for startups to invite camera crews into meetings that they think portray the entrepreneurial process.
“Building trust is a big thing,” he says. “We hope to be as nimble as possible.” He has also set up areas where entrepreneurs can give longer, monologue-style interviews with the cameras, which to me resemble the confessional booths from MTV’s Real World reality show series, just with greater lighting challenges. (The 14th floor of the Fan Pier building is wrapped with floor-to-ceiling windows).
Anderson says he’s looking to avoid the big-studio vibe for the show, and instead market the finished product virally (think YouTube). “Spreading virally keeps us in the startup mode,” he says. Speaking of startup mode, Anderson is bootstrapping the show’s production, and bringing on local students to help with the project. “That’s the beauty of this,” he says. “We’re scratching and trying to make it work like anyone else.”
Once he rolls out the content from this year’s MassChallenge competition, he’s planning to get even more on the ground with capturing the process from start to finish next year. He’s hoping to add cameras and capture more of the startup storyline. He’s even looking into the possibility of 24-hour taping, potentially powered by high-resolution security cameras.
“The storyline really is a day-to-day thing,” Anderson says. “We just happen to be there when it happens.”
