If you’ve watched a movie in the last twenty years via Netflix, Redbox, or MoviePass, you owe a debt of thanks to the business innovation of virtual keynote speaker Mitch Lowe. Lowe has been at the forefront of creating innovative movie entertainment delivery systems for the past forty years. Starting from his humble roots in movie cassette rentals, Lowe went on to change the way we watch movies as one of the founding executives at Netflix and as the CEO of Redbox and Movie Pass.

We recently caught up with Lowe to learn that the pandemic hasn’t slowed his movie innovation down one bit. We got updates on Lowe’s latest book project, his thoughts on where movies are going, his experience with the video platform TikTok, and some of the newest ideas that are shaping the world.

What’s your new book project about and when can we expect to see it?

My book will be called The Zen Disruptor. It’s all about my 40 years being at the center of the disruption and evolution of entertainment distribution and retail. I will share stories of companies like Netflix and Redbox that despite many obstacles succeeded—and companies like Moviepass and Movielink that failed and why. It could come out as early as the end of 2021 but more likely in 2022.

After working with movie giants Netflix, Redbox, and MoviePass, what are your thoughts on where movies and entertainment are heading?

I am fascinated by the challenge of helping film and TV fans find a great show to watch. Today, we are inundated with options both from content as well as ways to consume. The problem is it is too difficult and time-consuming to find something good so I am working to solve that.  

Our attention span is shortening—yet at the same time, we seek good original stories with characters to fall in love with. So I see a dramatic decline in 2-hour movies—and thus seeing movies at the cinema. Cinemas will need to change their mix of content and recognize this.

We see you’ve recently joined the TikTok video revolution. What can you tell us about your experience with TikTok? 

Joining the Tiktok revolution has been fascinating and it’s a lot more work than it seems. For the past month, I have been working closely with my friend Marcel Meunster to pull off #pitchupinthesky. 

It was a Middle East/Africa VC pitch event that set many viewing records as the 3 finalists for startup funding had to deliver their final pitch at 15k feet, then skydive down to Dubai. Over 1.7m people in the region viewed the final Tiktok event.

Speaking of the Pitch Up in the Sky event in Dubai. Any business ideas you heard that are new and exciting?

We reviewed hundreds of proposals. It was difficult reviewing the final 10 ideas. They ranged wide from making the fruit and vegetable markets of Kenya more efficient to improving Taxi cab marketing signage in Egypt to Femtech business in Dubai and stress relief apps. 

I was super impressed by the participants who faced their fears of pitching and rejection—as well as jumping from a plane for their first time. The most original submissions were apps that helped farmers in Africa participate in a larger supply chain than their local village.

If you’re interested in learning more about virtual keynote speaker Mitch Lowe’s insights into business, contact BigSpeak speakers bureau today.