Kartik Hosanagar: It’s interesting - no movie execs in my classes either, Sam. So how did you end up with this idea, and how did you end up with Jumpcut? Sam Ransbotham: I mean, maybe your world is slightly different than mine, but no movie execs are in my classes. So that’s how we’re trying to democratize Hollywood using data. But ultimately, by doing that, we can assess storytellers and stories on their merit as opposed to who is connected to whom or just gut feelings of a few people. So, what we’re trying to do is break that mold and use data to make more objective, better decisions. There’s the social cost by just about any measure, Hollywood has not been a particularly inclusive industry. There’s the economic cost Hollywood has historically had a very poor batting average. There are costs this kind of decision-making. All of these just pretty much based on gut and relationships - who knows who. The context here that got me interested in this is, Hollywood has historically been an old boys’ club - a few execs making decisions on what movies get made, who’s in those movies, at what budgets.
What we are doing is essentially trying to create a new data-driven studio that’s reimagining the way films and TV shows are developed, with the specific goal of elevating fresh new voices. Kartik Hosanagar: My new startup is called Jumpcut, as you mentioned. I think the idea basically is to help surface new and fresh stories for Hollywood. But Kartik, your latest venture is Jumpcut. Sam Ransbotham: So this is a bit of a different interview for me, because I’ve known Kartik for years in academic circles. Kartik Hosanagar: Thanks for having me, Sam and Shervin. He’s a professor at The Wharton School and founder and CEO of Jumpcut. Sam Ransbotham: Today, we’re talking with Kartik Hosanagar. Together, MIT SMR and BCG have been researching AI for five years, interviewing hundreds of practitioners and surveying thousands of companies on what it takes to build and to deploy and scale AI capabilities and really transform the way organizations operate. Shervin Khodabandeh: And I’m Shervin Khodabandeh, senior partner with BCG, and I colead BCG’s AI practice in North America.
I’m also the guest editor for the AI and Business Strategy Big Ideas program at MIT Sloan Management Review. I’m Sam Ransbotham, professor of information systems at Boston College. Each episode, we introduce you to someone innovating with AI. Welcome to Me, Myself, and AI, a podcast on artificial intelligence in business. Sam Ransbotham: How can AI help bring new ideas and products to market in industries where risk aversion is rampant? Find out today when we talk with Kartik Hosanagar, professor at The Wharton School and founder of Jumpcut, a startup helping previously undiscovered talent produce movies and TV. Subscribe to Me, Myself, and AI on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Google Podcasts.
Read more about our show and follow along with the series at. If you’re enjoying the Me, Myself, and AI podcast, continue the conversation with us on LinkedIn. In the first episode of Season 3 of Me, Myself, and AI, our hosts talk with Kartik about how Jumpcut uses AI to identify creative individuals and help them develop their ideas into studio-ready productions. Hosanagar has served as a department editor at the journal Management Science and has previously served as a senior editor at the journals Information Systems Research and MIS Quarterly.
He is a serial entrepreneur who most recently founded Jumpcut Media, a startup that is using data to democratize opportunities in film and TV. Hosanagar is a 10-time recipient of MBA or undergraduate teaching excellence awards at The Wharton School. His research focuses on the digital economy and the impact of analytics and algorithms on consumers and society. Hower Professor of Technology and Digital Business and a professor of marketing at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. So, to help unknown talent to break into the entertainment industry, he got to work founding Jumpcut, a venture-funded startup that aims to uncover new voices. When he started pitching it to potential producers, he quickly discovered that the film industry can be hesitant to take risks on new writers and directors - which often means that diverse talent is overlooked. Kartik is a professor of business and marketing at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School who penned a screenplay while on sabbatical. He didn’t pack his life into a sedan, drive to Los Angeles, and work a series of part-time jobs while trying to make it big in the film industry. Kartik Hosanagar wasn’t your typical Hollywood hopeful.