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Read the 9-page pitch deck that YouTuber Moriah Elizabeth used to raise $2.5 million for her art app ‘Spark’
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- Arts and craft creator Moriah Elizabeth has raised $2.5 million for her digital art startup.
- The app emerged from Night Labs – the same venture studio that built MrBeast Burger and Feastables.
- The round was led by Konvoy Ventures, a Denver-based VC firm in the gaming space.
Popular arts and crafts YouTuber Moriah Elizabeth, who rose to renown for repainting Squishies and other toys, announced this week a $2.5 million seed round for her one-year-old startup, Spark, a digital art platform.
The round was led by Denver-based Konvoy Ventures, an early-stage firm focused on the gaming space, with participation from Long Journey Ventures.
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Spark emerged from Night Labs, the venture studio division of the digital talent management company Night Media, which reps Elizabeth as well as other top YouTubers like Jimmy “MrBeast” Donaldson, Preston Arsement, and Safiya Nygaard.
Night Labs partners with third parties to build creator-fronted businesses, including two startups by Donaldson: MrBeast Burger, a joint venture with ghost kitchen incubator Virtual Dining Concepts, and Feastables, a snack brand cofounded by former RXBar president Jim Murray.
Elizabeth’s cofounder at Spark is gaming veteran Laura Mae Brown – who has held previous roles at Riot Games, Electronic Arts, and Amazon, and most recently served as VP of product for WW (formerly Weight Watchers). Brown serves as Spark’s CEO.
The free app, currently sitting at No. 5 on Apple’s app store charts in the “Graphics & Design” category, furnishes a digital canvas enabling users to make basic art with their fingers or a stylus. It aims to streamline the creative process with simple tools and pre-drawn assets, patterns, and animations.
In a video introducing the platform, Elizabeth noted that upon firing up the app, Spark provides users with three creative prompts. It also lets users check out the creations of other members in the community via a so-called “inspiration gallery.” A multiplayer mode can be accessed for collaborative projects – with users teaming up to design the different body parts of a monster, for instance.
“You’re not going to make the most complicated, realistic art on here,” Elizabeth explained in the video. “It’s more just about the experience of being creative.”
Funds will be allocated to expand Spark’s art tools and gamified collab features, the company said.
You can check out the pitch deck that it used to raise its seed round below.
The Spark logo features a cartoon image of Elizabeth’s cat, Opie.
Spark explains its mission.
The deck then introduces the startup’s cofounders.
Moriah Elizabeth is a YouTube megastar with 7.9 million subscribers, who rose to fame for her wholesome arts and craft projects. Laura Mae Brown, who serves as Spark’s CEO, is a gaming industry veteran with previous stints at Riot Games, Electronic Arts, and Amazon.
Spark targets the lucrative arts and craft market, and legions of Gen-Z creatives.
The app is targeting the purported $44 billion arts and crafts market, as well as 67 million Gen-Z arts and crafters, it says.
Spark wants to build an arts and crafts experience for the digital era.
The app guides users through creation in a way that’s simple, according to the company, and is designed for amateurs. It also emphasizes collaboration, enabling users to share their work or team up on sketches.
The deck then includes screenshots from the Spark app.
After tapping the easel on Spark’s app’s homescreen, users are prompted with different ideas to inspire creation. Users can also harness the app’s toolkit – which funding is being deployed to expand – and display their creations in a gallery on their profiles.
The joy of the creative process trumps a flawless finished product, Spark says.
Spark says that the relaxation and joy of being creative distinguishes it from other social-media platforms, which can serve as a strain on mental health.
“Expressing yourself through creativity boosts mood and lowers stress,” according to the company, “and with our like-minded community, is the happy corner of the internet.”
It then shows a full shot of the app’s welcome screen.
It ends with a sign-off message.