If you’ve seen the popular hit show Shark Tank on ABC you know the format. Entrepreneurs come in and pitch their idea to the sharks for investment hoping to close a deal and have the insight, guidance and wisdom of one or even a few of the sharks. Deals aren’t always taken. Not every pitch turns into a deal. About half of them walk off the show empty handed with nothing to show for it except for a lot of exposure which alone is worth it’s weight in gold.
The other day an animation studio came on the shark tank called Black Sands that produces animated films. Their team is comprised of Manuel and Geiszel Godoy, along with partner Teunis de Raat (who executive produced the Netflix show The Willoughbys).
This is the first time we remember animation producers have been on shark tank. The company recently released its teaser for Black Sands, the Anime, a planned animated show based on its comics series Black Sands: The Seven Kingdoms. The series, which Black Sands is producing independently, will be “very much in the vein of Arcane,” de Raat tells Cartoon Brew. A pilot short is in the works and will be pitched to potential distributors.
Black Sands offers and focuses “a strong focus on stories from Black history before slavery and the rich legacies our African ancestors left us,” de Raat continues. “We fight every day to counter the Hollywood agenda-based single story and tired trauma-filled narratives.” How awesome is that? Empowering children to attach their identity onto something more positive.
The company has sold over 200,000 units; through online fundraising campaigns, it has drawn in more than $2 million, which, de Raat says, has “primarily been used to develop our BSP Comics distribution app and to sign new creators to our platform.” He adds, “The BSP app is an amazing development engine for us, as we can see in real time which properties have the highest engagement with our audience.”
Based in Middletown, Delaware and Vancouver, Black Sands conceived its animation studio from the start as a fully remote venture. The studio is developing iterations of the company’s comics properties, which also include Cosmic Girls and Mori’s Family Adventures. The company says it has worked with senior animators from studios including Disney, Sony, Pixar, Bron, Amazon Studios, Nickelodeon, and Rainmaker.
Watch The Shark Tank Deal Here:
Watch Their Trailer Here:
Hart stressed that the company would be joining his “ecosystem,” saying, “I would not be asking for this particular number if you didn’t have to access my real resources. You said, ‘We’re going to get some creative people to come in: new animation, new stories.’ I have that.”
