Tech Trail: South Florida’s first TikTok ‘creator house’ is a viral address
Where do viral TikToks come from? It’s not just your teenager’s bedroom.
In fact, many are manufactured in so-called creator houses. These are residences that accommodate multiple social media stars whose interactions in the houses spark ideas that develop into TikTok narratives and branding.
For much of their existence, creator houses have been concentrated in Los Angeles. Now, a South Florida entrepreneur is hoping to open the first one in the region.
Ben Spoont founded Misfits Gaming as South Florida’s first professional e-sports video gaming outfit; the group is partially owned by the Miami Heat. The Misfits teams specialize in playing Overwatch, League of Legends and Call of Duty.
As some of Misfits’ high-profile players garnered bigger followings online, Spoont saw an opportunity to give corporate brands access to them, and to tap the players — and others — to create content via a creator house.
Late last month, Spoont gathered five TikTok and Misfits stars, each with millions of followers, and put them under one roof in Fort Lauderdale to create viral branding content for financial services group SoFi.
The result: 17 million impressions of the hashtag they created — #misfitsgghouse.
“The goal is to create super authentic viral content for brands,” Spoont said. “And a cool way to do that is through the house. We need the influencers to want to do that. As an 18-year-old, it’s going to be cool to come to Florida, shoot [video] on the Intracoastal, have a fridge stocked. It’s awesome, it’s like a dream lifestyle.”
The exact location of the upcoming house remains undecided. While Misfits is mostly concentrated in Boca Raton, Spoont said he is conscious of the Miami moment.
“Miami is ridiculously hot,” he said. “Companies are moving here left and right...it’s a super attractive city that’s fun, and vibrant, with a great cross-section of people down here. That all adds up to be super attractive to brands.”
Spoont said Misfits’ marketing agency has already created viral content for the likes of Hasbro, and that Misfits properties and players had collectively garnered 1 billion impressions over the past year. In the next 18 months, Spoont said, he plans to get to 10 billion.
SoftBank announces master class instructors
SoftBank’s Operator School, which hopes to upskill top tech talent in South Florida and beyond by bringing in Miami and LatAm founders and operators to teach the fundamentals of running a startup, has announced its guest instructors. They include Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, SoftBank Group International managing partner Shu Nyatta, WeWork LatAm CEO Claudia Woods, and QuickNode co-founder Auston Bunsen.
The master class sessions are free and open for anyone to register and participate in virtually. Florida International University, the University of Miami, and Miami-Dade College, also offer special programming to their enrolled students.
More information at www.softbankmiami.com/softbank-operator-school.
Pareto Holdings launches founders program
Pareto Holdings, the Miami-based company launcher from Shutterstock founder Jon Oringer and tech veteran Ed Lando, has announced a pre-seed funding program for founders.
“If you are passionate about a project, we want to hear from you — whether your company is generating revenue, building a (minimum viable product), or just an idea you’re excited to bring to life,” Pareto says on its website. “Tell us about your vision and how we can help and we’ll get back to you within 48 hours.”
While the program is launching in Miami, it will not be limited to Miami-based companies.
Miami-based Baleon Capital’s new venture fund
Baleon Capital, a new venture capital firm launched by Miami-based entrepreneur Jon Kaiden, has announced the close of its first fund, designed principally to invest in companies driving innovation in healthcare. He is now raising money for a second fund, targeting $100 million.
This story was originally published August 8, 2021 at 6:00 AM.
