FAQ - Legion M Basics
Frequently asked questions about Legion M and
what it means to be a member or investor
What is Legion M?
Legion M is the world’s first FAN-OWNED entertainment company. With over 150,000 members and 40,000+ investors, we're using revolutionary new securities laws enabled by the JOBS Act to give the public a first-time opportunity to own a piece of the entertainment business. Our shareholders own a stake in the company and our slate of projects that include Kevin Smith, Stan Lee, Anne Hathaway, Nicolas Cage, David Tennant, Dean Devlin, Simon Pegg, Williams Shatner, and more.
What do you mean by “Fan-Owned”?
Unlike most entertainment companies, Legion M has been designed to be owned by FANS rather than corporate investors. Our goal is to open the gates of Hollywood, and let fans be a part of the industry they love. We believe an entertainment company owned by a large group of fans has advantages over those that are owned by Wall Street.
After all, fans are the ones who buy the tickets, pay the subscriptions, and fuel the multi-trillion dollar global entertainment industry. Individually, each of us is just a consumer, but TOGETHER WE HAVE THE POWER TO SHAPE THE FUTURE OF HOLLYWOOD!
What does the “M” stand for?
Our mission is baked into our logo. The “M” with a bar over it is the Roman numeral for one million, because our long-term goal is to unite one million fans as shareholders of the company. If (when!) we’re successful in achieving that goal, we’ll have raised hundreds of millions of dollars to invest in film and TV projects that have a million fans standing behind them. We believe this could make us one of the most influential companies in Hollywood!
How do one million fans make a difference?
From Star Wars to Pitch Perfect, a BUILT-IN AUDIENCE is one of the most valuable assets in Hollywood. Our goal is to create a company with a built-in audience for everything we do.
By giving fans an ownership stake in the company and a voice in the process, we’re cultivating an audience that is both financially and emotionally invested in the success of our projects. An audience like this has the potential to create authentic grassroots buzz that a studio would kill for, but money can’t buy. And the the bigger that audience gets, the more powerful it becomes.
In addition, having a large community of investors allows us to leverage the “wisdom of the crowd” to make better decisions. Tools like M-Pulse and Film Scout give our shareholders a voice in the direction of the company, and give us invaluable data to use for decisions typically made solely by gut feel and intuition.
How is this different from Kickstarter?
With Kickstarter projects, you make a donation in return for a perk or presale of the product, without any expectation of a financial return. With Legion M, you are buying shares of stock in the company. Any ROI is tied to the long-term value of your stock if we are able to IPO (or have some other listing/exit) in the future. So if we’re successful, you can share in that success.
How is this different from investing in Disney or Sony?
When a fan invests in Legion M, they become a shareholder of the company. This isn’t new—people have had the chance to invest in public companies like Disney and Sony for decades. What’s new is that Legion M is the first entertainment company in history designed from the ground up to be owned by a large group of FANS rather than venture capitalists, wealthy individuals, or Wall Street investors. We believe a company owned by fans has a competitive advantage when it comes to selecting entertainment projects and bringing them to market.
In addition, Legion M is an early stage startup, which means you are “getting in on the ground floor”. It’s like investing in Disney—not now but back when it was just Walt and Roy. This is much different than investing in public companies listed on the NYSE and NASDAQ. It’s a MUCH riskier bet, but if we’re successful, the potential for rewards are MUCH greater.
Who runs the company?
Legion M was founded by Paul Scanlan (CEO) and Jeff Annison (President). Terri Lubaroff is our COO and David Baxter is VP of Development. Click here to see the full team.
Paul and Jeff (along with one other cofounder) previously cofounded MobiTV, the first company to bring live and on-demand TV to mobile devices. MobiTV started as 3 guys working out of spare room and grew into a worldwide leader in streaming video with more than 400 employees and offices around the world.
Together, Paul and Jeff have founded 3 startups, created more than 500 jobs, raised $140 million in venture capital for their previous companies, made the Forbes list of "Names You Should Know," and won an Emmy Award for Innovation in Television (in 2005 as cofounders of MobiTV).
Paul Scanlan
Cofounder/CEO
Jeff Annison
Cofounder/President
Terri Lubaroff
COO
David Baxter
VP of Development
Who are your advisors?
The men and women of Legion M’s Advisory Board have centuries of combined experience between them and have generated billions of dollars of box office revenue around the globe! Between them, they’ve partnered with or sat across the table from just about everyone in the industry. Their vast experience has been invaluable in opening doors for us and making introductions, as well as providing guidance and insights into one of the most complex and competitive industries on the planet.
How many investors do you have?
At present, we have over 40,000 investors, a number which has grown exponentially each year. We also have more than 150,000 (and growing) free members who help to support the company and our projects.
What’s the difference between being an investor and a free member?
Joining as a free member allows you to become part of the Legion M community with access to our events, discussions, focus groups and other activities. There is no cost or obligation, and you are welcome to stay a free member as long as you like! If you haven’t already, join as a free member today!
If you choose to invest, it means that you have a financial stake in the company. If we’re successful, you could potentially make money. We also reserve some of our really special exclusives (i.e. set visits, red carpet premieres, special screenings, etc…) exclusively for investors. Note that you can only invest in Legion M when a round is open. For more information, please go to the investment portal at startengine.com/legionm.
What do I get for joining or investing in Legion M?
Everyone gets:
Access to the members-only area of our website and our members-only Facebook group where you can interact with our core team and other members of the Legion.
Invitations to in-person events such as: movie premieres, advance screenings, event lounges (Film Festivals, Comic Cons, etc.), meetups with the core team, and Q&A with producers, directors, and cast.
The ability to provide input on our proposed projects, and offer suggestions and ideas for properties we should consider.
Invitations to exclusive online events such as livestreams and Q&A sessions with producers and directors.
Chances to win things like a trip to Hollywood for a movie premiere or a visit to a movie set.
Opportunities to help Legion M by scouting films, volunteering to organize local meetups, staffing our events — and more!
If you choose to invest, you also get:
A financial stake in the company — if we’re successful, you can earn a return on your investment.
Exclusive opportunities (like premieres, set visits, and merchandise) available only to investors.
Do shareholders have a voice in making decisions?
Yes! We want to involve the Legion whenever possible to get their views and insights on projects and decisions we are considering. Tools like M-Pulse and Film Scout give our community the ability to vote on projects and content they want to see. We also invite the community to give us feedback, suggestions, and ideas at any time via our members-only Facebook group and other social media channels.
We believe involving fans in our decisions doesn’t just make us DIFFERENT than other entertainment companies, it makes us BETTER. In most companies, decisions are made by a single person, or a small group, and are based primarily on “gut feel” and intuition. With Legion M, we can leverage the “wisdom of the crowd” to make better decisions for the company and all its shareholders.
Can I submit my screenplay/film/idea to Legion M?
We're a fan-owned company, but not one that relies on fans to create the content. We love the idea of providing a way for shareholders to submit scripts, but it's just not practical at this time. We're only a very small team and most of the projects we're involved with don't start at the script stage, so we're not really looking at scripts at all right now.
Someday we hope to create infrastructure that allows us to solicit scripts from our community, but we're not there yet. Still, we don’t suggest investing solely because you are hoping for an opportunity to get a project made. Our ultimate goal is to unite one million fans as shareholders of the company and if we are successful in that, it would be impossible for us to produce projects for everyone. In the meantime, you can sign up here to get an alert if we do have a call for submissions.
Can I work or appear in a Legion M production?
Whenever possible, we give first dibs on jobs/roles to members of the Legion. Sometimes we have access to these sort of opportunities (for example, we helped members of the Legion M community get roles as extras in Jay and Silent Bob Reboot, crew and extras on Archenemy, and extras on Nandor Fodor and the Talking Mongoose), and other times we don’t.
So we wouldn’t recommend joining Legion M solely in the hopes of getting a gig. That said, many of our members are in the entertainment industry which means there are networking opportunities within the Legion M community and we’ve seen casting calls and other opportunities posted in our members-only Facebook group.
If I invest, do I get free admission or copies of your movies?
Photo credit: Joseph Stottmann
Sorry, but no. When you invest in Apple, you don’t get free iPhones. :) As an investor in Legion M, you’ll want our projects to be as successful as possible — not to have your money used to give away the product for free.
That said, we often work with studios to provide free gifts to members who attend opening weekend meetups and, whenever possible, provide our investors with exclusive opportunities such as early screenings, the chances to come to Hollywood premieres and Film Festival premieres, online Q&A sessions, and much, much more.
How can I be more involved in Legion M?
Once you join or invest in Legion M, be sure to join our members-only Facebook group and check out the members-only LEGION CONFIDENTIAL section of the website (the links and top secret password can be found in your welcome email). Also, keep an eye open for emails and add us to your safe sender list, so we can contact you about opportunities and exclusive events.
Where can I get Legion M merchandise?
Stickers, pins, and tees…OH MY! Pimp your ride and show your pride with the amazing Legion M SWAG that is available for members and investors in the Legion M Shop. You’ll also be able to find exclusive merchandise from some of our films as well!
What are Legion M’s political views?
Legion M is officially a politics-free zone. We choose to focus on common interests that bring us together rather than differences that separate us.
What is your policy on diversity?
Legion M is making a concerted effort to support diversity in our staff, our advisors, within our community, and within our projects. We want to be a force for positive change in the world, and believe that having a diverse array of voices in our decision making process will make us a stronger community and a more successful company.