Film major Gasnel Jacques was lying in bed thinking about how the pandemic had affected the way people socialize when an idea popped into his head. It was a way to revive the good time people have when doing something simple yet fun, like watching a movie together.

Jacques decided there may be something to his late-night thought. In spring 2023, after a year-and-a-half hiatus from school, the sophomore returned to Brooklyn College, where he received an invitation to participate in an entrepreneurship competition arranged by the Koppelman School of Business. The contest required students to come up with an idea for a business, pitch it, and create a business plan. He kept reading: Faculty and alumni judges would be critiquing his work, helping him to fine-tune his idea. He didn’t want to miss this unique mentorship opportunity.

How did you go from idea to pitching your concept to entrepreneurs?

I’m constantly thinking about all kinds of things: fashion, finance, entrepreneurship, storytelling. The pandemic took away get-togethers and group experiences. People were not meeting in person, in real-time, as much as we had before. We had lost the opportunities to socialize face-to-face in groups while we isolated. In 2022, I was falling asleep in my bedroom, and the idea just came to me: Good Time Cinema.

How would Good Time Cinema work?

I’m looking to bring back the experience of movie-going with a twist. Theatergoers would reserve one of several screening rooms in the theater for a specific time of day to watch a film of their choice—provided by a partnered streaming service—with family and friends. The concept is about bringing people together.

How did you decide to pitch the idea to your peers, professors, and fellow entrepreneurs?

My minor is business, so I enrolled in a business marketing class taught by Assistant Professor of Business Management Laura Rifkin and heard about the competition. I thought it would be a cool way to promote my idea. I sent a six-minute YouTube pitch to the Idea Competition judges, who were faculty and alumni. The video was pretty rough, but I was allowed to enter the next stage, the Pitch Competition. This is where you present a more polished version of your idea. The next and final stage was the Business Plan Competition, where I came in third.

So, the Business Plan Competition allowed you to fine-tune your idea with experts.

Yes. The competition was great because the judges gave me constructive criticism; it was more than just “that’s a good idea.” I got some very helpful feedback from alumnus Ted Liebowitz ’79, who has been a mentor at Brooklyn College for quite some time. I wouldn’t have gotten as far as I did without the help of Mr. Liebowitz and Roger Gonzalez, director of the Entrepreneurship Lab here. The same goes for Douglas Adams, director of the CUNY Technology Commercialization Office. He connected me with people who helped me flesh out my idea even further. And Associate Professor Veronica Manlow was key in running the competition and mentoring students.

Professor Rifkin’s course also helped me understand the nuts and bolts of creating a business plan and about partnerships. In my case, I’d need to partner with a streaming service, such as Netflix or other services, to make as much content available to customers as possible. And then there’s marketing. I’m looking to market Good Time Cinema as an authentic experience, but also an experience that’s not available anywhere else. Something exclusive. I’ve done the research and there are few, if any, theaters in the United States that would offer a unique experience such as mine.

What progress have you made since the competition?

Last spring, I was able to set up a screening in the West End Building of an episode of HBO’s The Last of Us, and the turnout was very good. There were shared laughs, cries, and jokes. It was the type of experience I’m looking to provide—fun among friends and peers at the movies. I learned the mechanics of how to work with a streaming service. This past summer, I had Zoom calls and exchanged e-mails with an executive director from a movie theater company, learning how to make my plan a reality. I’m grateful for that.

So Brooklyn College has delivered for you as a place to find support toward your career goals?

Yes, and I hadn’t planned to attend Brooklyn College! I wanted to go upstate, like my brother and a couple of my friends. But I got into SEEK (the Percy Ellis Sutton Search for Education, Elevation, and Knowledge Program), which is an incredibly supportive program for someone like me, who was a first-time college student. SEEK got me to Brooklyn College, Koppelman, the competition, and a chance to incubate more ideas using the resources the school offers. I’m looking forward to the rest of my time here.