First Look: Ristband
Your portal to the music metaverse
Company: Ristband
Deck: Here
Raising: $2m
Team, Vision & Value Proposition
What are your backgrounds, and how did you meet? 🏃♀️🏃♂️
Anne, CEO - Operations expert and marketing strategist. Anne has supported emerging technology startups through growth and acquisition. As a journalist, Anne covers the cutting edge of developments across the metaverse and web3.
Roman, CCO - Writer, musician and filmmaker. Roman performs in the band Miro Shot and has directed short films, documentaries and music videos for several artists.
Anne and Roman first met when they were both working on a VR gaming and live music project, looking for a way game engines and gaming culture could create a new kind of concert experience.
Why did you decide to work together? 🤝
Roman: Anne felt like the missing link in all the things I had a blind spot for, and I could focus on artists and make a tool I felt was important for us to use.
Anne: When I saw what Roman was doing in bringing together a combination of game engines, metaverses, live music and experiences, I thought this is something we can develop into a really exciting business together.
What is your vision and mission as founders? 🚀
We’re shaping Ristband around our belief that the metaverse will become the digital twin of everything that happens on earth. In the same way, every shop, restaurant, or movie exists on the internet, it’s logical to assume that the same thing will happen with events, exhibitions and other venues involving the creative arts.
In five years, Ristband will be the destination for everyone who wants to discover new content. It will also be the toolkit for artists, creators and brands to build in the metaverse.
What is your core value proposition? ✨
For artists, it’s about enabling creativity in the metaverse by creating amazing experiences, engaging your audience, and accessing the tools you need to make a living.
For fans, it’s about having a space where you can learn, discover and socialise.
Product
What are the key features of your current product? 👨💻
With Ristband you can access virtual worlds right from your browser, attend events happening in the real world and create content - such as a game - and host it on our platform.
What has been your biggest challenge with the product so far? 💪
Our biggest challenge was creating the music metaverse stage at SXSW. It was a mad sprint to create a product the public could access and one that would run in real-time alongside a physical event.
Market
What is driving growth in this market? 📈
Gamers were traditionally a large demographic that many brands didn’t have access to. Now we’re seeing the habits of gamers changing, especially GenZ, and this has been triggered by the pandemic. We believe that soon, everything will exist in a real-time digital space.
What do you believe is the key to winning in this market? 🔑
The key is providing compelling experiences. Why is World of Warcraft so sticky? Why did GTA V outsell Thriller in three days? It’s because these experiences have been so incredibly designed, and that’s why some metaverse platforms will explode, and others will crash and burn.
How do you view the current market landscape? 🌐
Current platforms enable things to happen in the metaverse by tapping into big IP or one-off events. None of these platforms have unlocked the wider market that enables any artist to access, create and monetise.
Fundraise
What are you looking to raise now, and what milestones are you hoping to achieve with this financing round? 💸
We’re raising $2m and are currently in the process of applying for our second Epic MegaGrant. The funding will go towards -
Retaining and growing our excellent team (CTO, marketing lead, community manager, BD).
Technological integrations e.g., motion capture, spatial audio.
Implementing various blockchain solutions.