On The Greatest Showman — And How It’s Oddly Similar To Our Startup Growth So Far
And what the movie can teach us about life, entrepreneurship, commitment and never giving up.
Before you read any further, let me begin with a bit of context:
18 months ago I co-founded a young company that’s on the ambitious mission to change the landscape of music entertainment in the Western Hemisphere.
Bit of a mouthful, I know. And it’s no easy mission. However, we’ll get back to this in a bit as it’s not too important (and not what you clicked to read about).
Let’s go back to January 2018 for a second. This was around the time I first went to watch “The Greatest Showman”; going into it without super high expectations, to be honest.
Never have I ever been so wrong about a movie.
And after buying the DVD last Christmas I realized how many parallels there are between the movie, startups, and my life in general. So many invaluable and beautiful lessons were brought to life. And I feel like most of us are a little bit “P.T Barnum”.
So buckle up, grab a nice cup of coffee or tea, get comfy and read along.
Index:
Chapter 1 — The Idea & Vision
Chapter 2 — Finding Partners
Chapter 3 — Validation, Brand-building & Financing
Chapter 4 — The Future!?
Chapter X — How You Can Become Part of the Circus
Chapter 1 — The Idea & Vision
It always starts with an idea and a huge vision. And for protagonist P.T. Barnum (played by Hugh Jackman) his humble beginnings are no different. He too starts dreaming and envisioning a crazy world.
[Chorus: Young P.T./Ellis Rubin]
Every night I lie in bed
The brightest colors fill my head
A million dreams are keeping me awake
I think of what the world could be
A vision of the one I see
A million dreams is all it’s gonna take
A million dreams for the world we’re gonna make
It started out similarly for myself. After living in South Korea and the US for over seven years I came back to Europe, Berlin, tired and disillusioned about many things. Through a mutual friend and many coincidences, I ended up meeting my co-founder and business partner Maxim. We bonded over the question:
“Why’s nothing really groundbreaking coming out of the US or Europe (in terms of music) anymore?”
The colourful times of the last big “real” idol artists or boy groups like the Backstreet Boys, N’Sync, New Kids on the Block or girl groups like Destiny’s Child, Spice Girls, etc. seem to be a thing of the past now. Over a decade later their songs are still being played up and down at parties everywhere in the world and shaped a whole generation of teens and adults (including myself).
So where are teenies today getting their fix of multitalented “idol stars” who can sing, dance, act and entertain?
They go K-Pop.
If you’re currently asking yourself “Aehm pardon what’s that?” let me help you out: K-Pop (Korean Pop) started out as a music genre but now spearheads an even bigger cultural movement and lifestyle called “Hallyu” or the “Korean Wave”. And it’s not just about music but also film, fashion, beauty and food.
K-Pop has been growing exponentially over the last three decades and was first brought into the international limelight in 2010 through Psy’s viral megahit ‘Gangnam Style’. Recently the record-breaking international success stories of the 7 member boy group “BTS” and the girl group “Black Pink” have also made headlines as they’ve garnered millions of young fans in Asia, the US and Europe.
The Western Music Industry
Looking deeper into the inner workings of the western music industry, you quickly realize that it’s still one of the most unfair and inefficient industries that still exist to this day.
Yikes. Pretty crazy, huh? Even Jared Leto went on to make an entire documentary called Artifact about the brutal inner workings of the music industry.
“Artists generate so much money, for so many people that have nothing to do with the creative process at all.”
We’re even at the point where many experts and artists argue that labels are becoming obsolete; I wouldn’t go that far though. After all, talent will always need the right producers around them to succeed.
The First Low Point
But I digress. After observing the above for some time, I also found myself lying up awake at night, envisioning the future and what it should look like. By the time I saw “The Greatest Showman”, we had already spent six long months on our business. And while doing so, despite having lots of late nights and fun, we naturally had some highs and lows. I myself actually ended up in a hospital for over a month with an immune system overreaction for working too much and having to manage several jobs just to make ends meet.
But my co-founder and I had very vivid pictures of a future “world waiting up for us” in our heads, which keep us going through rough patches and not giving up. We were joking around, how it would be, for instance, to be on the red carpet at the Grammys or backstage at one of our artists’ concerts in a foreign country. For sure, all these pictures in our heads kept us going.
So here the first quick life lesson to round out this first chapter:
If you want something, visualize it in as much detail as you possibly can. If you can’t visualize it down to the smallest factor, you’re either not prepared enough or you honestly don’t even know what you want.
“You can’t hit a target if you don’t know what it is.”
― Tony Robbins
Chapter 2 — Finding Partners
Life is a pitch! Now that you’ve got your pictures in mind and you’ve (hopefully) dedicated some time to write them down and visualize them fully, it’s time to go and “pitch”. Shout it out into the world, and don’t be scared of what others might think or that others will “steal your idea”. Remember that the upside of telling others will always be much higher than the potential downsides. An idea is maybe 5%; executing the idea properly the other 95%.
A Million Dreams — [Pre-Chorus: Young P.T./Ellis Rubin]
They can say, they can say it all sounds crazy
They can say, they can say I’ve lost my mind
I don’t care, I don’t care, so call me crazy
We can live in a world that we design
And that’s exactly what we did. I mean, first of all, I had to convince my now co-founder of this venture. New team members tend to ask how that went down. Well once the idea started growing, I remembered about that one guy I kept running into at social occasions having a music producer’s background and track record. I called him up, set a meeting, did my presentation and showed him all the crazy pictures I had in mind. I also told him that I need his skills and insight to make it happen.
Even though I sold it well, I believe my energy and passion was what got him on board. We talked for a total of 2 hours and after a mere ten minutes after he left, a message popped up on my phone stating “I’m in, I think this could work”.
For sure, one of my best personal moments in 2017.
Building A Team
Also, in the same manner, The Greatest Showman shows what lengths P.T. Barnum goes through to bring together his kick-ass team. He demonstrates that you have to stay persistent and consistently track down the right people. After all, only teamwork will get the ball rolling and your idea out into the world.
Therefore, the song “The Other Side” is also one of my favourite scenes in the movie, as it beautifully displays the three key stages: an initial pitch, negotiation and the final deal (in reality it takes longer than 3 minutes though). And beware, founder equity splits are science and art at the same time, and many make terrible mistakes here. If you’re a first-time founder and need pointers do feel free to reach out.
[Verse 1: P.T. Barnum]
Right here, right now
I put the offer out
I don’t want to chase you down
I know you see it
You run with me
And I can cut you free
Out of the treachery and walls you keep in
So trade that typical for something colorful
And if it’s crazy, live a little crazy
You can play it sensible, a king of conventional
Or you can risk it all and see
Also, this same topic of “waking up” and redefining your own life and happiness is expressed in one of the lesser-known but also truly wonderful songs “Come Alive”. We all might have felt like that at some point in our lives, lost in a maze going through the same routines and feeling empty. Realizing this and really understanding it, is actually also very empowering. Personally, it took me a long time until I really understood what that meant, and it really helped me move away from being pessimistic about life in general.
[Verse 1: P.T. Barnum]
You stumble through your days
Got your head hung low
Your skies a shade of grey
Like a zombie in a maze
You’re asleep inside
But you can shake awake[Pre-Chorus: P.T. Barnum]
’Cause you’re just a dead man walking
Thinking that’s your only option
But you can flip the switch and brighten up your darkest day
Sun is up and the color’s blinding
Take the world and redefine it
Leave behind your narrow mind
You’ll never be the same
But the movie isn’t just all about dreams, risks, and business. Fundamentally it’s really about LOVE and TRUST. In the spectacular love and couple song “Rewrite the Stars” performed by Zac Efron and Zendaya, these two keywords are interwoven elegantly again with the topic of “rewriting the conventional” and overcoming the seemingly impossible (racial segregation at that time).
At the beginning of any crazy endeavour, trust is the first pre-requisite. Trust your business partner (if you’re not alone) but also trust in your own capabilities, beliefs, and character.
The First Round Of Important Meetings
After the first six long months of building a small team and ideating, conceptualizing, visualizing and putting everything onto paper, we started to go into meetings.
The reactions were of course mixed. From truly excited glowing faces to some who just kept on nodding — but didn’t understand everything — and a few outright negatives. Usually, that response we’d receive from investment-related people. They like to claim that they don’t sugarcoat, but history shows time and time again that investors constantly make mistakes and pass on great opportunities.
“I personally do not invest in entertainment or media” (Some startup mentor & investor)
“I like you guys, but it’s too big, I don’t think you can make it” (Investor who actually had produced artists / boy groups and TV formats before)
“Interesting, cool but not at this point in time” (What you hear the most)
We never took any feedback personally and actually appreciated it. We used it to reshape common misunderstandings we were having and adjusted a couple of beliefs. All of this helped the people we met afterwards understand and commit faster.
Before we continue though, I’ve got to say thank you to those who said no. Rejection is the hardest but also best teacher. That’s if you take it in, analyse it and begin improving upon it. And reward those who took a shot at you when there was nothing and remember who helped you when there was nothing.
The First Big Partner
So while doing these meetings, I started tirelessly scouring the internet, while also working part-time at a call centre for a few months. I was also exploring the city of Berlin as much as possible on foot and bike to look for spaces where we could settle in the long run and that could help us bring our dream to life.
Even though it looked dark at times, dedication, an almost strange belief in ourselves, and out-of-the-box thinking eventually paid off big time. In late Winter I finally discovered a spectacular space, which had been lost and forgotten for a long time.
I’m speaking about Funkhaus Berlin. This massive old DDR broadcasting station was abandoned and only switched owners three years ago. Naturally, they’ve been silently investing heavily into infrastructure and it’s on track to become the biggest music centre in the world.
This wonderland for music & the arts is even larger than The Palace of Versailles. The Black Eyed Peas, Depeche Mode and Sting have all been here and it’s also home to big (yearly) events like Tech Open Air. The owners are also powerful and tough real estate moguls with a passion for music and incredibly selective about who gets to move in.
With a bit of luck, I was able to get in touch with one of the elusive owners and my first meeting with him (actually one day before NYE 2018) turned out to be the “Pitch of My Life”. I was thanking myself for all the good preparation beforehand because those five minutes were the opener to so many good things.
Almost right after the meeting, we moved into a small sponsored project office and have since then been kicking off our core business (see more in the next chapter).
Remember, it took us six months of experimentation, testing, and trial & error to get here. And it was perfect timing as I could already feel the team getting impatient. After all, the complex harsh reality that there’s no “free lunch” needs to be learnt first.
Chapter 3 — Validation, Brand-building & Financing
Building any company is fucking painful. Why? Because for long periods you’re spending all your time, energy and money on an endeavour that only maybe will pay off down the road.
Elon Musk likes to talk about how “starting a company is like eating glass and looking into the abyss” and “you need a very high pain threshold”. This is very true for the first many years and even more so if you don’t have the luxury of much-needed capital to start out with.
The reality then becomes you maxing out your credit cards and working several projects just to make ends meet. That very much also applied to me. But you really have to stay calm and believe in your own problem-solving capabilities, especially when facing adversity.
Luckily, many (successful) individuals have already gone down that path before. Not only are we able to learn from their mistakes but it’s given us all different roadmaps that help us stay on track. The somewhat ideal lifecycle of a start-up, for example, looks something like this:
And I’m really happy to say that even with our mammoth of a project, we’re right on trajectory. One thing is leading to another and the pace is picking up. And after spending around 6 months in the discovery stage, we’ve now been focusing on validating and developing our first “products” for the last 12 months. Our core team grew to 6 people and our extended team to 10. I’m also proud to say that we’ve managed to come this far being self-financed.
Journeys Are Difficult Wherever You Look
While we’re still on the subject of startup journeys, let’s have a closer look at what it took for Hugh Jackman to get the movie made. For example, many people aren’t aware that it took nearly 8 years to get The Greatest Showman from concept to the big screens. The hardest part being it getting a green light for financing from the studios.
I was a bit surprised, to be honest. Who would’ve thought that somebody with a track record like Hugh Jackman would still get such pushback?
But that just goes to show that even at his level you still have to go through the mental rollercoaster we all know too well. From building the concept and getting other people excited, to convincing financiers and assembling a kick-ass team. Going from pre- to post-production and only then if everything was executed properly, you might see a promising final product.
And as a startup, you’ve got to think or come up with new, fresh or unconventional ways to do this.
Quick side story: before we wrap this up, let me tell you about our biggest fuckup of 2018. Last summer we had our first 2 major offline events and a major German TV station decided to document the whole process.
And of course, as luck would have it, after recording over 4 days of content and making all the necessary preparations, an internal backup server mess-up deleted the complete 10-minute piece before it ever aired.
The director who wanted to support us was devastated as well. That would’ve been a cool (free) 2M+ media reach and publicity.
Chapter 4 — The Future!?
Sometimes I also feel like a P.T. Barnum.
Continuously riding the fine balance between being a dreamer with a plan, or being an “impostor”, like the real P.T. Barnum was called at times. Preaching that the impossible is possible if we work hard enough, use our brains and persevere.
And hell yeah I want to be the “director of a circus”. What could be more fun than being in a “circus” every day?
There really isn’t anything else I’d rather be doing. Of course, without pursuing this endeavour, my last 18 months would’ve definitely been less stressful but also totally boring. And I’m looking forward to doing this for a long long time and hope that others around me think so too. There’s nothing more valuable than knowing your purpose and what you want to achieve in your life. Never forget:
“Man’s greatest burden is unfulfilled potential.”
— Dan Peña
And finally, let’s smoothly finish this off by borrowing the lyrics from the opening and ending anthem — “ The Greatest Show.”
The Greatest Show
[ENSEMBLE & P.T. BARNUM]
Where it’s covered in all the colored lights
Where the runaways are runnin’ the night
Impossible comes true, it’s takin’ over you
Oh, this is the greatest show
We light it up, we won’t come down
And the sun can’t stop us now
Watchin’ it come true, it’s takin’ over you
Oh, this is the greatest show
That’s all for now.
Sincerely,
Klaus H. Wilch
Thank you to the team & friends:
Maxim Boelter, Inigo Usoa, Michael du Toit, Louie Van Niewenbourgh, Jorge Estupinan, Gillian Fang, Rio de Sierra, Max Jackwerth, Athena Strates, Dr. Moritz Mentzel
Thank you to my family and close friends, you all know who you are.
Chapter X — How You Can Become Part of the Circus
Well hello there, glad you’re still here.
Before you scroll further, let me exercise my curiosity and ask you a question: “How much P.T. Barnum is within you?”
Because my guess is: probably a lot more than you think.
Want to become a co-owner of the circus?
Then make sure you sign up to our private investor’s newsletter here.
Around mid-2019 we’ll be running a huge additional equity campaign on the next generation stock exchange platform Neufund. Here anyone in the world can invest and become a shareholder of new innovative companies. Ticket prices start as low as €500 a share.
So if you’re interested in becoming a part of our content universe and producing a spectacular world of artists, brands and experiences; make sure you get on that list.
You can also send any other inquiries to ir@blackone-entertainment.com
Know anyone who’s talented at dancing, singing, or both?
Send them over to www.blackoneaudition.com
Spread the word and love. Thanks a lot!
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