Seed&Spark

Seed&Spark is a crowdfunding and subscription video-on-demand platform focused on film and television, launched in 2012. Creators use the platform to build audiences and raise money, while audiences can stream movies and shows on demand. Unlike general-purpose crowdfunding sites such as Kickstarter and Indiegogo, Seed&Spark is purpose-built for film and TV: campaign pages function like a registry, presenting backers with a budget broken out into specific "WishList" items and their costs, and allowing backers to contribute cash or lend particular items to a production.

Alongside the creator platform and free educational resources, the company offers distribution products aimed at organizations, including Film Forward and Impact Screening Experiences, which bring films into workplaces to support inclusive culture and training programs. Film Forward was launched in 2020 as an enterprise SaaS platform delivering films at scale for workplace training, employee intelligence and executive insights, with clients cited including Wells Fargo, Western Governors University and Verizon Media. The company also runs a Patrons Circle through which established filmmakers and industry veterans can directly support projects from its creator community.

Founding story

Emily Best created the Seed&Spark prototype together with Caroline Von Kuhn and Liam Brady in 2010 while raising financing for the feature film Like the Water; the film raised $23,000 in 30 days via the platform. Best's background included managing a $5 million-per-year restaurant and five years with the strategic consultancy Best Partners before applying that experience to helping storytellers raise capital and build audiences.

Business model

Seed&Spark operates a two-sided model: a crowdfunding and streaming platform for independent film and television creators, and an enterprise offering that licenses films and screening experiences to organizations. Creators run campaigns structured around a "WishList" of budgeted items, and the company takes a 5% fee on successfully funded projects, which supporters may elect to cover. Distribution agreements with creators are non-exclusive, subject to a condition that titles on Seed&Spark not be distributed free elsewhere online. On the enterprise side, Film Forward is sold as a SaaS platform delivering films into workplaces for training, employee intelligence and executive insights.

Revenue comes from a 5% fee on successfully funded crowdfunding campaigns and from enterprise sales of its Film Forward SaaS platform and Impact Screening Experiences to corporate clients. Reported trailing-twelve-month revenue was $1 million as of its Gust profile, and a third-party estimate placed annual revenue in the $1M-$10M range as of August 2026.

Traction

The platform launched with 11 distributed films and 15 crowdfunding campaigns and channeled more than $300,000 to projects in its first six months. Reported platform metrics include a 75% campaign success rate and an average raise of $14,700 per project. The company reported $1 million in trailing-twelve-month revenue and 16 employees on its Gust profile, with enterprise clients including Wells Fargo, Western Governors University and Verizon Media; a third-party directory estimated roughly 20 employees and $1M-$10M revenue as of August 2026.

Latest developments

In November 2025, Seed&Spark partnered with Kinema, Inc. on The Distribution Playbook, and Picture Motion collaborated with the company on crowdfunding campaigns for two films. Seed&Spark is also listed as a presenter, alongside Gold House, of the AAPI Renaissance Rally.