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Rec|S1 · EP 01|00:00:24:18
Season 1 in Development

Where FoundersMeet the Crowd

BACKED is a premium entrepreneurial competition series where founders pitch, prove, and perform under pressure for the chance to be backed by the crowd.

The panel asks the questions. The founder earns the moment. The crowd decides what deserves to be backed.

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Don't Just Watch the Dream. Back It.

The Film

BACKED in 30 seconds

One pitch. One stage. One crowd that decides.

The Format

Founder storytelling built for the participation era.

Traditional entrepreneurial shows stop when the pitch ends. BACKED changes the room. Each episode combines founder backstory, high-stakes pitching, celebrity panel pressure, product demos, business challenges, and a compliant path for viewers to learn more through regulated crowdfunding partners.

This is not about celebrities writing checks. It is about founders earning trust — and the crowd getting the opportunity to participate.

01

Founder Story

The human journey behind the company.

02

The Pitch

A clear, high-stakes presentation of the business.

03

Panel Pressure

Celebrities, operators, athletes, and creators ask the questions viewers want answered.

04

Product Demo

Founders prove the product, experience, or opportunity on camera.

05

Crowd Participation

Viewers are directed to official materials where they can review, understand the risks, and decide for themselves.

The Stage

Step into
the light.

One spotlight. One founder. One audience that decides what gets backed. BACKED is built for the moment the room goes quiet — and the cameras lean in.

Inside the Show Take the Stage

The Distinction

Not another investor panel show.

BACKED flips the traditional model. The celebrity panel is not there to act as venture investors. They are challengers, testers, cultural translators, and audience proxies. The real power sits with the crowd.

Traditional Founder Shows
BACKED
Investor panel decides
Crowd gets the opportunity to participate
Pitch ends the story
Pitch begins the journey
Panel writes checks
Panel challenges and validates
Passive viewers
Active audience pathway
Entertainment only
Entertainment + compliant participation
Single episode moment
Social, sponsor, and campaign momentum
Explore the format

How It Works

Every episode is built for story, tension, proof, and action.

  1. STEP 01

    Cold Open

    The highest-stakes moment starts the episode.

    1
  2. STEP 02

    Founder Backstory

    The audience learns why this founder matters.

    2
  3. STEP 03

    The Pitch

    The founder explains the company, the problem, and the opportunity.

    3
  4. STEP 04

    Panel Questions

    The panel tests the story, product, market, and founder readiness.

    4
  5. STEP 05

    Product Demo

    The audience sees the product, service, or experience in action.

    5
  6. STEP 06

    Pressure Test

    The founder faces a business challenge under pressure.

    6
  7. STEP 07

    Panel Verdict

    The panel gives feedback, not investment advice.

    7
  8. STEP 08

    Crowd Moment

    Viewers are directed to official materials to learn more.

    8

For Founders

Turn your founder story into national momentum.

BACKED is looking for founders with compelling stories, demonstrable products, real ambition, and the ability to answer hard questions on camera.

Featured companies may receive premium storytelling, video assets, social clips, product demo exposure, panel feedback, PR momentum, and awareness around their official campaign materials.

Apply to Be Featured View Founder Criteria
Strong founder story
Clear problem and solution
Demonstrable product or service
Real traction or proof points
Mainstream audience appeal
Clean legal structure
Crowdfunding readiness
Strong on-camera founder

For Brands

Show up where ambition becomes action.

BACKED gives brands a premium way to align with entrepreneurship, innovation, founder culture, small business growth, and audience participation. Sponsors can support founder tools, demo zones, challenge segments, digital clips, newsletters, live events, and premium content built around people chasing the next big opportunity.

1

Presenting Sponsor

Own the full-season association with BACKED.

2

Category Sponsor

Own a strategic business, technology, financial, or lifestyle category.

3

Episode Sponsor

Support a specific founder, theme, or episode.

4

Segment Sponsor

Power recurring segments like The Demo Zone or Founder Challenge.

5

Digital Sponsor

Support social clips, founder features, and behind-the-scenes content.

Partner With BACKED

Why Now

The timing is right for participatory business entertainment.

Founder culture has become mainstream. Retail investing has become normalized. Audiences increasingly expect participation. Regulated crowdfunding creates a pathway for compliant public participation. Streaming and social distribution allow a show to become a full media ecosystem. BACKED sits at the intersection of all five shifts.

SHIFT 01

Founder Culture Is Mainstream

SHIFT 02

Audiences Want Participation

SHIFT 03

Crowdfunding Has Matured

SHIFT 04

Streaming Rewards Distinct Formats

SHIFT 05

Social Clips Expand the Show Beyond Episodes

The Team

The team behind BACKED.

Capital markets fluency on camera. Operating depth behind the scenes. The two halves it takes to build a participatory entertainment platform that actually clears.

Portrait of Chantelle E. Borrelli
Co-Founder & Creator

Chantelle E. Borrelli

Chantelle is a capital markets executive, media personality, and the original creative force behind BACKED. As former Head of Communications at a TSX-listed company and spokesperson for a prominent U.S. hedge fund, she has led over 150 high-net-worth investor roadshows across North America and appeared on Bloomberg, NBC, Yahoo Finance, and KITCO News. She raised $3 million in seed capital for her own venture — and has spent her career in the exact rooms BACKED was built to bring to television.

Portrait of Matthew Loughran, EMBA
Co-Founder & Operator

Matthew Loughran, EMBA

Matthew is an entrepreneur, operator, and AI systems builder with 15+ years across fintech, payment infrastructure, and technology ventures. He is the 2026 Folsom Entrepreneur of the Year, a Laudato Si Business Impact Award recipient, Executive Director of TEDxFolsom, and founder of Folsom Tech Week. At BACKED, he leads fundraising strategy, the financial model, data room, legal structure, platform partnerships, and commercial execution — the full operational architecture behind the format.

Important Structure

Entertainment first. Official investment decisions happen through regulated channels.

BACKED creates founder storytelling, product demonstrations, panel reactions, and audience awareness. Any actual investment opportunity must be reviewed through official offering materials hosted by the applicable regulated platform.

The host, panelists, sponsors, and BACKED are not providing investment advice or recommending securities.

Read Important Disclosures

Final Take

Founders. Sponsors. Investors.
The crowd is waiting.

BACKED is building a new kind of entrepreneurial entertainment platform — one where the story does not end when the pitch ends.

Apply to Be FeaturedPartner With BACKEDRequest Investor Materials