Unvale is a company where the next generation of storytellers develops entire worlds of content, grows their audience, and publishes the next big hit. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Unvale founder and CEO Casey Lawlor to gain a deeper understanding of the company.
Casey Lawlor’s Background
Unvale founders
Could you tell me more about your background? Lawlor said:
“I’m a 3x founder who has done everything from building enterprise software for big four banks to bootstrapping a mobile non-profit matching engine during the pandemic. My true passion has always been media and entertainment. As a kid, I was obsessed with character creation, comics, and films–dreaming of becoming a writer and director in the future. Now my purpose is to help other people pursue their creative dreams from day one. We’re building the platform for the younger versions of us.”
Formation Of The Company
How did the idea for the company come together? Lawlor shared:
“Social media is built for influencers, not creatives. Still, creatives need social media to grow their audience. We realized that story development could be the most interesting audience growth engine for your creations. So we built a platform that helps you grow an audience as you develop a story from day one. It’s social media for the next creators of Harry Potter, Star Wars, and a new Marvel Comic Universe.”
Favorite Memory
What has been your favorite memory working for the company so far? Lawlor reflected:
“Our users launched a homegrown viral event on the platform called ‘Eating Epidemic.’ You can Google it! It affected everyone on the platform’s story worlds, and over 4000 story elements were created by over 200 users. One user even created merchandise related to the core characters in the eating epidemic story world. It was a month-long flurry of incredibly creative work.”
Core Products
What are the company’s core products and features? Lawlor explained:
“We enable story development through organizing and sharing character pages, backstories, concept art, and writing. Everything is social-enabled, so you can grow a following and receive motivation as you build. Then, when you’re ready to publish your story in whatever form you want–novel, comics, or animation–you can do it on Unvale.”
Challenges Faced
Have you faced any challenges in your sector of work recently? Lawlor acknowledged:
“Our platform doesn’t allow AI content. Despite no clear demand for AI-generated creative content, looming issues with copyright infringement, and no clear way to copyright your work, the majority of capital has flown to companies that have no user base or traction. This has distorted the vision of the media and entertainment industry as a tech-focused, instead of a creative and IP-focused industry–which it always has been. We are using technology to assist top creatives in producing new IP and incredible stories–never replacing them. That is a fundamental difference in our strategy.”
Evolution Of The Company’s Technology
How has the company’s technology evolved since launching? Lawlor noted:
“We have built out our infrastructure to handle the 1MM meaningful social interactions on platform every single month. We have automated reporting and moderation, as well as built ways for users to share their content across other social channels easily. We have also built various tools to prompt users to create things, helping them get over writer’s block and keep creating.”
Significant Milestones
What have been some of the company’s most significant milestones? Lawlor cited:
30 million views on Unvale stories, 15MM meaningful social interactions–comments, likes, follows, 3 million stories created and published, and 250k signups so far.”
Customer Success Stories
Can you share any specific customer success stories? Lawlor highlighted:
“We have had multiple users report getting jobs in the creative industry–as designers, game developers, and illustrators–directly as a result of being on Unvale. We even have real-life relationships that started with digital relationships on Unvale! We are truly a thriving social space that has inspired hundreds of thousands not to give up on being creative.”
Funding
When asking Lawlor about the company’s funding details, he revealed:
“Raised $1.8 million from Antler, GFR Fund, Ganas Ventures, Graham & Walker, LongJump, and Network Ventures.”
Total Addressable Market
What total addressable market (TAM) size is the company pursuing? Lawlor assessed:
“$470 billion fiction, comic, and animation market. Just like YouTube took 10% of television, and Roblox is on pace to take 10% of gaming, we will take 10% of these publishing industries by allowing the largest creative userbase in the world to self-publish.”
Differentiation From The Competition
What differentiates the company from its competition? Lawlor affirmed:
“We start earlier in the creative process than all other publishing platforms. We also help with user growth, the key to having success as a self-publishing platform. This combination means we get to users first and keep them long-term.”
Future Company Goals
What are some of the company’s future goals? Lawlor concluded:
“We will be the largest producer of animated content in the world. We will dethrone YouTube as the #1 career choice for kids–being an Unvale creator.”
