Collectibles are big business. Spanning comics, artworks, figurines and other items linked to superhero franchises and popular culture, the sector attracts interest from collectors of all ages. Once upon a time, that meant buying new items in the shops or browsing second-hand stores and markets to find interesting items; but today, there is also a huge volume of digital material available to collectors who might live anywhere in the world.
New Zealand-based start-up VeVe exists to service that market. “We’re now the number one platform for licensed digital collectibles and comics,” explains CEO Ben Rose. The platform sells original works, courtesy of licensing deals from the major studios and brands, and operates a marketplace through which people can buy and sell collectibles. Its latest issue, for example, is a new range of digital Beauty and the Beast collectibles launched this week with Disney. “We’ve got users in 180 countries who have collectively bought more than $1 billion worth of merchandise through us,” Rose adds.
That merchandise also now includes comics, with VeVe launching VeVe Comics a year ago this month. Publishers such as Marvel, Ablaze, Humanoids and Dynamite make premium digital comics available through the site, releasing them on the same day as their print equivalents. Over the past 12 months, VeVe Comics has racked up more than 10 million digital comic transactions, and now hosts around 8,500 titles.
VeVe was launched in 2017 by David Yu, an entrepreneur with a lifelong interest in collectibles, and Dan Crothers, who ran a digital marketing agency. The co-founders started out by trying to build a website but rapidly recognised that blockchain technologies, providing transparency and traceability, represented an opportunity to develop something more imaginative. Harnessing its functionality, they could provide collectors with access to authentic and verifiable content – providing reassurance to both individual collectors and global brands that are determined to protect their intellectual property.
“David and Dan had first-mover advantage,” explains Rose, who joined the company as CEO last year having previously been the CEO of cryptocurrency exchange Binance in Australia and New Zealand. “They built something in an industry that didn’t previously exist; nobody else was trying to achieve what they wanted to do.”
That helped when the founders went knocking on the doors of the big studios; a small start-up based in New Zealand might be expected to get short shrift from huge multinational entertainment companies. But when Yu and Crothers pitched the idea of digital collectibles to studio executives, they struck a chord – and there weren’t any competitors with the same vision or expertise.
VeVe started with a limited-edition digital collectible from the Batman Black & White series but has gone on to offer more than 1,200 similar items from Disney, Marvel and other producers. While many collectors are also keen on physical merchandise, Rose says that digital collectibles have certain advantages.
“They’re accessible to everyone, no matter where people live, and they’re often more affordable,” he explains. “They’re easier to look after, plus they’re more interactive – you can do more with them, like adding music and other sounds.”
Over time, VeVe has attracted “a community of passionate people”, Rose adds. The company’s next challenge is to provide new types of experience to this community. One big focus is the ‘VeVeVerse’, a metaverse that the company launched last year, where users can interact, create their own content, and share their collections with other fans. “We see it as the place where the world is going to come together to collect,” adds Rose.
It’s a massive opportunity. Estimates of the size of the global collectibles market vary according to how you define it, but one recent study from Grand View research suggested that at current rates of growth, it will be worth $422 billion by 2030. VeVe’s business model is well-placed to benefit, with the company netting fees from sales of new collectibles, as well as a commission when users trade their merchandise on its marketplace. The evolving metaverse activity provides further scope to generate revenues, with VeVe planning a premium version of the VeVeVerse that will offer additional features in addition to the current free version.
Yu and Crothers, VeVe’s founders, continue to be closely involved with the business, focusing on working with licensees and evolving the user experience, while Rose runs the company day-to-day. “David and Dan wanted someone to come in to help them scale the business,” he explains. “There is no shortage of opportunities to expand into new sectors and to broaden our appeal in markets worldwide.”
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