At the Green Start-up Slams on November 15 during the CONFERENCE, TheGreenShot competed as one of six start-ups, showcasing its innovative production management and sustainability solutions
Could you share the journey that led to the creation of TheGreenShot? What was the initial spark that inspired this startup?
From on-set experience, it appeared very early on that the most efficient way to become sustainable on set was to demonstrate the financial savings it could incur. Embedding sustainability metrics with finance was the goal of TheGreenShot from the beginning.
TheGreenShot offers a wide range of solutions, from production management to carbon footprint tracking. How did you identify the need for such an integrated platform in the film, television, and event industries?
Our industry is using a myriad of tools to track finances and spending on a production. We identified the opportunity to create a single platform that includes all the necessary features for an efficient production management, also able to interface with productions software solution to create truly efficient workflows. Additionally, this year, we acquired Hollywood’s leading North American sustainable production services agency, Earth Angel, that has been providing solutions to the entertainment industry for over a decade. Together, we’re able to offer true end-to-end sustainable production solutions through combining software and services.
Your platform is now used by 20,000 professionals across Europe, the U.S., and Canada. How did you manage to scale so rapidly in such a competitive market?
In Europe, we provide payroll and planning services that were warmly welcomed and rapidly adopted by crew members and producers. Most recently, our planning feature was used by national TV broadcasters exclusively during the Paris Olympic Games which led to fast adoption.
One of the key features of your platform is real-time planning and management. How important is this in an industry known for its tight deadlines and dynamic production schedules?
It is one of the essential needs for proper financial management and cost savings. Producers never have a real-time overview of the exact state of their cost report until the accounting department reconciles the financial data.
With sustainability becoming a core focus, could you elaborate on the green management tools your platform offers, and how they benefit production companies?
Our GreenPro tool connects to production software, collects data in real-time and automates the sustainability reporting for productions. This replaces days, if not weeks, of manual labor to aggregate the data points requested by the different reporting framework producers have to comply with. This allows sustainability consultants to have more time to act rather than manually collecting data, and provide clients with real-time impact.
Can you explain how your technology integrates with existing IT infrastructures in the industry? What makes your platform flexible for diverse clients?
We are able to connect GreenPro to clients’ internal system, whether it’s a cloud based folder or accounting software, and protect the accounting department from any extra work. Accountants keep their workflow as it is and we interface seamlessly with a single access right granted to GreenPro.
How does TheGreenShot help in streamlining budget management, and why is this crucial for the industries you serve?
We provide the following features all in a single platform: onboarding, timecards, expenses, purchase orders, document distribution, locations, accommodations, transports, budget, sustainability management. All of the data can be imported and exported the way our clients need to integrate with their existing system. By providing an exhaustive of features, we help streamline and monitor, in real-time, the financials of anyproduction, providing our client with a competitive and efficient hedge for their projects.
Your solution covers various services like payroll and consulting. How do these additional services contribute to the overall efficiency of production companies?
Working with a one-stop-shop solution facilitates production companies journey by centralizing their point of contacts and requests. TheGreenShot has multiple departments handling payroll, software and sustainability services, but the client has one account manager they can interact with all of the solutions provided.
How do you envision the future of green technology in media production, and what role will TheGreenShot play in shaping that future?
Our goal is to demonstrate that sustainable choices lead to cost savings. Our industry is capable of adapting new practices very quickly – as demonstrated with COVID – and sustainable habits and practices should become the norm in the coming years
What were some of the biggest challenges you faced while developing the platform, and how did you overcome them?
I used to work on set as a supervising location manager. Shifting to building software and expanding a company to multiple territories comes with its own challenges. As with productions, you have to learn and adapt very swiftly to guarantee you are able to deliver what clients are expecting from us.
Could you tell us about any upcoming features or projects in the pipeline that you are particularly excited about?
As I mentioned, we joined forces with Earth Angel in June 2024 and the operational merger has been a very smooth experience so far, from a business but also human perspective. Our goal for the next year is to build strong commercial relationships with the studios we are already working with, as well as building bridges and partnerships with industry standards accounting software to streamline clients’ experience.
TheGreenShot operates in several countries with different regulatory environments. How do you ensure compliance with local laws, particularly around environmental impact?
We are constantly monitoring this space and aim to stay ahead of the curve. Providing software that helps collect and automate reporting makes us a great partner for the certificating bodies and we already made great partnerships with multiple regions/countries.
We all worked in shared offices or remotely to reduce offices emissions to the bare minimum. Out of 25 employees in the EU, there’s only one company car for an employee where no other solution was possible. Cash we would have spent on cars was allocated to low emission transportation solutions, such as company bikes or public transportation subscriptions. Except for overseas trips, all transportation is happening by train. Those are only a few of the actions every employee is taking at the moment to make sure our footprint stays as low as possible.
Looking back at the growth of TheGreenShot, what advice would you give to other entrepreneurs looking to scale their tech startups in the competitive tech and sustainability sectors?
The same as the Belgium official motto: We are stronger together. We are in a niche industry and cooperation will always make everyone go faster and further than fighting each other. There is still a lot of work to do and room for everyone pursuing the goal of making sure our industry is cleaner and more competitive.
Picture: @TheGreenShot
Thank you Max Hermans for the Interview
Statements of the author and the interviewee do not necessarily represent the editors and the publisher opinion again.
