding of inherent risks in the investment, while taking informed calls on potential high stake returns

What specifically should the investor look for when investing in a creative project?

• Team’s credentials
• Project’s package – genre/actors/director/dept heads etc
• Team’s willingness for transparency and open communication
• Team’s understanding of their target market
• Realistic budgets and timelines mentioned  
• Revenue projections – both domestic & foreign (high, mid range, low)
• Marketing, communications and distribution strategy
• Any partnerships/ contracts already in place
• Alternate/ digital monetization and distribution strategy

As this asset class attracts capital from a new class of investors, its growth will depend primarily on the transparency of investment, reporting and monitoring of progress and benchmarking information available at the hands of the investors.