We're so back! An update from Film Finder⚡️

Hello Everyone! 👋🏾

I hope you’ve been enjoying the sun this spring, which has come by so fast!

I thought I’d start updating you on how things are going with Film Finder to keep you in the loop. I’ll keep it brief so that it's a short and sweet read.

Team

It feels like we’re starting from scratch… In the last email I sent, I was in a team of two. Some months went by and I was in a team of 1. I knew Film Finder’s chance for success would be hampered if this remained to be the case so I made it my mission to assemble a team. In a matter of months, and with the help of a great friend and sponsor, we went from just me to a team of 5. We now have a software developer, a software developer intern, a UX designer, a product designer, and a product manager (me). We’re working in an agile way, and we’re releasing updates often.

Business

We’re now backed by Sky, Barclays, and the University of Southampton:

• We completed the Sky x BEO F100 Growth Fund which taught us everything from marketing to investment readiness. We concluded the programme by delivering a pitch to a room of investors and key stakeholders. They gave us a grant which has helped us fund Film Finder.
• We joined Barclays Eagle Labs Funding Readiness Programme (in partnership with Capital Enterprise and funded by the UK GOV) - a key step as we prepare to welcome outside investment to fuel our growth. This programme is guiding us in identifying the most suitable funding route, navigating the process effectively, and securing the resources we need to accelerate our expansion.
• We’re also part of Barclays Eagle Labs Product Builder Programme (in partnership with Plexal and funded by the UK GOV). This marks another significant step forward as we continue our journey towards achieving product-market fit and delivering exceptional value to our users.
• The University of Southampton has sponsored one of our newest team members, Dmytro! He’s currently studying Computer Science with Artificial Intelligence at the University of Southampton, and this is a great opportunity for him to put theory into practice. He’ll be working alongside us for four months, building new features, squashing bugs, and enhancing our app’s performance, helping us move closer to our mission: helping you find great films at lightning speed ⚡

Product

• We’ve released Film Finder 2.0 which includes a lot of things that you all requested throughout the years
• What are the new updates?
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  • If you're casually looking for a film, check out the home page for personalised film recommendations that are popular and trending. This includes films in cinemas and on streaming sites
  • Use the search page to browse by genre, search for specific films, cast members, and crew members (e.g., film directors)
  • If you opt into notifications, we’ll send you a recommendation of the week via push notification!
  • A more streamlined and nicer design - because we got actual designers this time
  • We’re trying to build our app around real people so we’ve got a list of 20+ people that are giving us ongoing feedback. If you’d like to join that group of people let us know!

Remember, our goal is to reduce your film-search time to under five minutes. Let us know how we’re doing!
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Download Film Finder
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Thanks for reading!

Best,

Samuel, Founder & CEO at Film Finder