The unique story of Elf Labs...

This Sunday, we’re excited to be sitting down with David Phillips, CEO of Elf Labs. It’s an opportunity that we recently took part in ourselves, so wanted to share more broadly with our community of investors.

It’s a bit of a fascinating model - IP ownership of some of the most recognizable characters in history - all of my daughter’s faves: Cinderella, Snow White and Little Mermaid - along with the opportunity to monetize accordingly through various channels like TV / film, merchandising, gaming, ad sales, and streaming content.

Let’s Go! 👇

David, what exactly is Elf Labs? And can you share a bit of the backstory? How long has Elf Labs been around?

Elf Labs is an intellectual property company that has built a portfolio of iconic character IP through both acquisitions and internal development. We originally acquired assets for the Junior Elf Children’s book portfolio, which dates back to the early 1900s. This portfolio included classic characters like Cinderella, Snow White, Rapunzel, Belle, Little Mermaid, Peter Pan and more. We then reimagined many of them in cool new ways that would resonate with today’s audiences, bringing something fresh, cool and new to the market. Leveraging our Junior Elf lineage, we began registering international copyright and trademarks, winning historic battles at the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Today, we have a powerful, and growing IP portfolio of over 100 trademarks and over 400 international copyrights featuring the highest grossing characters in history.

How does what you do / your business model also make you uniquely positioned to succeed?

Once we acquired and solidified our IP portfolio, we turned to another form of IP to help create an even bigger moat around our value prop—state-of-the-art patented technology. This would allow us to bring our characters to life for the 21 century, and truly redefine entertainment. We’re talking about deep immersion, virtual reality–without headsets, advanced compression technology that allow for high fidelity, gaming, streaming and character interaction all in one central, seamless online environment. This major differentiator allows us to disrupt and reshape the future of entertainment and the storytelling experience.

Are there any competitors doing something similar?

There were and are a lot of companies who always try to dabble in IP. Having IP in general is extremely valuable as it allows you to monetize through many verticals and with high margins.  We have been fortunate to secure rights to globally recognized, high value character IP. When we take into account the advanced tech patents we are sitting on, which allows for a very one-of-a-kind online product, I have a strong belief we are the first to market, and have a strong, hard to replicate, first mover advantage. 

What are some of the products / technology that you guys are building?

Through 12 patents that work seamlessly together, we are able to stream and cloud based render high fidelity, immersive content in real time. Think taking terabytes of 8k video and compressing into megabytes that stream instantly to your device, allowing for virtual reality, high quality gaming, and deep immersion without the need for any interface platforms, like Xbox or Playstation. All a user needs is an internet connection. Then we layer on AI powered interactive toys that can interact with characters and the online world in real time. Imagine conversations between Cinderella in the digital world and a physical Rapunzel doll in our world. This is just one example of what our tech allows us to do. 

Is there still an opportunity to invest? Any perks for readers of The Offer Sheet to invest?

We are so appreciative of all the support, it’s really been overwhelming. But we are actually closing the round on October 30th. Until then there is still a chance for investors to get in. There are bonus share perks which are listed on our website. 

What has growth looked like within the last year? What are your goals? 

Growth has been overwhelmingly positive. The tech product we are building is working—each new update in our online platform is something that is a first-of-its-kind achievement, and works. This has been extremely exciting. 

Additionally, our goal was to create value through IP ownership, so that both inbound and partnership opportunities would be there naturally. And both have happened. We’ve already funded and greenlit 2 animated series because of inbound leads. We have major manufacturers starting to produce and sell licensed products globally. 

For someone’s who investing and wondering about a potential exit 3-5 years from now, would you think about an IPO or acquisition?

Yes. I believe we will have multiple opportunities for exit. We have significant inherent value in the IP itself. We’ve already received close to 9 figure offers for the IP pre-profit. Either IPO, selling a percentage of the company at high valuation or outright acquisition should all be there, for us to decide what is best for our company and shareholders. 

Generally speaking, what is the vision of the company that you see 5 years out?

My goal is for the company to be a new kind of 360 entertainment lab. We will have an online hub where the future of entertainment lives. This means, streaming content, both kids, YA and Adult. High quality gaming, AR/VR experiences, interacting with AI powered characters, and tech powered toys, all interconnected and working seamlessly. The biggest disruption to entertainment since streaming. 

In terms of the revenue model, which channel do you think you’ll be most invested in moving forward? Merchandise, gaming, streaming content, etc.?

What I like most about our company is we’ve been able to build a business model around owning iconic IP. So the main focus and investment is around the popularization of our IP. As we do this, we can monetize through multiple verticals including streaming content, gaming (in game power ups, subscriptions), merchandise, themed attractions, advertising and sponsorships, and more. When you have IP that is popular and has a fan base, a lot becomes possible.