Wrapbook, the accounting and payroll startup for film and TV productions, is looking to grow its market share in Hollywood and has secured a new round of funding to do so.
The company's co-founders, Ali Javid and Cameron Woodward, tell The Hollywood Reporter They raised $20 million from venture capital firm Bessemer Venture Partners and are announcing a secondary public offering to allow their employees to sell a portion of their stake in the company.
Wrapbook is now valued at $750 million, down from the $1 billion valuation it announced in its $100 million Series B round a few years ago, in November 2021, in the pre-AI hype climate for tech-focused companies.
The company’s app lets production staff onboard, pay, and track payments for projects in an experience its founders describe as a more modern alternative to some competitors that might offer more services (including residual payment processing).
Among those established giants is Burbank-based Cast & Crew, founded in 1976 and acquired by private equity firm EQT in 2018 from Silver Lake Partners, which reportedly paid $700 million in 2015 for the payment services provider. Its rival in the city, Entertainment Partners, the production workforce management giant also founded in 1976 and owner of Central Casting (yes, where the phrase “Straight out of Central Casting” comes from), was similarly acquired by private equity giant TPG Capital in 2019.
Wrapbook’s co-founders see the company as a third-largest competitor in Hollywood’s financial and payroll services space. Its rivals have grown over the years through bolt-on acquisitions: Cast & Crew, for example, acquired budgeting, workflow and time-sheet software provider Media Services in 2020 to expand its product.
Woodward and Javid say not being owned by a private equity firm has helped Wrapbook be more efficient with room for growth without the expectation of an extractive financial relationship. The company, which has offices in New York and West Hollywood but operates remotely, launched in 2018 with three employees. It raised $27 million in March 2021 from investors including Michael Ovitz, Andreessen Horowitz, Equal Ventures and Uncork Capital (and received this glowing blurb, “It’s time to bring manufacturing financial services into the 21st century,” from investor Jeffrey Katzenberg). In November of that year, it unveiled its $100 million Series B round led by Tiger Global Management.
It has grown to about 280 employees this year and, with new funding, expects to grow to about 400. The company says four studios (it won’t say which ones) have signed up to use its platform in the past year, and agencies including CAA and WME use Wrapbook to track payment progress for their film and TV clients.
Mary D'Onofrio, partner at Bessemer Venture Partners, said of the venture firm's investment: “Wrapbook's technology fundamentally enhances the capacity and impact of production finance teams. We have been pursuing this investment for years, recognizing its potential to reshape entertainment finance.”
Wrapbook now says 1,000 individual companies have used its product for payroll and accounting for film and TV. “Wrapbook acts as a force multiplier for finance executives, production accountants and producers,” said Ali Javid, CEO of Wrapbook. “Our platform and high-service model enable these critical team members to efficiently manage complex processes and contribute more strategically to the success of productions.”