HUSSSLUP, the LinkedIn of the entertainment industry, launches beta web app

Image credits: loud noise

loud noisecurrently in an invite-only beta, is a job search and networking app for creative professionals in the media and entertainment industry to connect with talent-seeking studios and production companies.

Today, the company announced a web version of its mobile app. It will be widely available next week.

Much like LinkedIn, HUSSSLUP allows users to write posts, connect with others, and search for gigs.

However, the app is not aimed at the general public, but aims to be a central hub for online and offline creative professionals in the entertainment industry to collaborate on projects, promote upcoming movies/TV shows, invite others to join an event, Find new talent and more.

Additional community tools include the ability to create groups, share encrypted creative samples, chat via in-app messenger, and create annotated contact lists for each project, movie, or show.

Alongside the web launch, the company is also introducing a new web-based feature called “Pro Search,” a proprietary feature that allows for deeper searches, and “Serendipity Mode,” a Tinder-like portion of the platform Can quickly connect with other members.

The new ProSearch tool provides employees with a way to find talent based on specific criteria such as their credit rating, representation, preferred genre/project type, availability, where they would like to work, professional affiliation and more.

Users can also save potential hires to lists, where they can then add comments, note who they hired, and share with others.

Notably, the tool also allows users to sort search results to discover different employees. HUSSSLUP claims that about 65 percent of its current membership considers diversity in at least the following categories: gender, race, and LGBTQ+.

The industry continues to be criticized for being underrepresented, so the new features of HUSSSLUP are an important addition to its toolbox.

Of the 200 highest-grossing dramas in North America in 2022, people of color (POC) accounted for only 22% of principal actors, 17% of directors, and 12% of writers, According to UCLA’s 2023 Hollywood Diversity Report.

Web users also get “Surprise Discovery Mode,” which allows them to “swipe” — or, in this case, click right or left with a mouse — on tiles displaying member, company, and community profiles. The cards are randomly organized to give users a better chance of discovering a wide range of people.

H Shuster, founder of HUSSSLUP, told TechCrunch that the company plans to roll out more web-based features in the future. This includes “Project Roster,” a feature that enables users to list their employees and generate phone bills, anonymous statistical reports on tax benefits, and more.

HUSSSLUP also intends to create a text, image and video search tool and AI recommendations.

Unlike most professions, there is no rulebook on how to pursue a career in entertainment. Most of the time, you either have connections in the right places and luck is on your side that week, or – if you’re lucky enough – you’re a nepo baby.

Hence, HUSSSLUP’s tagline is “Turning Hollywood from small circles to hits”.

Schuster founded HUSSSLUP as a potential solution to this persistent group problem—”the outdated telephone game,” as she and her team like to call it.

An executive producer with 20 years of experience in Hollywood, Shuster has worked on reality shows like “Master Chef” and “The Biggest Loser” and knows all too well how frustrating it can be to find new talent.

“When I’m sitting behind a recruiting desk, you know, I’m going to make five or 10 calls to colleagues, friends, managers, agents, and get five to 10 names,” Schuster told TechCrunch. “You don’t know these people, so you’re trying to get their credits on IMDb and get samples of their ideas on YouTube…it’s very painful and distracting, and it can take a long time to find someone who’s available and then review them.”

“There’s got to be a more efficient way, and there needs to be a happier way, and frankly, for creative talent to start with a place to aggregate all of their professional information and build a profile that really allows them to Telling their own stories and presenting themselves to the industry in the way they want to be seen,” she added.

H Shuster, Founder and CEO, HUSSLUP

All profiles on HUSSSLUP are verified to ensure that everyone on the app has worked in the industry before. Shuster claims that about 75% of HUSSSLUP users are at least mid-career, including directors, writers, producers, editors, animators, composers, music directors, art directors, and more.

However, once the app exits beta, the company eventually hopes to invite students and recent graduates who are still seeking to break into the industry. HUSSSLUP is currently working with several universities, including New York University and the American Film Institute, among others.

The company also works with numerous production companies, studios and organizations, including Universal Pictures, Universal Pictures, Blumhouse, Westbrook by Will Smith, AGBO by the Russo Brothers, Bankable Productions by Tyra Banks, This by Don Cheadle Radicle Act and Women in Film, among others.

In December 2022, HUSSSLUP raised a $2.5 million seed round led by f7 Ventures and Fuel Capital, with additional funding from Ulu Ventures, Gaingels and 360 Venture Collective.

Previously, HUSSSLUP raised pre-seed investment in 2021 from the Comcast NBCUniversal LIFT Labs accelerator powered by Techstars.

To date, HUSSSLUP has approximately 6,000 members, according to the company.