Jon Gosier
The Successful Serial Tech Entrepreneur and Investor
Portrait of Jon Gosier.
Jon Gosier is perhaps one of the busiest and most successful investors whose name you never heard. Through his Atlanta-based Southbox Entertainment firm, he has been an executive producer for film and television projects. The company finances and develops independent and genre films ranging from $5 – $50 million. He is the founder and CEO of a similar venture called FilmHedge. He also devoted a considerable amount of effort and resources starting over 15 companies in a dozen nations on the African continent. Gosier now aims to grant lower-tier investors access to opportunities that will allow for the even spread of wealth. Time magazine listed him as one of the “12 New Faces of Black Leadership” in 2015.
Jonathan D. Gosier was born in Reston, Virginia, on May 20, 1981. He grew up in Atlanta, Georgia, where he studied sequential art and sound design at the Savannah College of Art and Design on a full scholarship. He also studied telecommunications at the University of Georgia and dabbled with computer programming and designing software. Jon said of those days:
“Growing up, I always had a love for computers, but it wasn’t until college that I realized that it could be a career.”
The entrance to Tyler Perry Studios adapted from a still courtesy of CNN.
Regardless of his love for computers, Jon did not venture into technology right away. Instead, his early focus was the entertainment industry. He spent close to a decade working in the music industry as a staff engineer, sales manager, and sound designer. That parlayed into film and television when he joined the Tyler Perry Company in April 2007, when Perry was on the verge of building a media empire. Jon sat in on meetings where he witnessed firsthand how Tyler Perry closed deals, and that inspired him.
While working in the music industry, Jon desired to become a filmmaker, but an entertainment career led to dissatisfaction when he worked for Perry. He admits to becoming bored. In 2008, his then-current girlfriend secured a position at a nonprofit in Kampala, Uganda. Jon left his job and moved with her to make a fresh start.
Jon’s nostalgia for computers inspired him to launch a software development company named Appfrica. The startup specialed in market research, technology solutions tailored to individual companies, and investing in emerging markets. Early on, he allowed employees to devote time and attention to personal projects that blossomed into independent businesses he supported with Appfrica profits. Strategic partnerships and direct foreign investment helped Appfrica trigger upwards of $100 million in economic activity on the African continent. As Appfrica grew and seeded new tech startups, Jon saw the way forward. In 2011, he returned to the United States with a new focus.
After investing heavily in tech, Jon committed his attention to the entertainment industry once more. But this time, he was an entrepreneur and film financier, with a base in Atlanta, Georgia. While cities like New York, Los Angeles, and London are home to entities that decide which big-budget films receive financing, Jon aims to add Atlanta to that coveted list.
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