Superplastic's Paul Budnitz has built a content studio of zany, multimedia characters designed to thrive in the coming metaverse. It's already harnessed investors like Amazon, Sony Japan and Animoca and Kering– the parent company of Gucci and Balenciaga.
Superplastic Founder and CEO Paul Budnitz, pictured in the startup's headquarters in Burlington, Vermont.he future cultural center of the Metaverse might be 3,000 miles away from Hollywood and Silicon Valley, in a century-old brick and timber warehouse in Burlington, Vermont.
Inspired by newspaper comics from the early 1900s, Superplastic debuted its first characters in 2020 even before NFTs became part of the mid-pandemic zeitgeist. But unlike comics, the metaverse nature of their origins allows each to travel back and forth between various places both online and offline through both digital content and physical collectibles. Janky, a cat-like character, likes pop culture, music and sneakers.
Superplastic is just one of several startups Kering has backed in the past year to explore disruptive business models without over-exposing luxury brands like Alexander McQueen and Yves Saint Laurent. Other recent investments include the second-hand fashion platform Vestiaire Collective, British luxury handbag subscription platform Cocoon.Club, and the shoppable streaming platform NTWRK.
Next to his desk is a poster on a wall that reads “Death To Nostalgia,” a rallying cry that he carried with him from his KidRobot days. But that doesn’t mean he isn’t inspired by the past. His characters have been inspired by the past comics like Krazy Kat and Ignatz—which ran as a newspaper strip from 1913 to 1944. He also likes the Belgian comic duo Asterix and Tintin.
“If you look at how animated media is traditionally created,” he says. “An artist often has a great idea, they end up selling it to some big studio, and then the studio makes all the money, controls it, and generally often ruins it.” With Superplastic, the plan has always been about the characters—and all the movies, music, stories and sponsors that come with them. But growing interest in digital collectibles is perfect timing for Budnitz, who has a long history of creating and selling limited-edition physical items.
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