Sony Pictures Networks announces crowdfunding based reality series “Meet the Drapers” slated to premiere November 19, 2017

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NEW YORK

Sony Pictures Networks announced today that their upcoming crowdfunding- based reality series “Meet the Drapers” will premiere across the United States on November 19, 2017 at 6pm (ET) on Sony Entertainment Television (SET).

In this innovative show, produced & directed by Sarika Batra, three generations of venture capitalists from one of the most prominent families in Silicon Valley: Bill Draper, Tim Draper, and Jesse Draper, come together to hear hot, up-and-coming startups pitch their ideas. Each episode will feature three exciting startups trying to convince the Drapers to invest in their company and simultaneously convince millions of viewers to fund them through their crowdfunding page on the Republic platform. Episodes will also feature a guest judge, who is a legendary success in his/her their respective field.

Bill Draper began his venture capital career in 1959 and is one of America’s first venture capitalists. Currently, he is Managing Director of Draper Richards L.P and Draper International. He serves as the Co-Chairman of the Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation. Mr. Draper is also author of the book, The Startup Game:Inside the Partnership between Venture Capitalists and Entrepreneurs.

Bill’s son, Tim Draper has been named one of Worth Magazine’s 100 Most Powerful People in Finance and is the founding partner of Draper Associates and DFJ. His original suggestion to use viral marketing as a method for spreading a software application from customer to customer was instrumental to the success of Hotmail, Skype, and others. Tim also received the World Entrepreneurship Forum’s “Entrepreneur for the World” in 2015.

Tim’s daughter, Jesse Draper followed in the family footsteps, betting big on female founded and led companies through her new venture capital fund Halogen Ventures. Through Halogen Ventures, Jesse spearheads early stage seed investing in female founded consumer technology startups; some of her portfolio companies include: Laurel & Wolf, Move Loot, Carbon38, BlockCypher, Beautycon & Sugarfina.

Tim Draper shares: “It is finally possible for the individual investor to participate in the funding of exciting young ventures. ‘Meet the Drapers’ allows viewers to watch us interview entrepreneurs and then, invest in companies that have the potential to change the world. We are thrilled to have created a unique show, that invites viewers to become investors in exciting new startups. We’ve been blown away by the entrepreneurs we’ve met so far, and believe viewers will be too.”

Guest judges for “Meet the Drapers” include successful serial entrepreneurs Naveen Jain; business executive, entrepreneur and the founder and former CEO of InfoSpace, Vivek Ranadive; founder and former CEO of TIBCO, a multimillion-dollar real-time computing company, and Jyoti Bansal; founder and former CEO of AppDynamics, which he sold to Cisco for $3.7 billion.

“South Asians are a vibrant part of the Silicon Valley startup culture.” said Jaideep Janakiram, Head of the Americas at Sony Pictures Networks. “We created this show to showcase these trailblazing entrepreneurs, VCs and angels, and to allow SET viewers to participate in their ventures.

Pitching companies will be accepting investments via Republic – a leading equity crowdfunding platform that makes startup investing available to anyone. Republic is the easiest way to become an investor in breakout early-stage startups for as little as $10.

To participate in crowdfunding for selected ventures, viewers are encouraged to watch “Meet the Drapers” on Sony Entertainment Television every Sunday at 6pm (ET), starting November 19th, 2017.

About Sony Entertainment Television:
Sony Entertainment Television (SET), one of India’s leading Hindi general entertainment television channels is a part of Sony Pictures Television (SPT) backed Sony Pictures Networks, which is India’s leading television network. Since its launch in October 1995, SET has created a unique space for itself in the Indian Television industry. Pioneering new waves in television programming, with blockbuster movie premieres, big format non-fiction shows and an impressive array of fiction shows like Sabse Bada Kalakar, Super Dancer, The Kapil Sharma Show, Indian Idol, Kaun Banega Crorepati, Entertainment Ke Liye Kuch Bhi Karega, Sankat Mochan Mahabali Hanuman, Beyhadh, Kuch Rang pyre Ke Aise Bhi, Bajirao Peshwa, CID, Crime Patrol Bade Acche Lagte Hain, Bharat Ka Veer Putra Maharana Pratap and Itna Karo Na Mujhe Pyar. SET is known for its innovative concepts and exciting formats and is the most preferred family entertainment channel which has been providing strong platforms for more than 700 brands to reach over 93 million households in India. In addition, Sony Entertainment Television is also available in the US, UK, Africa, Europe, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Maldives, Malaysia, Indonesia, Fiji Islands and Seychelles. In total, SET influences over 332 million viewers in the Indian sub-continent, and the South Asian Diaspora worldwide.