Apply to our accelerator in San Francisco and GET ON TV!
WHY A REALITY TV SHOW?
We want to discover the next insanely great Silicon Valley company. We also have a fair shot to tell the REAL startup story and to provide 500 and Highway1 portfolio companies with national exposure. The Bazillion Dollar Club (working title) is an adrenaline-fueled, high-stakes documentary series that dives deep inside today’s fast-paced world of Silicon Valley tech startups and introduces viewers to the geeky entrepreneurs that drive the creation of billion dollar companies.
WHO ARE THE LEADING ACTORS?
The show follows Dave McClure, a relentless and foul-mouthed drill sergeant who founded software accelerator 500Startups, and Brady Forrest, the quirky but creative genius behind hardware incubator Highway1. These next-generation venture capitalists run two of the world’s top startup programs, where they finance the best and brightest tech entrepreneurs and help them turn their geek dreams into rocket ships…or occasionally, as they crash and burn, falling back to earth as failed superheroes.
Audition by applying to Batch 12 (San Francisco) — applications have been reopened. We’re always on the lookout for awesome founders at the helm of great companies with traction. APPLY NOW.
WILL WE WIN AT THE EMMYS?
Maybe … 😉 But first things first, WE NEED YOUR HELP brainstorming an awesome name for this show. Suggest ideas HERE, and if your show title is selected, you’ll score a 500 Startups swag pack and a shout out through our social media channels with 550K+ reach.
The series is produced by Zero Point Production (Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown; The Hunt with John Walsh) with executive producers Lydia Tenaglia, Christopher Collins and Craig H. Shepherd, and co-executive producer Abigail Shafran. The six episode, one-hour series begins production early 2015 and will air on Syfy in fall 2015.
Zero Point Zero Production is a television and digital production company founded in 2003 by Executive Producers Chris Collins and Lydia Tenaglia, with partner and Managing Director Joe Caterini coming aboard in 2009. Since its inception, the company has produced hundreds of hours of television in over 90 countries around the world, including the two critically acclaimed, Emmy & Peabody Award winning series, Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown (CNN) and The Mind of a Chef (PBS). ZPZ is currently in production on Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown season 4 (CNN); The Hunt with John Walsh season 2 (CNN); City.Ballet season 2 (a co-production with Sarah Jessica Parker for AOL On Originals); The Mind of a Chef season 3 (PBS); the award winning series, MeatEater with Steven Rinella season 5 (Sportsman Channel); The Getaway season 2 (Esquire/NBC); Phil Rosenthal (untitled series for PBS) and a documentary feature film on Jeremiah Tower (CNN Originals).
Highway1 is part of PCH, a global product development and supply chain company that has worked with established technology giants since 1996. More recently PCH has begun taking venture-backed companies like Blaze and OnBeep to market via its PCH Access program. The Highway1 accelerator is focused on early seed stage hardware startups helping them develop their idea from prototype to manufacturable, scalable product.
500 Startups is a venture capital fund and startup accelerator based in Silicon Valley with ~$125M in assets under management. 500 Startups has invested in over 900 companies all over the world since its inception in 2010, and employs a team of 40 people across 10 countries who speak over 20 languages. The company operates accelerator programs in the SF Bay Area and Mexico City emphasizing internet marketing and customer acquisition, design and user experience, and lean startup practices and metrics. Our investment team and mentor network has operational experience at companies such as PayPal, Google, Facebook, YouTube, Yahoo, LinkedIn, Twitter, Apple, and Sesame Street (j/k).