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Five New Investments in Q1
An Austin Venture Studio, Unknown Ventures, closes Q1 with five new investments in the booming tech and rebounding entertainment industries.
Investing in innovative experiences.
Unknown Ventures is investing in exciting markets in the entertainment, tech-startup, and real estate spaces. We work to support founders striving to bring about innovation in the way people share experiences and form relationships. Our portfolio companies share a belief in people and the power of celebration, making amazing experiences possible by supporting the industry at every vertical.
It’s been a good quarter.
Following a year of postponements and lost connections, people are itching to return to public spaces. Industry projections seem to echo this notion, predicting pent-up demand for live events to climb at exciting levels. Our objective this quarter was to bring in a cohort of seed to series-A companies well suited to capitalize on this pivotal time in the entertainment and social industries.
And it’s one we’re proud to say we’ve realized.
Each adding immense value and diversity to our quickly growing portfolio, we are pleased to welcome five new partners in Q1: DanceFight, Ibble, Mobile Charging Lockers, Recess, and Summit Junto. Here’s the rundown.
DanceFight
A MassChallenge 2020 Diamond award winner and finalist in the 2021 SXSW Pitch Contest, Dancefight is an app-based media company providing a safe platform for the Gen Z audience through its head-to-head video challenge platform. Its mission, to create the safest, most inclusive community for young people across the globe. We’re thrilled to assist DanceFight as they continue improving and adding more features to their product, leveraging our event marketing resources to facilitate the company’s market reach.
Mobile Charging Lockers (MCL)
Mobile Charging Lockers is the leading provider of cell phone charging storage lockers for music festivals and large events worldwide. This single partnership significantly improves our services infrastructure nationwide. This is an investment we are immensely excited about, as we see enormous opportunities for collaboration among the large festivals and interactive experiences in our portfolio.
Recess
Recess helps strengthen and democratize the overall live event and entertainment ecosystems through its online marketplace, connecting event organizers and brands wanting to engage with in-person experiential marketing. Recess has helped large clients like Redbull, KIND, Apple, and Google facilitate experiential marketing activations ranging from Back to College events all the way to socially distanced drive-ins. As in-person events start to return, the Recess team is poised to create viral growth loops that propel their business to the next level.
Summit Junto
This exclusive series of events offers a more intimate experience focused on fostering genuine relationships among thought leaders of multiple industries and disciplines. The summits are limited to groups of 6 to 8 and have recruited speakers such as Bill Clinton, Jeff Bezos, Herbie Handcock, among other A-listers. We’re excited to strengthen Summit Junto’s production capabilities as they continue to create once-in-a-lifetime experiences.
Ibble
Perhaps the most exciting startup of the new wave of social media 5.0 companies, Ibble is an app that creates a space to spark curiosity through public or private conversations based on the latest trends, events, or news. The company aims to reinvent social media and perfect digital conversations to make collective wisdom accessible, retainable, and actionable to accelerate human evolution. We are excited to assist Ibble in closing the largest seed funding round in Texas history, led primarily by investments from Drive Capital, to offer them access to our entertainment and production networks.
New additions to support an amazing roster.
As exciting as this quarter’s acquisitions are, we must share some of the spotlights with our equally exciting list of existing partnerships. We expect this passionate group of companies and organizations to work exceptionally well together as we approach this new age in entertainment.
And We're Laughing
And We’re Laughing (AWL) is a professional event consulting firm responsible for supporting and facilitating extraordinary experiences and festivals nationwide. Festivals supported include Electric Forest, Imagine, Lost Lands, Shambhalal, and more.
Coalition
Coalition Entertainment is a full-service entertainment firm composed of passionate creatives, operators, and analysts. The firm uses real-time data and best practices to deliver world-class experiences, focusing on talent buying, festival and event operations, event staffing, and brand consulting.
Euphoria
Co-founded by the Unknown team members back in 2012, Euphoria Music Festival brings the biggest names in EDM together for a week-long experience hailed as one of the most profound in live music festivals.
Jet
Based out of Los Angeles, California, Jet is one of the nation’s most premier artist talent management agencies in the county. We’ve been fortunate to maintain a synergistic relationship for years through our multiple collaborations on large events and festivals.
Sangfroid!
Sangfroid! is an agile, full-service marketing studio creating remarkable full-funnel experiences out of Austin, Texas. Founded in 2016, the agency has grown from a niche agency serving startups and entertainment industries to a full-blown marketing and advertising studio, serving tier-one universities, law firms, festivals, and more.
Waterloo
Waterloo is a prime example of an organization working to create authentic experiences while commemorating the culture that helped Austin become what it is today. For this, we’re proud to include this festival in our portfolio and can’t wait to see what magic they produce next.
Calling on Cultivators of Events & Experience
Since our studio’s inception, Unknown has had our eyes set on the future of entertainment and tech and has been working towards shaping it to be prosperous for both consumers and entrepreneurs alike. For those looking to join us in this cause, our line is open. Reach out to us on our website for more information on investment opportunities and partnerships.