How do you make a viral web hit that scores more than 7 million views in 24 hours? Film a two-minute clip in 45 minutes, keep to one location and rely on friends and family for cast and crew. Of course, it doesn’t hurt if you’re friends with comedian Will Ferrell, that your foul-mouthed 2-year-old daughter is hilarious or that venture capitalists on Sand Hill Road think you’re funny.
The rocket success of The Landlord, a video short made by former Saturday Night Live writer Adam McKay and his long-time friend Ferrell isn’t too surprising. What is, though, is that VCs from Sequoia Capital, known for backing the likes of Apple, Google, YouTube and Yahoo, had the foresight to set the whole thing up.