Still behind the scenes, this time online.
A former producer in B.C.’s film industry, Colleen Nystedt’s latest venture is turning the heads of private equity investors and entrepreneurs in the technology community
Posted Feb 18, 2009
By Curt Cherewayko | Photograph by Quinn Bender
Colleen Nystedt’s business background is in film production, but her latest venture has her facing the trials and tribulations of a dot-com startup.
Nystedt founded Vancouver’s MovieSet Inc. in 2004 and has spent the years since building the new media company and its flagship technology – a web portal where movie fans can track the creation of films from development through to the box office.
As a one-time prolific producer, Nystedt remains well-connected in show biz.
In fact, as the head of a company whose success hinges on its ability to attract movie fans (and the advertisers who chase them), Nystedt arguably hasn’t left show biz.
Some of MovieSet’s early investors include B.C. film industry notables Kirk Shaw, CEO of Insight Film Studios, and Shawn Williamson, principal of Brightlight Pictures.
As well, a troop of stunt co-ordinators, camera operators, makeup artists, entertainment lawyers and other film colleagues from Nystedt’s film production days have invested in the company.
“They know how badly we need to bring the film industry online, and they understand the impediments to that happening both from a technology and a work-flow perspective,” said Nystedt, of her film colleagues and their support of MovieSet.
Proving her credibility beyond the film industry, Nystedt raised ) $3.5 million in financing last summer – with an option for an additional $1.5 million in 2009 – in a venture round led by Rho Canada and syndicated by the British Columbia Discovery Fund.
Nystedt entered the film industry in 1983, after getting a behind-the-scenes glimpse of filmmaking while her family house was used as a set location.
It was a career U-turn for Nystedt: she had completed a master of arts in urban planning and was following her father’s footsteps into urban development.
After five years as a freelance producer, she founded New City Productions (”nystedt” is Swedish for “new city”) and built it into one of Western Canada’s most prolific production houses. She personally produced 16 films over 12 years and was a location manager, executive producer or production manager for dozens of other movies.
She sold New City to the Sextant Entertainment Group in 2000, and was president of Sextant’s motion picture division until 2003. The following year, she reclaimed her New City brand from Sextant and founded a new incarnation of New City.
Nystedt shifted her attention to solving the problems at the back end of filmmaking – in distribution.
She changed the name of the company to MovieSet and focused the company’s resources on developing the MovieSet portal.
There, film producers can post filming schedules, photos and other information about a movie’s production and cultivate a fan base before a movie is even in production.
“Every movie has a core audience, and the Internet is the most strategic tool to identify and engage with that audience,” said Nystedt.
Charles Cook, manager of the discovery fund said that there are two key fundamentals that venture capitalists examine when investing in a company: the people within the company and the market opportunity.
“What we’re looking for aren’t people who are great coders. We’re looking for people with business vision and entrepreneurial tenacity,” said Cook. “I don’t think I’ve met – male or female – many entrepreneurs more tenacious than Colleen.”
Nystedt’s key strength is in content delivery, according to Cook, because of her strong relationships in the film industry. It’s yet to be seen if Nystedt can draw the consumers who, in turn, will draw the advertisers to MovieSet. (e company continues to roll out new features on its portal on a weekly basis and is timing the portal’s consumer launch with the Cannes International Film Festival in May.
Nystedt was at the Canadian Financing Forum on January “- trying to persuade venture capitalists to inject another )” million to )* million into MovieSet in the second quarter of 2009 to see it through its last months of development.
Her 15 minute pitch at the forum resulted in MovieSet winning the Forum Favourite Award for best information technology company.
Five questions: Colleen Nystedt
What boards are you on?
I have been on the City of Vancouver’s Development Permit Board Advisory Panel as a representative of the general public for the past three years.
What sparked your involvement on these boards?
The Development Permit Board’s creation goes back to my father, Dr. Walter G. Hardwick’s days on city council. I grew up in Vancouver politics and studied urban geography at UBC, following in my father’s footsteps.
What challenges have you faced in your career?
Learning a new business language and culture; shifting from the motion picture industry to new media and technology. Having spent a decade-plus establishing credibility in the film industry, I had to start all over again in the circles of technology and venture capital. Neither understands the other particularly well.
What are the main charities you support?
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Canadian Mental Health Association and Big Sisters of Canada.
How would your parents describe you?
Passionate and doggedly persistent.