About: Rapp Consulting

Sean R. Rappleyea

This didn’t start as a business. It started when I hit a wall with nothing to fall back on and had to figure out how to survive when the old paths stopped working. I came up through storytelling and believed in the work but I learned quickly that talent doesn’t get funded and good ideas don’t move just because they matter to "you". You need clarity when everything’s breaking, discipline when you’re running on fumes, and people who know what it actually takes to get something over the line. I’ve lived that. I’ve had to keep something alive with no backup plan.

That’s why I built a business that doesn’t pretend, doesn’t pad, and doesn’t flinch when things get real.

My Expertise

I operate at the intersection of capital strategy and creative execution. With a background in film production for over a decade, I now work with founders, producers, and operators to build ventures that meet the demands of serious capital.

I’ve ADVISED on investment across private equity, independent media, and early-stage growth companies.

I know how investors think because I work directly with them and I know where creative ventures break because I’ve lived through it.

My expertise is in financial modeling, investment packaging, and deal-level decision-making.

I translate creative concepts into assets that hold up in the room, under review, and through DEVELOPMENT.

This isn’t theory. It’s execution under pressure, with accountability built in.

Background & Experience

I started in film on set, in the chaos, managing moving parts with no safety net. Early on, I learned how to make decisions fast, keep projects on track, and deliver under pressure...for survival.

Over time, I moved beyond production logistics and into the mechanics of how projects succeed before a single shot is filmed. I became fluent in budgeting, scheduling, and risk assessment as the difference between momentum and collapse.

That shift led me into capital and learning how to defend it, allocate it, and align it with execution. I’ve worked across major networks and platforms such as Amazon, Netflix, Hulu, STARZ, HBO, ABC and with independent leaders like MPI and FilmNation. I’ve delivered award-winning and critically recognized projects that survived not because of luck, but because the groundwork and relationships were real.

My background is creative. My lens is operational. My value is in seeing both sides without compromise.

Core Competencies & Areas of Expertise

My expertise bridges the worlds of creativity and commerce, ensuring ideas are not only impactful but also positioned for long-term success:

Capital Architecture & Investment Readiness

Investor-grade modeling by unit economics, sources/uses, cash-curve timing, scenarios/sensitivities.
Capital stack design by equity/debt/incentive mix, seniority, covenants, reserves, receivable control.
Waterfall engineering with recoupment order, corridor logic, fee/cap reasonableness; audit-ready footnotes.
Risk & diligence by delivery/legal/incentive/talent/FX/counterparty registers with mitigations (bonding, escrow, step-ins, insurance).
Offer architecture & IC materials: thesis memo, valuation rationale, terms matrix, decision aids for committee review.
Market/exit frameworks: comp sets, revenue windows, P&A economics, breakeven and downside coverage.

Production Operations & Delivery

End-to-end production management across features, series, and premium digital.
Budget architecture: ATL/BTL ratios, fringes/payroll, vendor bids, contingency/completion reserve, variance and hot-cost reporting.
Cashflow & incentives: eligibility/QPE audits, certification pathway, assignment/monetization timing, collections/CAM setup.
Scheduling & logistics: stripboards/DOODs, location strategy, union/guild compliance, milestone gating.
Post & delivery: editorial/VFX/sound/color pipelines; IMF/DCP, M&E, accessibility; E&O, chain-of-title, music clearance.
Platform coordination: delivery standards and workflows for Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, Max, MPI, FilmNation, and comparable buyers.

Strategic Development & Market Alignment

IP/rights packaging: option/license constructs, exclusivity windows, attachment strategy (agency engagement framework).
Thesis and positioning: genre economics, budget-band fit, territory logic, slate/portfolio rationale.
Sales & distribution design: pre-sale methodology, windowing strategy, MG/P&A modeling, collection mechanics.
Co-production & alternative finance: treaty/co-pro structures, service models, tax-incentive strategy, soft-money integration.
Incubator & pipeline design: stage gates, KPI trees, slate operating model, portfolio reporting cadence.

THE RAPP // VANTAGE WAS BORN

The RAPP // VANTAGE is a field-tested operating lens, built in the trenches. It came together in the chaos of production offices, 4AM call times, broken budgets, blown schedules, and deals that nearly fell apart.

After more than a decade in the industry and over 35 globally recognized projects, I learned how to keep projects them from collapsing.

This model exists for the people who are serious about building something real. It bridges the gap between creative ambition and investment reality and between what you dream and what capital will actually back.

I apply what I’ve lived and and I built this to give projects a real chance - not just to launch, but to last.