Makeshift Society
Makeshift Society is an independent TV series production venture founded by Serena Schuler in 2018, producing original comedy content spotlighting female tech founders. The flagship pilot self-financed by the creator is distributed through the film festival circuit to women-in-tech and general entertainment audiences.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2018
- HeadquartersSan Francisco, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What Makeshift Society does
Makeshift Society is an independent TV series production venture created in 2018 by writer-director Serena Schuler, a Cornell and Columbia graduate with tech industry experience. The flagship product is MAKESHIFT SOCIETY, an original comedy pilot following Alex, a female tech founder who, after being terminated from her tech job, builds her startup in a warehouse of misfit founders. The project is positioned as the female-perspective counterpart to HBO's Silicon Valley, addressing the absence of women in tech-focused entertainment. The underlying production technology is traditional film/TV production: a professional crew with credits on Barbie, Don't Worry Darling, Netflix's BEEF, Showtime's The Curse, and Starz's Blindspotting. Production was self-financed by the creator without studio or network backing, and Schuler documented the independent showrunning process publicly.
The company's business model is event-driven content distribution rather than a recurring-revenue software or service model. Revenue is implied from film festival screening fees and awards — listed under a one-time license model — with no publicly disclosed pricing, customer count, or financial figures. Distribution runs through the independent film festival circuit (7+ official selections including Dances With Films NY, Montreal Independent Film Festival, Lake Placid Episodic Film Festival, Ojai Film Festival, New York CineFest, NoHo CineFest, and Women's Comedy Film Festival Atlanta) supplemented by earned media coverage in Forbes, Deadline, CIO, and Pando, podcast appearances (Miss Educated, Lane Change, Microsoft Women in Business & Technology), and social media on Instagram and Twitter. The companion series CAKE WALK is streaming on Elizabeth Banks's WhoHaha Network, but the flagship series has no publicly disclosed streaming home. The target audience is women in technology and general entertainment viewers seeking comedy content about startup culture.
Makeshift Society firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Makeshift Society
- Legal name
- Makeshift Society
- Website
- https://makeshiftsociety.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2018
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Makeshift Society is an independent TV series production venture founded by Serena Schuler in 2018, producing original comedy content spotlighting female tech founders. The flagship pilot self-financed by the creator is distributed through the film festival circuit to women-in-tech and general entertainment audiences.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where Makeshift Society is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- San Francisco
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
Makeshift Society business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Film Festival Screenings: Revenue generated from screening fees and awards at film festivals across the circuit.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels6 records
Makeshift Society product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Makeshift Society is an independently produced original TV comedy series following Alex, a female tech founder who builds her own startup in a warehouse of misfit founders after being terminated from her tech job. The series offers a female perspective on Silicon Valley startup culture. The project also includes a companion series, CAKE WALK, streaming on Elizabeth Banks's WhoHaha Network.
Product overview
Makeshift Society is an independent TV series production company producing original comedy content. The primary offering is MAKESHIFT SOCIETY, an original TV comedy series following a female tech founder's entrepreneurial journey. The company also produces CAKE WALK, a series streaming on Elizabeth Banks's WhoHaha Network. Both productions focus on diverse, female-led, and BIPOC stories through the lens of comedy.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Cake Walk: A series created by Serena Schuler, now streaming on Elizabeth Banks's WhoHaha Network.
Products and services
- MAKESHIFT SOCIETY An original TV comedy series about a female tech founder named Alex who, after being terminated from her tech job, takes a gamble on a warehouse of misfit founders to build her own startup. Positioned as the female perspective counterpart to HBO's Silicon Valley. Targeted at audiences seeking representation of women in tech and startup culture.
- CAKE WALK A companion comedy series created by Serena Schuler, streaming on Elizabeth Banks's WhoHaha Network, a streaming platform focused on women in comedy. The series spotlights diverse and female-led stories through the lens of comedy.
Quantifiable outcome
- Featured in major publications including Forbes, Deadline, CIO, and Pando
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Makeshift Society
Customer profileSegments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Makeshift Society technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Makeshift Society partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- WhoHaha Network (Elizabeth Banks)coreMakeshift Society creator Serena Schuler has a relationship with Elizabeth Banks's WhoHaha Network, where her companion series CAKE WALK is streaming. This establishes a distribution partnership for content featuring women in comedy.
- Judy LoehrminorExecutive Producer and advisory board member. Has been building and investing in SaaS companies since 2000 across product, marketing, and venture capital. Advises a portfolio of startups with women CEOs.
- Jenny ChengminorAdvisory board member and VP at PayPal leading merchant teams. Board Member of Loopio, member of Athena Alliance, and investor in startups. Dedicated to seeing more diverse stories told of women in tech.
- Bonnie CraterminorExecutive Producer and co-founder and CEO of Full Circle Insights. Has supported the vision of Makeshift Society from the beginning and hopes to inspire the next generation of female founders.
- Michelle KantorminorAssociate Producer and co-founder of Cinefemme, dedicated to creating gender parity in film and equal representation in media. Award-winning writer, director, and producer with credits including HBO, FYI, OWN, World of Wonder, The History Channel, Sony, Universal, and NASA.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Makeshift Society competitors and assessment
Company assessmentMarket position
Competitive moat3 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Makeshift Society social profiles
Digital presenceMakeshift Society financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Makeshift Society leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles10 records
Makeshift Society funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Makeshift Society 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 Makeshift Society
What does Makeshift Society do?
Makeshift Society is an independently produced original TV comedy series following Alex, a female tech founder who builds her own startup in a warehouse of misfit founders after being terminated from her tech job. The series offers a female perspective on Silicon Valley startup culture. The project also includes a companion series, CAKE WALK, streaming on Elizabeth Banks's WhoHaha Network.
Is Makeshift Society a public or private company?
Makeshift Society is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Makeshift Society founded?
Makeshift Society was founded in 2018. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Makeshift Society based?
Makeshift Society is headquartered in San Francisco, United States, in the North America region.
How does Makeshift Society make money?
One revenue line is on record: film Festival Screenings.
Does Makeshift Society have an API?
No public API is recorded for Makeshift Society.