Smartypants
Smartypants is a Brooklyn-based independent production company founded by Joshua Seftel that produces documentary films, branded commercial content, and television programming for major brands, streaming platforms, universities, and non-profits.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2016
- HeadquartersBrooklyn, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Smartypants does
Smartypants is a Brooklyn-based independent production company founded by filmmaker Joshua Seftel that operates across three primary content verticals: documentary films, branded commercial content, and episodic television programming. The company's documentary work has earned the highest industry recognition, including an Academy Award for "All The Empty Rooms" (2026) and an Academy Award nomination for "Stranger at the Gate" (2023), alongside a Peabody nomination. Its commercial and branded content portfolio includes anchor client Delta Air Lines (highlighted by the 2025 Centennial Safety Video) and an institutional segment serving elite universities including Harvard, Princeton, Columbia, Caltech, and Dartmouth, as well as non-profit organizations.
The company generates revenue through project-based production fees across its three verticals. Commercial branded content and corporate video work for major brands (Delta, Netflix, CBS, PBS, HBO, MTV, Disney+) represents the core revenue engine, with episodic television contributions to Emmy-winning programs (Queer Eye, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver) providing additional sustained revenue. Original documentary content is selectively developed and licensed through distribution partnerships, exemplified by the December 2025 Netflix worldwide release of "All The Empty Rooms." The company employs approximately 11-50 staff, with roughly 30 listed on its team page, indicating a mid-sized boutique production operation primarily operating in the New York creative market with global distribution reach through streaming platforms.
Smartypants firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Smartypants
- Legal name
- Smartypants
- Website
- https://smartypants.nyc
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2016
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Smartypants is a Brooklyn-based independent production company founded by Joshua Seftel that produces documentary films, branded commercial content, and television programming for major brands, streaming platforms, universities, and non-profits.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Smartypants industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Film and Video Production Services
- NAICS
- Motion Picture and Video Production (512110), Motion Picture and Sound Recording Industries (512)
- SIC
- Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Production (7812)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Branded Documentary & Purpose-Driven Content (MPADAEAJ)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Branded Documentary / Nonfiction (Corporate & NGO) (MPADADAK), Public Broadcasting Production Units & Studios (In-house/Member) (MPABADAF)
Keywords
Where Smartypants is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Brooklyn
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Smartypants business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Commercial Production: Branded content and commercial video production for corporate clients including Delta Air Lines, Lincoln Motor Company, Cadillac, Ford, and major brands. Projects include safety videos, brand campaigns, and promotional content. Typically project-based with fixed production fees.
- Non-Profit & Education: Production services for universities (Harvard, Princeton, Columbia, MIT, Caltech, Dartmouth), non-profits (Facing History, Walk Free, Project HOPE, Vilcek Foundation), and cultural institutions. Often documentary-style content for fundraising, awareness, and institutional branding.
- Original Content & Licensing: Self-initiated documentary projects developed and produced by the company, then licensed or sold to distribution partners (Netflix, The New Yorker, PBS). 'All The Empty Rooms' was acquired by Netflix after festival premiere. 'Stranger at the Gate' acquired by The New Yorker. Revenue from licensing fees and sometimes executive producing arrangements.
- Television & Series Production: Long-form television production including 'Catfish' (MTV), contributing segments to 'Last Week Tonight with John Oliver' (HBO), and original series like 'How to Fix a Primary' (Amazon Prime). Episode or series-based production contracts.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels5 records
Smartypants product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Smartypants is a Brooklyn-based full-service film and video production company that produces documentary films, branded commercial content, television programming, and non-profit/educational content for corporate brands, agencies, universities, non-profits, and broadcast/streaming networks. The company operates across three primary service categories — Originals (self-produced documentary projects such as Academy Award-winning 'All The Empty Rooms' and Oscar-nominated 'Stranger at the Gate'), Non-Profit & Higher Ed, and Commercial branded content — delivering work that has been distributed via Netflix, The New Yorker, CBS Sunday Morning, PBS, HBO, MTV, and Disney+.
Product overview
Smartypants is a film and video production company founded by Joshua Seftel that produces documentary films, branded content, and television programming. The company operates across three main content categories: Originals (award-winning documentary projects), Non-Profit & Higher Ed (content for educational and non-profit organizations), and Commercial (branded content for corporate clients). Notable productions include All The Empty Rooms (Academy Award-winning documentary), STRANGER AT THE GATE (Oscar-nominated film), and the Secret Life of Muslims series. The company has produced content for Netflix, The New Yorker, PBS, CBS Sunday Morning, and numerous Fortune 500 companies and universities.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Originals (Documentary Production)
- Commercial Branded Content Production
- Non-Profit & Higher Education Content Production
- Television Programming Production
Quantifiable outcome
- Academy Award winner for 'All The Empty Rooms' (2026)
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Smartypants
Customer profileNamed customers24 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Smartypants technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Smartypants partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
18 partnerships are on record, tiered core and secondary.
- Delta Air LinescoreMajor recurring client for branded content production. Produced numerous campaigns including safety videos, Olympic Spirit, and brand storytelling content. Long-standing relationship with extensive portfolio of work.
- NetflixcoreStreaming distribution partner for 'All The Empty Rooms' documentary. Netflix acquired the film after festival premiere and Telluride screening.
- The New YorkercoreAcquired and distributed 'Stranger at the Gate' documentary. Major media partnership for documentary content.
- CBS Sunday MorningcoreJoshua Seftel is a regular contributor to CBS Sunday Morning. Produces original segments and interviews including ongoing series with his mother and Creative Aging content.
- PBScoreHome to 'How to Fix a Primary' documentary and 'It's the Hard-Knock Life' feature. Partner on 'Self-Evident' series about American perseverance.
- HBOcoreProduction partner for 'Last Week Tonight with John Oliver'. Team members worked on the show producing multiple Emmy-winning segments. Also produced 'Nature of the Crime' documentary.
- MTVcoreCo-created 'Catfish' television series with Nev Schulman. Long-standing relationship for television production.
- Facing History and OurselvessecondaryNon-profit educational partner for documentary content including 'We Confront History' and multiple animated history shorts.
- Vilcek Foundationsecondary2021 video campaign won four MUSE Awards. Ongoing relationship for immigrant achievement storytelling.
- Harvard UniversitysecondaryProduced 'A Chance To Lead' for Harvard Business School. University-wide partnership for institutional content.
- Princeton Universitysecondary'Dare to Venture' and 'Audacious Bets' documentary projects for Princeton School of Public and International Affairs.
- Columbia UniversitysecondaryMultiple projects including Columbia Law School, Columbia Giving Day profiles, and Zuckerman Institute content.
- Disney+secondary'Brain Games' series content produced for Disney+ platform.
- Malala YousafzaicoreNobel Peace Prize Laureate Malala Yousafzai served as Executive Producer on 'Stranger at the Gate', attending the Annual Oscar Nominees Luncheon.
- AdidassecondaryProduced 'Go Together' campaign for Adidas X LA Marathon partnership.
- Lincoln Motor Companysecondary'Ne-Yo' music and lifestyle campaign via agency UWG for Lincoln brand.
- Cadillacsecondary'Mavericks with Ari Melber' branded content campaign via Carat + NBC.
- Ford Motor Companysecondary'Angela Bassett' campaign via agency Uniworld Group for Ford.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Smartypants competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Dorsey Pictures: Boutique production company specializing in documentary-style branded content and commercials for brands and agencies. Directly comparable in delivering documentary-credentialed storytelling for commercial clients while maintaining an originals slate, with similar team size and operating model.
- Radical Media: New York-based production company producing commercials, branded content, documentaries, and long-form series across Netflix, HBO, and major brands. Directly comparable operating model: prestige documentary work plus branded commercial campaigns for Fortune 500 clients with similar director-driven, project-based revenue.
- Kartemquin Films: Chicago-based nonprofit documentary production company producing award-winning nonfiction films and series. Comparable in producing socially conscious documentary shorts and features for major distributors, though organized as a nonprofit rather than a commercial production house.
- Pulse Films: Multi-platform production company producing feature documentaries, branded content, music videos, and television. Closely comparable in mixing branded commercial work with documentary originals distributed through Netflix and other premium platforms, with similar project-based revenue model.
- Raney Day Productions: Boutique production company producing branded documentaries, commercial campaigns, and series content for global brands and non-profits. Directly comparable in producing documentary-credentialed branded video with similar client mix spanning Fortune 500 brands and purpose-driven organizations.
- Kindred (formerly Edelman Studios): Production company producing documentary-style branded content, series, and features for global brands and platforms. Comparable in producing brand-funded documentaries and editorial-style branded video for major distributors, with a similar project-based commercial-plus-originals mix.
- Moxie Firecracker Films: Independent production company producing documentary, branded content, and short-form video for brands, agencies, and non-profits. Comparable boutique scale and similar mix of branded commercial campaigns alongside purpose-driven originals, often for streaming and digital platforms.
Broad incumbents
- Participant Media: Larger purpose-driven media company producing socially impactful film, television, and digital content. Comparable in producing award-winning documentary and narrative features with purpose-driven storytelling, though operates at meaningfully greater scale and with broader distribution capabilities.
- Live Nation Productions: Production arm of a large live entertainment company producing music-driven films, branded content, and documentary series. Comparable in producing branded documentary and episodic content for streaming and broadcast, though operated as a division of a much larger parent with broader resources.
Emerging players
- SoulPancake (part of Participant): Purpose-driven digital media and production company creating uplifting short-form video, branded content, and series. Adjacent overlap with Smartypants in purpose-driven storytelling for non-profits and brands, but focused more heavily on social/digital distribution rather than broadcast/streaming documentary.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Smartypants social profiles
Digital presenceSmartypants financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Smartypants leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles8 records
Smartypants subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
Smartypants funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Smartypants M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Smartypants
What does Smartypants do?
Smartypants is a Brooklyn-based full-service film and video production company that produces documentary films, branded commercial content, television programming, and non-profit/educational content for corporate brands, agencies, universities, non-profits, and broadcast/streaming networks. The company operates across three primary service categories — Originals (self-produced documentary projects such as Academy Award-winning 'All The Empty Rooms' and Oscar-nominated 'Stranger at the Gate'), Non-Profit & Higher Ed, and Commercial branded content — delivering work that has been distributed via Netflix, The New Yorker, CBS Sunday Morning, PBS, HBO, MTV, and Disney+.
Is Smartypants a public or private company?
Smartypants is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Smartypants founded?
Smartypants was founded in 2016. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Smartypants based?
Smartypants is headquartered in Brooklyn, United States, in the North America region.
How does Smartypants make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Commercial Production is the primary driver. The others are non-Profit & Education, original Content & Licensing and television & Series Production.
Who are Smartypants's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Dorsey Pictures, Radical Media, Kartemquin Films, Pulse Films, Raney Day Productions, Kindred (formerly Edelman Studios) and Moxie Firecracker Films. Broad incumbents are Participant Media and Live Nation Productions. SoulPancake (part of Participant) is listed as an emerging player.
Does Smartypants have an API?
No public API is recorded for Smartypants.
What industry is Smartypants in?
Smartypants's product category is Film and Video Production Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPADAEAJ, Branded Documentary & Purpose-Driven Content, with a secondary code of MPADADAK, Branded Documentary / Nonfiction (Corporate & NGO). Its NAICS code is 512110 and its SIC code is 7812.