A new social media platform for collectors has launched with backing from outside investors.
Seven Seven Six, a tech and venture capital firm owned by Reddit Co-Founder Alexis Ohanian and Wheelhouse, the marketing, media and investing company founded by CEO Brent Montgomery, have partnered on the website, known as Mantel.
The new venture is designed as a social media initiative for collectors. Initially focused on sports cards, trading card games and memorabilia, it’s expected to eventually expand to other collectible fields. Collectors can show off items and interact with others.
Evan Parker, sports business executive and former general manager of The Athletic, serves as CEO of Mantel. Investors include Gary Vaynerchuk/Vayner Fund, Steve Aoki, WNBA legend Candace Parker and others.
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Those attending the Burbank Card Show this weekend are getting a look at dealer inventory—via their phone or computer.
24 hours ahead of the opening, some of the cards dealers are bringing to the show can be seen Mascot’s website. Dealers can upload their cards to help collectors find what they’re looking for before they walk in the door. The listings are fully searchable.
The VIP session wasn’t scheduled to open until Thursday evening but Mascot and Burbank rolled out the early look a day ahead of time.
By Thursday morning, more than 15,000 items had been uploaded by Burbank dealers.
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Leaf has a new partnership with Quidd, the digital collectibles and NFT marketplace, and subsidiary of Animoca Brands. The collaboration will see the two companies cooperate on an upcoming series of limited-edition sports digital trading card collections, exclusively available on the Quidd marketplace.
The digital sports cards will be sold off-chain as digital collectibles in Quidd’s marketplace, but mintable by collectors to the Ethereum blockchain.
“We are excited to strike this partnership with Quidd,” says Kevin O’Neil, CEO of Leaf Trading Cards. “This collaboration opens up new avenues for collectors in the hobby. We’re taking an inclusive, big tent approach to these upcoming sports drops, ensuring there is something exciting for all collectors – those that love cardboard, those that love digital, and those that love NFTs.”
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