Legion M

Legion M is offering equity at a $48.5 million pre-money valuation. That’s a relatively fair price for this business, though perhaps leaning slightly too high. Based on prior fundraising, Legion M is valuable. Nearly 30,000 investors have contributed more than $11 million in capital so far. Those figures seem in line with a $48.5 million valuation for this round. But based on revenue alone, Legion M looks overvalued. The company only generated $933,570 in 2020 revenue and hasn’t quite earned the kind of high revenue multiples awarded to software companies. That means a $48.5 million valuation is too large based on finances alone. All in all, though, investors can buy into a well-established, revenue-generating company with tens of thousands of eager shareholders, all at a decent price. 

Film and TV is a large and enduring industry. The global entertainment market reached $101 billion in 2019. About 60% of that revenue came from at-home streaming services, while 40% came from box offices. The year of 2020 was obviously unusual for the entertainment industry, as COVID-19 forced theaters to close and even major blockbusters had to be released on streaming services. Nevertheless, the market still topped $80 billion in global revenue. 

Legion M is playing in a sizable, stable market. The film and television industry has been around for decades, and recent innovations by streaming companies have only created more value in this market. It’s extremely likely that consumers will continue demanding original, compelling content in coming years, and Legion M is well-positioned to provide it, particularly given the company’s focus on content that is vetted and selected by actual fans. All in all, Legion M’s market opportunity is sizable. 

Legion M was founded by seasoned entrepreneurs and entertainment veterans Paul Scanlan and Jeff Annison. The pair previously founded MobiTV, the first US company to provide live television on mobile phones. The company grew steadily during the 2000s, ultimately raising more than $100 million from venture capitalists and winning an Emmy award for innovation in television. 

The Legion M C-suite also includes COO and Head of Content Terri Feldman Lubaroff, who brings more than 20 years of experience in the entertainment industry. Armed with a JD, Feldman Lubaroff has occupied senior roles at a number of entertainment companies. She’s scouted a wide variety of film and TV projects and is suited for a content leadership role at an innovative studio like Legion M. 

The Legion M team also includes team members in content, business operations, marketing, and more. The co-founders have distinctive experience as the former heads of a respected entertainment company. A large and well-balanced team provides even more relevant entertainment experience. It appears Legion M has everyone it needs to grow the world’s first fan-owned entertainment company. 

The primary differentiator between Legion M and every other entertainment company in Hollywood is its focus on fans. Legion M has nearly 30,000 invested stakeholders and an even larger community of members. These fans add value in many ways. Primarily, the wisdom of the crowd can help Legion M select winning content that responds to fans’ evolving preferences. In addition, Legion M community members offer a built-in fan network ready to spur box office success and virality for any of Legion M’s projects. As the Legion M community grows, its projects should become more successful. 

However, it’s not precisely clear whether Legion M’s community is a differentiator that actually impacts the company’s bottom line. Legion M has a long way to go before it can vie with major distributors like Disney or Paramount for scripts and talent, and there’s not a direct link between more members and better content. While Legion M’s approach to entertainment is unique, it may not be enough to constitute business success in this industry. 

Legion M has produced a number of impressive film and TV projects in its more than five years in business. Some might expect  a fan-owned entertainment business to produce niche indie content – but that’s not the case here. Legion M has partnered with prominent writers, directors, and actors. The company produced The Man in the White Van, which just recently wrapped shooting. The film stars Sean Astin of Lord of the Rings fame. Other marquee talent associated with Legion M projects includes Nicholas Cage, Anne Hathaway, Lily Collins, and more. Legion M films have been featured at the Sundance Festival, and several have strong ratings on Rotten Tomatoes. 

Outside of creative success, Legion M is growing revenue steadily. The company brought in more than $645,000 in revenue in 2019 and more than $933,000 in 2020 – impressive in a pandemic year. However, Legion M is spending significant money on these film projects. The company posted a $2.2 million net loss for 2020. 

Overall, Legion M is a well-established business that has accomplished much more than the average startup production company. Filmmaking is a capital-intensive business, but Legion M could quickly generate profit if one project strikes gold. 

Legion M is a relatively low-risk investment compared to many crowdfunding opportunities. The business has already generated significant revenue and built strong credentials as an up-and-coming production studio in Hollywood. The main risk associated with this business is time and funding. It takes a lot of money to make movies and TV shows, and many of them don’t return a profit. For Legion M to be a true success, it will need to produce a breakaway hit for theaters or TV. That’s obviously not guaranteed. Many independent studios have tried and failed to make it big. It may take a long time – and a lot more money – before Legion M returns a profit. 

Over the last several years, Legion M has continued on the trajectory it laid forth in its early fundraises. The company still seeks to become a successful fan-owned entertainment business and continues to make strong progress toward that goal. Legion M doesn’t give clear metrics on growth of its subscriber base in recent years, so it’s not clear how much progress has been made toward that end. However, it is clear that Legion M is producing increasingly successful television shows and movies. The company continues to gain more and more exposure in A-list Hollywood circles. 

KingsCrowd initially rated Legion M a Top Deal in 2018 thanks to the company’s innovative model for film and TV production and the obvious strength of its founding team. Those factors are still true, despite our downgrade to a Neutral Deal rating for this funding round. There are still many reasons to be optimistic about Legion M, but recent years have proven that it will take a lot more time and money for this company to be successful. Without more significant growth in membership or a major Hollywood blockbuster, Legion M may not generate meaningful returns for investors. 

Legion M certainly has the potential to become a highly successful entertainment company. But there’s also a strong chance that it will continue producing B-list content that never makes enough money to create financial sustainability. Making movies is expensive and takes a long time, which isn’t typically a great recipe for a startup. 

It’s also worth noting that major entertainment companies like Disney or Paramount are shielded from some of this risk by generating a great deal of revenue from merchandise, theme parks, or other business arms. Legion M does sell a small amount of merchandise currently, but it will take a long time for the company to develop enough memorable characters to grow significant side businesses. For now, Legion M’s success is riding on movies and TV shows, which is simply a risky game.

If most people set out to create a revolutionary filmmaking company, they’d probably have limited success. Hollywood is governed by relationships and credibility, which most founders couldn’t develop quickly. By contrast, Legion M has enjoyed early success because its founding team is already well-connected in Hollywood. The company has already produced movies with major stars like Anne Hathaway and Jason Sudekis, which is no small feat for a five-year-old startup. 

Legion M’s early success seems to be creating a positive feedback loop that will continually expose the company to even more promising film and TV opportunities. Plus, each one of Legion M’s projects has an audience of engaged stakeholders ready to turn out to theaters and build buzz. If Legion M continues along its current trajectory, the likelihood that the company can hit on a major blockbuster will continue to increase.

Legion M is the world’s first fan-owned entertainment company. Legion M investors and members have a say in which film and TV projects the company pursues. They also serve as a built-in audience for new film and TV releases, helping to boost box office results and generate buzz. Legion M clearly has the Hollywood credibility to win good projects. This credibility is proven by a strong roster of writers, directors, and actors that have taken part in projects that Legion M is involved with. If the company continues to establish a Hollywood brand and create new content, it will be more likely to develop a major blockbuster. Considering this factor alongside the large market opportunity and impressive team, investors have a lot to appreciate.

On the other hand, Legion M may never deliver superior returns to investors. There’s no way of knowing whether Legion M will ever make the kinds of movies and TV shows that return meaningful profit to the business. Plus, due to this round’s somewhat overpriced valuation, investors may not generate huge returns even in the case of blockbuster success. Therefore, Legion M has been rated a Neutral Deal. 

For questions regarding the KingsCrowd analyst report or ratings for this company, please reach out to support@kingscrowd.com. 

Analysis written November 1, 2021.