Today we’d like to introduce you to Luke Taylor.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Prior to founding BondIt Media Capital and Buffalo 8 Productions with my business partner, I was working in physical production for film and television.
I had previously been focused on the music industry – when I was in high school I ran my own recording studio out of my family’s basement and then attended the University of Southern California studying music business with the intention of going that route.
I had always been heavily interested in films / filmmakers and when I was going into my senior year of college, my future business partner, Matthew Helderman (who I knew through a family friend that is now Matt’s wife) called me to assist with his film he was directing and producing in Chicago. I jumped on a plane and we immediately hit it off as friends and partners. After graduating, Matt moved to LA and we started working together.
After working a few years freelancing in film production as assistant directors and line producers on low budget films, we decided to set up shop together and launched Buffalo 8.
Given we had no financial backing, we were required to be very scrappy / resourceful with our business model. We strictly offered services as physical producers, though were incredibly focused on our bolstering our brand and company image. The goal was to be involved with as many projects as we could and always have the Buffalo 8 branding as prominent as possible to build a presence.
We obsessively sought gigs online, networked with everyone and anyone, wrote “e-books” on our learnings as producers that we offered to the public at no cost, and most importantly, started to diversify our offerings as a company.
We began seeking strategic partners to help round out our capabilities as a company and build value – for instance; we found a post house that we’d run all of our projects through in exchange for office space, sales companies we’d partner with to simplify the process for emerging filmmakers and a small talent management company we acquired to create producing synergies. Anything valuable we didn’t have the direct skill set in, we’d seek a strategic partner that we’d find some type of creative deal with.
Although we were growing, we quickly realized there was a ceiling to what we were doing and if we wanted to move up a notch, we needed to put together a fund to provide the most important need for the industry – capital.
We discovered a unique and very niche financing opportunity in independent filmmaking that wouldn’t require too much capital to start – essentially providing short term loans to productions that had funds being held by the film unions until several months after they wrapped. We did a friends and family round of financing and quickly put together BondIt Media Capital.
We approached the market extremely aggressively, closing 70 deals in our first year. This led to producers inquiring about other financing and lending opportunities which we discovered were abundant. While larger banks and other alternative financiers were focused on the larger films, BondIt was tapping the untouched lower budget market that was unappealing to larger institutions.
Our focus then became fundraising in order to be involved with larger financing opportunities, while managing the day-to-day operations of both companies and keeping our presence and quality control as high as possible.
While we were able to source a few other financiers to assist with funding deals though BondIt, we realized we needed a highly sophisticated CFO to really move the needle. We were fortunate enough to bring on Patrick DePeters, a savvy and driven investment banker whom we had both known since childhood as our third partner. He was looking to be involved in a dynamic entrepreneurial company and this was a perfect fit.
With our new team member, BondIt was able to grow into significantly more sophisticated deal making while keeping the spirit and branding we had since day one. Two years later, we closed our permanent financing solution with a lending company out of Canada called Accord Financial; they purchased a stake in the business and provided us the capital we needed to grow into the robust business we are today.
BondIt Media Capital and Buffalo 8 continue to work synergistically, each opening up opportunities for each other and allowing for us as producers and business owners to accomplish our goal of providing a 360 approach to the film and media industry.
Has it been a smooth road?
Running your own business will always have struggles, it’s inevitable and comes with the territory.
The positive side of the struggles is what you learn on the other end.
One of the most significant lessons we’ve learned came out of a very difficult time during our first couple years of existence in Buffalo 8.
At the time, we were very linear with our business model – we were essentially “work for hire” producers that oversaw the physical making of the film, that’s it. We were hired to produce a project that was our biggest budget yet. It was the first job we were due to make a proper salary on and was going to help catapult the company to the next stage. Needless to say, we were incredibly excited about the opportunity.
The Executive Producers of the project gave us their blessing to start prep and provided us a bit of cash to get it moving. We hired crew, conducted location scouts, rented equipment, and moved into the casting phase. Although funds began to run low, we were continually assured it was safe to move forward. We had even made some “pay or play” offers to talent (meaning, they are paid regardless if the project moves forward) due to the assurance we received.
Two days before we were set to begin filming, we were notified that there were irreparable issues with the financing for the remainder of the project, and we needed to shut down. It was a massive blow. My partner and I then had the difficult and unpleasant task of both shutting down the project as well as resolving outstanding payments.
We had banked our entire business on one job that ultimately fell through and were unable to get another gig for several weeks. It was at that point we realized we needed to diversity our capabilities.
This ignited the most critical adjustment in our business – slightly pivot our model and seek strategic partners to provide services we did not know how to perform ourselves, though continue running all services, operations, and branding under our company banner.
We began picking up projects we would have previously not been involved with and found new ways of providing value and services to them.
This realization became a cornerstone for how we run both of our businesses to date – never put all of your eggs in one basket, always have irons in the fire, and keep the ability to pivot. We learned we need to be agile and know how to handle when marketplaces shift or deals die.
We remain adamant about this mentality and believe it has been integral to our growth and success.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
BondIt Media Capital:
BondIt is a specialty lending company in the film and media space.
BondIt provides a variety of loan types including; production loans, term loans, bridge loans, and advancing against receivables.
Our clients include individual film productions, production companies, sales companies, and various other companies in media.
As a company, BondIt is known for its professionalism, sophistication, and most importantly, agility.
Having a background in producing, we have an incredible sense of understanding for the challenges involved in film/tv and work to be as flexible and valuable as we can.
We’re incredibly proud of this approach and believe it’s a huge value-add for our clients.
Buffalo 8:
Buffalo 8 is a full-service media company focused in production, post-production, management and finance with films premiering and awarded at Sundance, Berlin, Toronto and SXSW.
At Buffalo 8, we are the fusion of entrepreneurial ethos and quality filmmaking. We lead talented, up-and-coming, ambitious storytellers with integrity, a commitment to first-class service, and a unified ambition to produce compelling content.
While we develop our own content, we also provide various services to assist filmmakers with packaging their project – whether they are emerging or veteran producers.
We are the most proud of how our diversified and resourceful approach has gotten us the opportunity to be involved with amazing projects with both high profile filmmakers as well as emerging talent. Whether we are assisting a third-party project, developing our own, or need to find a solution to get a project or request completed, we always find a way to get it done and we always provide value – this has led us down a path of having several well-performing theatrical releases as well as having titles premiere at nearly every top-notch festival.
Buffalo 8 is lean and mean – we’ve built the business from scratch and believe our ethic, structure, and diversified approach sets us apart from nearly every other production company.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
Los Angeles is absolutely the best city for our companies, especially given that we’re in the film and media industry.
Aside from the entertainment business, we believe Los Angeles is a naturally entrepreneurial city that promotes building businesses and personalities in many industries including tech, creative, and advertising. (To name just a few!)
It’s a beautiful and inspiring place that allows you to create your own path with little judgment or resistance. The city has an incredible start-up culture with various events, conferences, mixers, and many other networking opportunities with hard-working and creative peers.
I always suggest LA to folks looking to start their own businesses and will continue to do so.
Keep it up, LA!
Contact Info:
- Address: BondIt Media Capital & Buffalo 8
1639 11th St. #160
Santa Monica, CA 90404 - Website: www.bondit.us. www.buffalo8.com
- Phone: (213) 204-6552
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/buffalo8pro/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Buffalo8Pro
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/Buffalo8Pro?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
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