How two film students turned 60k into 248 million

This is the spooky story of how two film students turned 60k into 248 million.

(I know I know, that sounds like the start of some broetry on Linkedin— but I promise, this is the kind of wild early stage startup story you need to hear.)

*pats seat* come sit next to me at the campfire. The Blair Witch Project came out in 1999.

It’s a found footage film about 3 documentary film students who head to the woods to investigate a legend— The Blair Witch.

And, it’s everything an early stage startup needs to be: scrappy, creative, and focused on creating real demand. Here’s how:

Scrappy

The movie was made for 60k. The directors actually went back to Circuit City to return some of the camcorders the actors used to make the found footage. They wanted to film a twist ending, but they ran out of money so they stuck with what they had and made it work. 

Creative

The filmmakers needed to get The Blair Witch Project into a film festival. With no money, how do you do that?

Build a word of mouth engine to top Facebook in 2005.

First, you plant a seed that your found footage movie might just be real. The three actors weren’t in anything for a full year before the film came out. Their IMBD profiles listed them as “missing”. 

Then, they plastered missing posters for each of the actors all over Park City Utah, where The Sundance Film Festival is held.

Finally, they built a very homemade website to chronicle the myth of the Blair Witch, and the “disappearance” of the three actors— updating it constantly with “discovered” tapes and “archival footage”, and a journal by one of the actors. You can peek at it here. 

The Blair Witch Project was the first horror movie to be screened at Sundance, and got picked up by a studio for 1.1 million.

Creating real demand

The film only opened to 27 screens. That scarcity created a frenzy with college students who drove hours to see it. That got local media attention, which ramped up the demand for more screenings.

When it launched to a wider audience, it raked in 36 million.

In total, The Blair Witch Project made 248 million. On 60k, returned camcorders, a janky site, and a lot of creativity. 

If you’re a marketer or a founder looking for your first 1000 customers— ask:

1. What resources do I have that I can use before spending more budget?
2. How can I creatively drive word of mouth growth? 
3. What would creating true scarcity look like for my brand?

And a little sorcery help, of course. It is the season of the witch.