By colby on 10/31/2016
We discuss Wyatt Werner's entrepreneurial ventures, including Boise Classic Movies.
This is our second episode, and one of our most popular ever.
Jason: thank you for joining us. We're officially showing these second episode of decision pints a show about making things happen in the people who do it today. Our special guest is why it warner of ignite, Boise, boise classic movies, a console web development. And before we get started, we'd love to talk about, uh, the reason we're dedicating the show today. Stu, uh, beautiful. Uh, you know, Jenny customer who fought bravely for two years with a rare autoimmune disorder, fighting paralysis, fighting insurance, cutting them off and having family and friends provide nursing care, uh, to a persevering family who are champions of brave and in great people. So to Jenny and the customer family. Here's to you, Jenny.
Jason: So why do you have a reputation and a record of starting things. And, uh, ignite boise was one. I came here and was just impressed at a hearing. Matt Pipkin formally launched commit 65 and one of the best youtube videos I've ever seen. And I know you played a part in that and we want to talk about that and I know cancel web development and the great things you do there. Uh, and, and really before we get to those, let's learn a little bit more about Boise, see classic movies, which is Great. I went and attended one Willy Wonka and the chocolate factory at the Egyptian theater here in Boise, and people were dressed up passionate, yelling and responding during the movie, just a singing and you started that and why, how, why I wanted to start a theater
Wyatt: and you know, started looking at different spots and different inputs or something like that and found out that was going to be about one point 2,000,000 before you saw your first bucket of popcorn. I thought, well, no, that's not what I want, so let's go it for awhile. So I picked it back up later and went, wait a minute. While I'm trying to do is watch movies in a cool place with a beer.
Wyatt: Why don't we do that at the Egyptian? Because as you mentioned, we did ignited the Egyptian. That's how I knew them. And you think, why? Why don't I have more excuses to go into the Egyptian and why aren't, why aren't we showing any kind of movies over there? Um, so I went and talked to those folks and said, look, here's the minimum number of people we have to get at a particular price and not go broke doing this. Um, let's try this. A group buying a play and see if it works. And we all will stand it up. And if worst case scenario, we'd get to watch the godfather in the big Lebowski before we quit doing it. Um, and best case scenario, people will tell us what they want to see and they'll show up and off we go. The, the big, the big recurring problem in, um, in smaller theaters, it's, you know, people will come up to the box office and said, hey, you should show a ferris bueller and the answers.
Wyatt: Oh yeah, sure. Um, OK, great. So you go through the effort, you put up Ferris Bueller, dozen people show up and invariably the next day people come to your box up and say, hey, when are you showing Ferris Bueller? I can't wait for that. And they just did. No one gets invested in, no one shows up and you make no money doing it and you typically lose a little money doing it. So yeah, the idea of, of encouraging pre-sales and not actually putting up the entire rent for the theater until you have enough bodies in coming into the door to pay for the thing. That was really the, the idea is like, let's not go broke. Um, which it sounds simple and reasonable hearing you say it now, but innovating that concept is what's brilliant to me to think that, wow, we can actually suggest movies, get votes and have it tip people love to tell you what they want to see.
Wyatt: I mean, what's your favorite movie contact? That's not true. It's true. I'm, I'm laying my A. Zuora is pretty sweet to. OK, I'm going to drink some beer I needed, I needed, I needed a drink some beer after hearing that. So actually like contact. So. All right, so you knew that it would just, you know, your contact. That's my movie. I want to see that. Bam. And if you were to see that we're up for vote, you'd go vote for it. And so yeah, I voted for contact everybody to go vote for contact. And those other four movies are crap because, you know, we put a five movies for vote and uh, so yeah, you've, you've suggested it to begin with, you voted for it, you've told other people to vote for it and then when it goes up for sale you get tickets and until everybody else to go get tickets that, you know, because if they don't then it's not going to show it all.
Wyatt: So I really don't have to do a ton except make sure people know that their vote one and um, give them the means to spread it around. And they did, they latched onto in boise, has really latched onto it and didn't love it. So talk us through a little bit of the details in the first one and the first few. And when did you say this is going to be successful? Oh Man, I'm the first one was godfather and we actually set a tipping point. I'm tipping points to the minimum number of tickets that the cell, we set a tipping point of 250 and I think, um, we decided before that we were gonna force it, no matter what we're going to show it because the first one will promote the second one because no one will know or care what won the vote that was going on that we're going to reveal at the show if we don't actually have a show to reveal it up.
Wyatt: So that was kind of the thought is like we're gonna Fudge it and we'd definitely funded it. Um, I think we had about a hundred and 50 when we were supposed to have 2:50, but, but by the time the show came out we had [inaudible] so we actually didn't meet that mark barely. And then the next show we immediately took the tipping point down to 200. Like we don't really need [inaudible], we just need 200 and we'll be OK. So that was, that was the original. The initial one, what won the vote next was a big Lebowski. It sold out. So like, OK, well we know we found some kind of audience. Um, yeah, uh, immediately the first two or say the first one. Did you make money on. I mean, we didn't lose any money and I had a few startup costs that, you know, I got back, I think after the second one sell, it does pretty well.
Wyatt: But yeah, the uh, the third one was a rear window and that one was kind of a tough go and that's a, I took a little, a little. Uh, so yeah, no it didn't really, it didn't, it's automatic is too strong, but it didn't really become a, as automatic as it is until about 18 months ago when we put labyrinth up for the first time, like all the Weirdos came out of the closet and they've stuck around and it's just been great. I've walked by the Egyptian one showing and you can hear people making noises from outside on the street. So it's awesome. Yeah. People quote, they, they cheer when the hero comes on, they, you know, like the best show to come to is the princess bride renewed every year. People ask for it all the time. We sell out to shows for it. I mean, it's, it's.
Wyatt: Yeah, it's, it's totally, it's a ton of fun. Prints. Humperdinck comes on screen to uh, you know, they all, you know, a one year they slow clap this slow clap to the death of the six fingered man, which was really great. Without cues. Yeah. It's not like, it's not like rocky horror where they know, like, OK, now we stand up and dance and throw crap in the air. This is just people who are excited to watch their favorite movie and sit next to other people who are there doing the same thing. So we try to keep this show short. However, that's so motivating and we love hearing more and more that we're going to have to have a second show. But before we close, let's talk a little bit about the future of Boise classic movies. And I know you were recently traveling. You've gone to other cities.
Wyatt: Tell us about what's next. OK. So we um, actually stood up another, uh, another site called crowded theater were established theaters can run the same kind of vote and tipping point process. So there, we were in Portland for a while. We're in Albany, Oregon, now I'm, I've had a couple, you know, a couple, couple of little pings of interest and then they get busy and we get busy and yeah. So yeah, that needs more attention, but it's there and then, yeah, we started at the colonial theater overnight. Whoa. Falls the, we're calling it at colonial classic movies. It's the same program site of its own. I go over there once a month to put it on. Um, it's a little slow to take off, but they're working on it. They're coming around. We did Monte Python last month. I did pretty well. Um, we're trying to do young Frankenstein this time around and uh, yeah, there, there are pretty late to strike, but that's fine. That's normal. So yeah, we're working on it, but yeah, it's exciting
Jason: coming out of Boise entrepreneurs, making things happen. Why it warner is a great example and we look forward to talking more. Um, we always like to conclude the show with an endorsement Hashtag kind of guy who would say why it werner kind of guy who always has a sweet hat that just makes you wish you'd go back to your wardrobe and come back a little bit more dressed up.
Jason: So thank you everybody who joined and we'll look forward to episode three and then hearing again from why it, uh, in the days that aren't sure. So thank you both. See Classic movies.
