Again in February, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian teamed up with Brent Montgomery (“Pawn Stars” producer) and Evan Parker (former normal supervisor at The Athletic) to launch Mantel, a social community permitting collectors to share their newest finds, similar to sports activities playing cards, TCGs (buying and selling card video games), comedian books, cash, stamps, sneakers, watches, and extra.
Initially obtainable solely on the internet, Mantel launched its cell app on Wednesday, offering collectors with a better approach to join with like-minded fanatics. Now obtainable for obtain on the App Retailer and Google Play, Mantel gives collectors a devoted area to interact with their pastime, whether or not that’s celebrating the joy of the chase or searching for recommendation from different fanatics on matters like grading sports activities playing cards, discussing market developments, and extra.
Some standout options embody “Mantelpiece,” a digital show case the place customers can showcase their favourite collectibles and entice curiosity for trades. The app additionally incorporates gamification with options like streaks, polls, and badges. Along with the principle feed, the place customers can see posts from different collectors, customers can entry a wide range of content material, together with market stories and insights from business influencers.
In tandem with the app launch, Mantel additionally launched a “Teams” function the place customers can invite members to teams based mostly on area of interest pursuits, like “NBA Junk Wax” or “Classic Non-Sports activities Playing cards.” The function is presently web-only however will roll out to iOS and Android gadgets within the coming weeks.
Within the $493 billion collectibles market, many accumulating apps exist; nonetheless, most prioritize gross sales. This might deter some individuals who aren’t concerned about promoting and will desire merely displaying their finds and assembly new pals. Additionally, whereas quite a few social community apps exist, Mantel goals to serve a distinct segment group of hardcore fanatics who might wish to preserve their accumulating actions separate from different mainstream platforms.
“There’s nothing nice within the collectible area for [sharing] content material,” Parker, co-founder and CEO, instructed TechCrunch. “I don’t see anyone within the collectible area doing what we’re doing.”
Buying and selling and promoting are nonetheless allowed on Mantel’s platform. Nevertheless, the emphasis is on group and sharing. In some unspecified time in the future in 2025, the app will launch a Stripe integration and personal messaging to facilitate gross sales between customers. However, there aren’t any plans to develop an in-app market, because the business is already saturated with opponents like eBay and CardsHQ.
The trio created Mantel out of a shared ardour for accumulating, desirous to develop a platform they personally would get pleasure from utilizing.
Parker all the time had the “collector’s gene,” he defined, accumulating every little thing from sports activities playing cards and memorabilia to toys and watches. After leaving The Athletic, he met Ohanian and Montgomery, who shared his enthusiasm.
“Alexis is a large collector, and Brent is anyone who grew up promoting baseball playing cards and issues like that to earn money when he was at school, after which he got here up with the thought for ‘Pawn Stars’ and spent his complete profession on the content material aspect, a variety of it having to do with the accumulating world… [Mantel] is nice for group, which Alexis is aware of higher than anyone from his Reddit world,” Parker mentioned.
Along with a powerful founding crew, Mantel is backed by notable buyers, together with Courtside Ventures, Cosmic Enterprise Companions, Steve Aoki’s Aoki Labs, Swap Ventures, VaynerFund, together with former WNBA participant Candace Parker and Adam Hansmann, co-founder of The Athletic. Ohanian’s SevenSevenSix and Montgomery’s Wheelhouse Leisure additionally invested within the platform.
Mantel didn’t disclose the precise variety of customers however talked about that it’s within the hundreds. On common, these customers make greater than 30 feedback or posts every month and interact with content material over 100 occasions month-to-month. The platform additionally boasts “tens of hundreds” of posts.
The app is free to obtain, however the firm is contemplating monetization choices similar to promoting and putting sure Teams behind a paywall.
