The 26-year-old CEO of Trad3r has spent almost $1 million self-funding a TV show about his own startup. He tells us why.

Gianni O'Connor, founder of Trad3r

The founder of in-app stock trading game Trad3r has plans for a self-funded TV show based on his life story.
Gianni O'Connor, 26, told Business Insider he has poured close to $1 million in the venture, which he intends to distribute via Amazon in July.
O'Connor told Business Insider not only would he play himself, but a number of his close friends and business partners would appear too.
Filming had been set to start in California soon – but has been moved to Barcelona due to problems caused by COVID-19.
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Gianni O'Connor, the founder of in-app stock trading game Trad3r, has revealed plans to shoot and star in a TV series based on his own life.

The 26-year-old founder, who lives in London, told Business Insider he had invested around $1 million of his own money into the venture, which he hopes to distribute via Amazon's Prime Video Direct service in July, which allows content creators to upload their own videos to the platform.

Speaking to Business Insider, O'Connor said he developed the idea while living opposite Netflix's California HQ, and striking up friendships with a number of employees there.

"It started out as just an idea, but slowly we got more and more excited about it ," O'Connor said. "Then before you know it, I've hired a writer and he was there crafting this beautiful eight-episode creation."

The writer in question was Titov Zavala, an Ecuadorean writer who set up shop at a desk next to O'Connor's for a number of weeks, taking notes as he shared stories from the company's early days.

"I'm a huge fan of dramas based on true stories, like 'Narcos' – but we thought we had something totally new to offer here," said O'Connor, who will play himself in the show, which has a working title of "Silicon Beach".

He told Business Insider not only would he play himself, but a number of his close friends and business partners would appear too.

Gianni O'Connor, founder of Trad3r

"When you watch this show, you're going to be watching the actual events unfold, only a few years after it all really happened – with the people who were actually there playing themselves!"

Filming was originally set to take place in California in the next few weeks, but O'Connor says this has been changed to Barcelona in light of the coronavirus outbreak.

"Obviously, in real life most of the stuff that happened took place in Coventry, England, but I wanted the show to feel a little more..."

He laughs: "Optimistic."

Coventry is a city in the Midlands region of the UK and, like the rest of the country, is not known for its sunny weather.

O'Connor says the show will function as a how-to guide for young entrepreneurs looking to set up their own ventures.

"After watching one season of this show, you'll understand how to build a tech company.

"I want our viewers to learn not all money is good money, different investors have different needs, and – sadly – some people will change their attitudes when you become successful."

Trad3r's seed fundraising round initially ended in October, but was extended to January following renewed interest from investors.

Backers include Alex Oliver, cofounder of the $2 billion New York consulting firm Oliver Wyman, as well as Brian Chadwick, the lawyer who oversaw the sale of online games site Miniclip to Tencent.

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