When we think of disruptive startups, we often look up to tech giants like Apple, Tesla, or Airbnb. But one of the most fascinating entrepreneurial success stories of the last decade comes from an unlikely industry, the risky and passionate business of independent filmmaking.

A24, a studio that started in 2012 as a small film distribution company, has redefined Hollywood by prioritizing creative freedom, unconventional marketing, and a sharp sense of brand identity. 

They’ve built a reputation as the coolest indie studio in the business, known for its distinct aesthetic, boundary-pushing storytelling, and a marketing approach that felt more like a cultural movement than traditional film promotion.

With over 50 Academy Award nominations and 16 wins, a devoted fanbase, and some of the most innovative movies of the past decade, A24 has cemented itself as the gold standard of indie cinema. Innovative films like Everything Everywhere All at Once and shows like Euphoria, prove that bold, weird, and visionary films can still find a mainstream audience.

Here’s how three founders: Daniel Katz, David Fenkel, and John Hodges, turned a niche idea into a multi-billion-dollar powerhouse and what startup founders and business leaders can learn from their approach.

A Perfect Team of Risk-Takers

The founders’ trio (Daniel Katz, David Fenkel, and John Hodges) was already well-connected in the film industry, and their paths had crossed multiple times. Each had a deep love for cinema, but they also shared frustrations with how Hollywood operated.

The final push to start A24 came from Daniel Katz’s experience at Guggenheim Partners. While working in film finance, he had access to potential investors who were looking to fund new film ventures. He secured seed funding from Guggenheim, which gave the trio the capital they needed to launch their own company.

In August 2012, Katz, Fenkel, and Hodges officially founded A24.

Daniel Katz: The Finance Expert Who Saw an Opportunity

Daniel Katz, one of A24’s key founders, didn’t start as a filmmaker. He was an industry insider, but his expertise lay in film finance rather than production or storytelling.

Before founding A24, Katz led the film finance group at Guggenheim Partners, a global financial services firm. In this role, he worked behind the scenes, helping studios secure funding for projects. 

That experience gave him an in-depth understanding of how films were financed, produced, and distributed, knowledge that would prove crucial when starting his own company.

David Fenkel: The Indie Film Veteran Who Understood the Audience

David Fenkel brought an artistic and indie perspective to A24. Before co-founding the company, he was the president and co-founder of Oscilloscope Laboratories, an independent film production and distribution company.

Oscilloscope was known for handling critically acclaimed but niche films, giving Fenkel deep insight into the independent film audience, a group that valued originality, risk-taking, and storytelling that didn’t fit the Hollywood mold.

John Hodges: The Production Insider Who Knew How to Get Things Done

John Hodges completed the trio with his on-the-ground production experience. Before A24, he was the Head of Production and Development at Big Beach, an independent production company behind films like Little Miss Sunshine.

Hodges had firsthand experience in film production, from scripting and casting to shooting and post-production. His knowledge of logistics, budgeting, and film development helped A24 navigate the complex process of getting films made and distributed.

If Katz was the finance guy and Fenkel was the curation expert, Hodges was the operations and execution specialist. He ensured that A24’s films were produced efficiently and delivered to audiences in the best way possible.

Spotting the Market Gap: The Problem with Hollywood

The entertainment industry is notoriously risk-averse. Hollywood studios prioritize franchise films, sequels, and formulaic blockbusters because they offer a safer return on investment. As a result, unique, artist-driven films were being sidelined in favor of superhero sagas and reboots.

This was the gap A24 identified.

The founders saw that:

✅ Talented filmmakers lacked creative control. Studios interfered too much.

✅ Audiences craved originality. They were getting bored of predictable storytelling.

✅ Indie films lacked effective marketing. They were often poorly promoted or buried in limited releases.

The solution? A studio that would back visionary filmmakers and make movies feel like cultural events.

What we, as entrepreneurs can learn from it is to find an industry pain point and build a business that directly challenges conventional wisdom. A24 didn't reinvent cinema, but it reinvented how movies were made, marketed, and distributed.

A24: The Name & The Vision

The company’s name, A24, was inspired by a moment of clarity that Katz had while driving on the A24 highway in Italy. As he cruised down the road, he envisioned a company that would bring bold, daring, and visionary films to audiences. A24 became a company that would give filmmakers creative freedom while making indie films feel like must-see cultural events.

The First Films: A Risky Start

Every startup faces early challenges, and A24 is no different. Their first film, A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III (2013), starring Charlie Sheen, flopped. It was a critical and commercial failure, but the founders didn’t panic.

Instead of seeing this as a failure, they pivoted quickly, understanding that they needed, which was better curation, which meant picking up films that were not just any indie film, but something bold, fresh, and buzzworthy. Secondly, they needed a marketing strategy that leaned on digital culture: memes, social media, and word-of-mouth.

Their first real hit came with Spring Breakers (2013), a bizarre, neon-soaked crime drama directed by Harmony Korine. The film featured Disney stars like Selena Gomez in gritty, R-rated roles, which shocked audiences and went viral online.

A24 leaned into the controversy, using social media, GIFs, and memes to make the movie feel like a cultural event. It worked! Spring Breakers became a word-of-mouth phenomenon, proving that A24’s marketing-first approach was a winner.

Scaling Smart: Expanding from Distribution to Production

For its first four years, A24 focused only on distributing indie films. This was a low-risk, high-reward strategy that allowed them to build their brand credibility, gain experience in the market, and form relationships with directors and studios.

But in 2016, they took a massive entrepreneurial leap and moved into film production. Their first major in-house production was Moonlight. A24 gave Barry Jenkins complete creative freedom, and the film became an Oscar-winning masterpiece. It won Best Picture, proving that A24 could not only distribute great films but make them too. This was a huge confidence booster for the entire team. 

This moment cemented A24’s reputation as a serious player in the film industry, and from then on, they scaled rapidly.

The Expansion: Content >>>

With their newfound credibility, A24 expanded into television and high-concept horror, producing some of the most talked-about projects in years.

A24’s Horror Revolution

A24 didn’t just distribute horror but redefined it. They looked beyond the cheap jump scares and created something fresh with content that was psychologically disturbing, artistically rich, and often deeply philosophical.

• Hereditary (2018): Ari Aster’s horror masterpiece, hailed as the scariest movie of the decade.
• Midsommar (2019): A cult horror film that took place almost entirely in bright daylight, subverting genre conventions.
• X (2022) and Pearl (2022): Instant cult classics that paid homage to classic horror cinema.

The TV Takeover

In 2017, A24 expanded into television, producing hit shows like Euphoria (HBO), which was a visually stunning, emotionally raw teen drama starring Zendaya. Then there was Beef (Netflix), an Emmy-winning series that showcased A24’s unique blend of comedy, drama, and social commentary.

Their strategy of collaborating with streaming services allowed them to expand their brand recognition beyond film fans.

The Everything Everywhere Phenomenon

In 2022, A24 released its most successful film ever: Everything Everywhere All At Once. This genre-bending, multiverse-spanning sci-fi drama was unlike anything seen before. With Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan, and Jamie Lee Curtis, the film explored themes of family, love, and existentialism through a wild mix of martial arts, absurd comedy, and emotional depth.

The film became a box office smash, grossing $140 million and sweeping the Oscars with seven wins, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actress. It cemented A24 as one of the most powerful studios in Hollywood, proving that indie films could compete with and surpass big-budget blockbusters.

This proves that in an industry often driven by formulaic trends and prone to creative stagnation, compelling storytelling always stands out.

Building a Brand with a Distinct Identity

From the very beginning, A24 understood that branding isn’t just about a logo or a name; it’s about an emotional connection. A24 films have a unique visual and storytelling identity:

✅ Stylized cinematography (neon lighting, surreal visuals, and intimate camerawork).

✅ Bold, offbeat storytelling (genre-bending films that challenge conventions).

✅ A commitment to auteur filmmaking (giving directors total creative freedom).

They also went on to do innovative, Guerrilla-style marketing and created some insane campaigns. Whether it was James Franco’s "Look at my sh*t" scene from the movie that was overused in memes or creating a fake Tinder profile for Alicia Vikander’s AI character, inviting real users to interact and then directing them to the movie, one can say that creative, viral marketing can beat big ad budgets. The best marketing feels organic and turns your audience into promoters.

A24’s Unstoppable Rise: A Billion-Dollar Indie Empire

More than a decade after its founding, A24 is no longer just an indie studio, but a cultural force. What started as a boutique distribution company has now become a $3.5B entertainment powerhouse, proving that bold storytelling, unconventional marketing, and entrepreneurial risk-taking can disrupt even the most established industries.

In 2024, A24 secured a $75 million investment from Thrive Capital, a venture firm founded by billionaire Josh Kushner. This brought the company’s valuation to $3.5 billion, marking a 40% increase from its previous funding round in 2022. 

With this new backing, A24 plans to expand beyond films and television into live theater, consumer products, and music, a move that signals its ambition to become an all-encompassing entertainment brand.

Conclusion

From its first financial failure (A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III) to its Oscar-dominating triumphs (Everything Everywhere All at Once and The Whale), A24 has built a brand that audiences trust and filmmakers admire.

It has successfully combined high-risk storytelling with sharp business acumen, proving that independent visionaries can compete with Hollywood’s biggest players, and sometimes even beat them.

In a creative business, being creative is the biggest advantage. A24 proves that you can be creative with not just your content, but also with your business strategy, marketing, branding, finding market gaps and opportunities, and more.