The Film
Startup is the New Black is a short documentary about the startup culture of South Florida as told through interviews with several companies that are at various stages of the process. The film covers how that got started, the South Florida startup culture, and advice for those attempting their own startup.
The Interviews
Among the interviews were:
- Brad Liff, founder of Fitting Room Social.
- The Scandar Sisters, co-founders of Vividly.co.
- Anca Bettencourt, founder of Penny’s Dreamology.
- Mitali Saxena, founder of a mobil app called Fashom.
- Cristina Llanos founder of Lost in Lusso.
- Larisa Jevtovic, founder of Shopping Minute.
- Tatiana Torres, founder of Furor Moda.
- As well as recent MIU graduate and fashion designer Pilar Tarrau.
- Neil Ramsay, a specialist in startup operations acts as the guide through the film.
The Filmmakers
The film was made by husband and wife team of April and Kevin Erhard. April Castoro Erhard is the owner and editor-in-chief of Aprilgolightly.com, a fashion and lifestyle blog. Kevin is a filmmaker and owner of Sun Stone Productions. Together they decided to create a film that utilized April’s connections to the fashion world, as well as delve into a topic worth exploring in the South Florida market.
The Production
The film was shot during the spring of 2014 and edited during the early summer. April Erhard acted as Producer and Kevin Erhard was the Director and Editor. The husband and wife team of Christian and Ecaterina Pareja assisted as well, with Ecat acting as an additional camera operator and Christian providing location sound recording, as well as performing the final audio mix.