Exploring Life & Business with Casey McDougal of WoAccelerator

Today we’d like to introduce you to Casey McDougal.

Hi Casey, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today.
I moved to LA five years ago for my acting career. I worked on various films and tv shows, but when the pandemic hit and things slowed down drastically, I had to re-evaluate a bit until auditions came back!

I was speaking to my college classmate, Jeremy Andrews, an entrepreneur, about possible next steps. We began brainstorming about creating a business for screenwriters and producers to connect, which is when our business, WoAccelerator, was born.

We created our own platform for screenwriters to sell their scripts on our private marketplace. Vetted producers can then join the platform as well to look for their next great script to produce. This process allows us to streamline the process of getting materials in front of people who can produce them, and also gives us the ability to review a large number of scripts and screen them, allowing only high-quality content on our platform.

The main goal of our company is to create a community of artists who can connect, potentially work together on multiple projects, take classes, and collaborate on film and television projects.

What’s cool about this business is we all work remotely all over the world (NY, LA, North Carolina, Bulgaria, Nigeria, UK, etc). We walk our talk, which is that we want to connect talented people all over the world so their hard work and big dreams have a way to manifest their goals in a tangible way.

Personally, I write every day, work on my acting craft, and greatly value any time I get to be on set and work with like-minded individuals.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
As with anything related to the entertainment industry, it’s not always a smooth road. But I have learned that when I follow my instincts and get out of my own way, everything falls into place.

I’ve worked as an actor, stand-in, and production assistant, and produced some of my own work. The best experiences come from a willingness to learn, say yes, be a team player, and have an overall good attitude.

I started a non-profit theater company (batedbreath.org) with a group of theater professionals from the ground up. I had to learn a lot along the way. The same is true of WoAccelerator. I am learning a lot and also finding ways to become a better leader and business partner every day.

To me, challenges are opportunities to dig deep and learn more about myself.

As you know, we’re big fans of WoAccelerator. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Our main objective is to simplify the process of script purchase by helping screenwriters hone their skills to write production-ready scripts and putting those scripts in front of producers through our unique marketplace.

Unlike other services that charge per uploaded script, we are working on a subscription platform that allows the screenwriter to upload as many scripts as they want…however, we only accept scripts that receive a certain score from our script analysts to be allowed on our marketplace.

Screenwriters can also rest assured knowing that every producer allowed on our marketplace is vetted by our team to ensure that they have the most successful experience possible.

We are looking for people with unique perspectives and engaging stories. While an extensive resume is great, we are more concerned with working with screenwriters who have drive, and ambition and want to be successful on their own terms.

Currently, we offer a lot of free educational content in our newsletter and social media, and ongoing screenwriting classes. However, taking a class is not required in order to submit to our marketplace.

This has been a project year in the making, born out of the pandemic, so we are excited to bring screenwriters and producers on board. We recently finished beta testing and are ready to launch this fall.

How can people work with you, collaborate with you, or support you?
If people want to work with us, we highly suggest checking out our website www.woaccelerator.com and learning more about us there. We are also on Instagram and my business partner, Jeremy Andrews, and I are open to setting up meetings with producers, or answering questions from screenwriters, etc. You can always email us anytime.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.woaccelerator.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/_woaccelerator_

Image Credits
David Noles Photography