The Idea:
Matthew Buchanan and Karl von Randow met working at a web design company in Auckland. In 2001, they started their own studio, Cactuslab. Client projects paid the bills, but eventually the pair built something for themselves: a home for people who loved films.
The idea was simple. Keep a diary of what you watch, rate it, make lists and follow other people’s recommendations. A film collection you could share without lending anyone your DVDs.
They explained it as “Goodreads for movies”. Behind that familiar pitch was a useful combination: something you could use on your own, with more reasons to return as other film fans joined.
In late 2011, Matthew showed the early version at a web conference in Brooklyn. The beta attracted enthusiastic users. Hollywood could wait. First, they had to keep paying for it.
This was the beginning of Letterboxd.
The Execution:
- 2011: Matthew debuts Letterboxd at Brooklyn Beta, built with Karl and a small team back in Auckland. The early product lets film fans log, rate, watchlist and share films.
- The early years: Cactuslab funds development with income from client work. The founders go without pay from Letterboxd for years, using their agency team to keep building. Their side project comes with a very real bill.
- 2019: Eight years after launch, Letterboxd finally starts making money, according to the founders’ university profile. Free accounts build the community; paid memberships give enthusiasts extra features.
- 2020: Lockdowns bring film fans looking for connection, and Letterboxd hires its first full-time employee, editor-in-chief Gemma Gracewood. Membership stands at 1.8 million.
- 2021–2023: Membership rises from 4.1 million in 2021 to more than 10 million across 200+ countries in 2023. The company expands into interviews, a magazine and a podcast, with partnerships including the Academy and Netflix. The film diary is becoming a film-media business.
- September 2023: Tiny completes a majority acquisition, taking a 60% stake. Matthew and Karl stay in charge. By then, around 4% of active users are paid subscribers.
- Q2 2026: Letterboxd passes 30.7 million members, up 43% year on year. A niche interest has become a sizeable audience.
- November 2026: The New York Times Company is reportedly in exclusive talks to buy Letterboxd for roughly US$330 million. As of 10 November, no completed agreement has been confirmed. That figure is a proposed transaction price, rather than cash paid to the two founders.
The lesson?
Letterboxd gave film fans something useful to do before asking them to build a community: record what they watched. Each diary entry made the product more personal, while other people’s reviews and lists made it more interesting. For founders building around a niche, that’s a useful starting point. Give someone a reason to use the product alone, then a reason to bring their friends.
And find a way to fund the slow bit. This one took years before the blockbuster numbers arrived.