Otis — Culture is the New Asset. Part curator, part gallery, part…
Tags: Startup, Consumer, Venture Capital, Founders, Art

Part curator, part gallery, part exchange — one big vision to allow anyone and everyone to own a piece of culture.

I have been involved in the art world for over 25 years — as a student of art history, a collector, and the spouse of a gallery owner. Over time, it has been astonishing to witness the growth of the industry and the price appreciation of some artwork. While I love the art itself, the industry remains broken in many respects. Emerging artists are hard to discover, art buying is intimidating for many, and art as an investable asset is only available to a small group of global investors due to price levels. Enter Otis.

When I met Otis founder and CEO Michael Karnjanaprakorn, he painted a future vision of a more democratized art world: a world where people can learn about art in a less intimidating way, invest in emerging artists they grow to love, and catalyze the creation of a new asset class. Maveron is excited to join Union Square Ventures, NextView Ventures, and Kindred Ventures in backing Otis in its $11M Series A round that closed last month.

At Maveron, we believe creating iconic consumer brands happens with a founder like Michael — someone who is non-normal, thinks differently, and operates with a relentless drive and equal humility. Raised by a Korean mother and Thai father, Michael grew up in Newport News, Virginia. Michael displayed a keen interest in academics, enjoyed reading, and was incredibly creative. He cared about social justice from an early age, participating in charitable activities — the more unusual examples of which were convincing poker players to donate their earnings to worthy causes and volunteering in New Orleans for a year post Katrina. Fast forward to Skillshare, the first company Michael founded. There he blended his entrepreneurial chops with his passion for democratizing education. Today, Skillshare is the largest learning platform for creatives worldwide, with eight million students taking 25,000 classes taught by 8,000 experts.

Michael’s personal and entrepreneurial business experience convinced us he was ideally suited to lead Otis — where he has shifted from democratizing education to democratizing access to cultural assets by allowing people to buy and sell shares in art, sneakers, and other collectibles. Today it works like this:

Otis purchases high-quality assets and then issues shares through an SEC-approved offering. Through weekly drops, it offers fractional ownership starting at $25 per share to its users, accompanied by institutional grade due diligence to help members make informed decisions. Assets are put on display at public spaces all over the world.

Maveron has observed art becoming increasingly accepted as an asset class, with certain categories appreciating faster than equities in the last 25 years. Buying and selling well-recognized artwork remains an opaque and behind-the-scenes process, whereas the audience interested in art and culture has never been broader, more diverse, and engaged. The next generation of art buyers wants more transparency and a lower entry point for participation.

In addition to art, I’ve always been fascinated by Wall Street as I grew up in Manhattan and spent the first part of my career there as an investment banker. When I heard about Otis I was very intrigued by the idea of securitizing art. My colleague Natalie Dillon, who discovered Otis, brings an additional perspective as a millennial participating in the birth and growth of social media. Natalie has witnessed artists commanding audiences on social media that greatly outpace gallery audiences, contributing to a new cohort of art and cultural enthusiasts — those who have historically been left out of the art world. Together we acknowledge that artists and art itself is changing. It is no longer a colorful Matisse, but the Supremes skateboard that younger generations are clamoring over. It is notorious graffiti artist Banksy to renowned fashion designer Virgil Abloh to contemporary Japanese artist Takashi Murakami featured on a Kanye West album cover who are now being featured in the most exclusive galleries in the world. However, the very fans who have popularized these artists and who are helping create this new fanatical subculture within contemporary culture and art, are themselves unable to truly participate in the wealth creation of these artists until now. Otis provides a means for everyone to participate in that journey.

Importantly, the very base that these artists are speaking to — digitally savvy and culturally attuned millennials — are twice as likely compared to any other age group to view art as a financial asset. Their views around ownership are radically different than past generations, they value access over ownership, and they see tangible goods like sneakers as real investments with real returns.

All of us at Maveron are thrilled to partner with Michael and the Otis team as they democratize art and culture. Learn more about Otis here.

— Dan Levitan