What’s In It for (me) ALL?

St. Louis, MO June 29, 2026 - In May, our team took part in a private work-in-progress screening of our film Steak Guerrillas as part of our grant funding compliance. 

The film isn’t finished. The animation isn’t complete and we are still working to polish the film, but the screening did its job. People connected with Dr. Taca’s story. They laughed in the right places, got emotional in the right places, and they understood what we were trying to say.

It was an important milestone for our team who have been working at such a breakneck speed for the last year. Our work really paid off. I’m excited for what lies ahead.   

What surprised me was how fast my attention moved past the screening and focus on a film that has consumed so much of my life of late.

The day after the screening, I wasn’t reviewing edits. I was finalizing scripts on another project and reading through operating agreements. A few days after that, I was thinking about advisor recruitment, hiring, and the next several projects in our development pipeline.

The work feels different now, but it also feels familiar — because I’ve been working toward this moment for a lot longer than most people realize. I’ve moved past project level focus to enterprise level focus with the launch of our studio just around the corner. 

The Work Nobody Talks About

One reason I started this Filmmaking for ALL™ series is to show what independent filmmaking looks like in real life. Not the polished version, the real one. The version where a filmmaker is also a producer, fundraiser, project manager, and occasional therapist.

Where progress is measured in signed agreements and cleared rights, not just finished scenes. I expect that from the outside, it might look like watching turtles racing. Our work is like that, not something that is fast or exciting to watch. 

There is a reason ESPN doesn’t do wall to wall coverage of turtle races. The work that nobody talks about isn’t glamourous or fun.     

Most people see the screening. They don’t see the years before it.

It’s like an iceberg. The visible part — the film, the premiere, the announcement — is the smallest piece. Everything that makes it possible sits below the surface: the legal work, budgeting, sales, infrastructure, planning, pipeline-building, and a question I keep returning to.

How do you build something that creates value for everyone involved — not just one project, one investor, or one person at the center of it?

From WIIFM to WIIFA

Most communicators are trained to think about WIIFM — What’s in It for Me?

It’s a useful question. Honestly, a critical question, if you work in PR or marketing.  If you want someone to listen to a message, you need to understand what matters to them.

I used that framework for years, first as a lobbyist, then running political campaigns, then as a communications executive for a Major League Baseball team. If you came to my office looking for help with communications, I’d always ask, what’s the purpose of the communication? What’s in for the audience? Why should they care? 

I learned that early in my lobbying days. Don’t even bother a legislator with your advocacy pitch unless you have honestly thought through what is in for them. 

But as I’ve spent more time building this studio, I’ve found myself asking a different version of that question. One that speaks to all the stakeholders you need to make the business model really work. 

What’s in it for ALL?

Not just what’s in for me. Not just what’s in for investors. Not just what’s in for filmmakers, or story sources, or audiences. The question is what’s in it for all of them. That question has become the test I run every part of our developing business model through. If a model only works for one stakeholder, it probably isn’t sustainable.

So, here’s how I think about it, stakeholder by stakeholder — including, possibly, you. Yeah, you, the reader of this blog. Even you. Especially you. 

If you’re a storyteller — a filmmaker, editor, cinematographer, writer — you know the exhausting part of this work: you build something remarkable, finish it, and start over from zero. What if you didn’t have to?

What if you had real skin in the game, and the chance to benefit not just from your own work, but from the success of other projects in a growing portfolio? What would that look like? How exciting could that be? Is that even possible? 

If you have a story — or know someone who does — you know that the people whose lives become the foundation of a film rarely share meaningfully in what that story goes on to generate.

What if there were a model where you shared in the upside, not just of your story, but of others projects — and the downside was shared too, instead of resting entirely on you? 

How would that make you feel? Would you be willing to share your story if you knew others were doing the same?  Would you feel less alone if you knew others were doing the same? 

If you’re part of our audience - I think you’re looking for the same thing most people are looking for right now: authentic stories and a real relationship with the people who make them. What if a media company were built around exactly that — democratizing access to professional storytelling instead of gatekeeping it? 

If you’re an advisor or someone who invests - I know you’re looking for disciplined decision-making, real risk management, and a genuine shot at long-term value. If you are investing in something, you want to know about the return on that investment (when and how... and how much), as well as what are the risks. 

Media can be a great investment, but films have a reputation for not being good investments. Some are, but many aren’t. 

What if the business model started by protecting the downside, took a systematic approach to developing IP and its derivative potential, and borrowed the best of A24, Angel Studios, the creator economy, and modern startup thinking to build for a media landscape that now includes AI?

 What if you took what is the best of legacy media and fused it with the best practices fueling the exponential growth of the creator economy? What would that look like? 

And if you’re a friend, a family member, or someone who’s simply been following this journey — you’ve probably been the most important stakeholder of all, even if no one’s said so directly. You’ve watched this evolve for years, as I’ve tried different approaches, testing and validating, dreaming and doing.

You’re the reason I keep writing. I’m grateful you have stuck by me, and I’m excited about what comes next. Your emotional investment in me will pay off.   I promise. 

When you look at any one cohort, none of their individual interests are wrong. They’re just different. The challenge — the actual design problem — is building a system where they can align instead of competing. What does that look like in practice? 

Putting It on Paper

At some point, this stops being a philosophy and becomes structure.  As we build the studio, we ask how this shows up in the way the company operates, not just the way I talk about it.

That question led to what we call our For ALL Fund™ — a profit-sharing structure that compounds as our portfolio of stories grows. We’re putting it in place with our projects now. 

I expect the details will keep evolving as we tap the expertise of others, but the principle won’t: if we succeed, success should create opportunity beyond any single project.

That doesn’t mean everyone gets the same outcome or owns everything. Not at all. It simply means we’re deliberate about how value flows through the system as we design it from scratch, so collaboration is rewarded and the ecosystem gets stronger as it grows. 

I’ll share more details about this in a future article, but the name comes from the idea of one for all and all for one. It is not some “woo woo” collectivist thing Ron cooked up, it is the same economic approach behind mutual funds and portfolio investment. 

The For ALL Fund ™ is being designed to give everyone a vested stake in the success of the enterprise and reward those who choose to work with us. Even if their individual project isn’t a success, they benefit when the company succeeds. It is a financially responsible, sustainable way to share in the success of a collective catalog of true stories as a studio scales. 

Not an Ending. A Beginning.

Later this summer, we’ll gather for a private screening of Steak Guerrillas — the Taca family, our families, collaborators, supporters, and the people who helped get us here. Those of you reading this article who want to attend. I’m looking forward to sharing the work in progress film. But I’ll also be thinking about what’s next, because while one story is nearing completion, several more are just beginning.

That’s what this season feels like. Not an ending. A beginning.

If any of this resonates — if you’re a storyteller looking for a better model, someone with a story worth telling, a potential advisor, or simply someone who wants to see where this goes — I’d love to hear from you.

A few ways to do that:

Download the STORYSMART STUDIOS Overview → for a closer look at what we’re building.

Send me an email if you have a story idea, want to explore collaborating, or are interested in learning more about building this studio.

Just keep reading — I’ll keep sharing the journey as it unfolds.

What’s in it for all?

We’re still discovering the full answer. But I believe we’re finally asking the right question.

About Ron Watermon

Ron Watermon is a creator, builder, media entrepreneur, filmmaker, and the founder of STORYSMART. He writes about professional storytelling, media entrepreneurship, filmmaking, and the business of turning stories into valuable assets.

Ron is the author of STORYSMART Storytelling for ALL and is currently building STORYSMART STUDIOS, an independent media company dedicated to developing, producing, and owning profitable, enduring original media properties.

About Our STORYSMART® Perspective

At STORYSMART, we approach storytelling, filmmaking, and media development as a long-term, rights-first business rather than a project-by-project creative exercise.

Our focus is on understanding how stories create value over time through ownership, disciplined development, audience relationships, and thoughtful risk management.

The articles, commentary, and educational materials published here are intended to contribute to broader conversations about storytelling, media, and intellectual property. They are provided for informational and educational purposes only and should not be construed as investment, legal, tax, or financial advice.

Nothing contained in this publication is intended to promote or solicit investment in any specific project, company, or security. Any discussions regarding potential business or investment opportunities are conducted separately and, where applicable, pursuant to appropriate agreements and offering materials.