Media investor and entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk and entertainment executive Scooter Braun, are buying into a new form of art—literally. The duo today announced a strategic investment in Ikonick, an online company that sells limited-edition canvas prints of artists images.
Ikonick, the brainchild of Jeff Cole and Mark Mastrandrea, launched 15 months ago, selling their canvas art prints at prices ranging from $40-$700. The company was a way to monetize Cole’s popular Instagram account with 400,000 followers, and his eye for aesthetically pleasing, emotional images with “prescriptive thought/messages.” The result, he believed, was artwork Millennials would want on the walls of their homes and offices. The company claims it has been cash-flow positive since its first month and is approaching $10 million in sales since launching 15 months ago. Ikonick has signed deals for Muhammed Ali and the NBA.
Ikonick
Cole first worked with VaynerMedia when he rebranded their sports agency and Vaynerchuk admired his design sensibility. When Ikonick later presented to Vaynerchuk, he was impressed by the company’s potential, particularly of filling a gap in the market for art for 18- to 45-year-olds. As he related, “If I asked a 27-year-old, ‘Where do you buy art?’ there would be no answer. That is the gap. It could be someone who just has a blank wall.” Vaynerchuk also sees potential synergies with his other enterprises VaynerSports and GaryVee, as well as collaborations with brands, contemporary influencers, musicians and athletes. He plans to release a signature series with Ikonick this fall.
Experts at social media, the founders are using Instagram posts @ikonick to market these works. The company’s purpose is arguably democratizing art by making it accessibly priced and relatable. The company has also begun to find fresh, talented artists and helps them get discovered by producing their work as canvas art and promoting it socially.
Both Vaynerchuk and Braun liked the management team and business model, and thought the idea had so much potential, they wanted to get involved. As Vaynerchuk said: “It was intuitive. I met the guys and liked them. It was one of those things, living the life of an entrepreneur.” For Cole and Mastrandrea, it’s a dream to be able to collaborate with two individuals they have long admired and can learn so much from.
Ikonick
While e-commerce is the primary business model on Iconick’s near-term horizon, it’s possible to foresee collaborations with hotels, restaurants, corporate offices, co-working spaces, and home furnishing retailers. It’s also part of a trend I’m seeing of making art, sometimes branded, available in unconventional ways in unconventional places, for everyone to enjoy. Last August, the New York Times reported on a Spanish trucking company owned by Jaime Colsa that hires artists to beautifully paint their ordinary freight trucks that transport goods on highways. Colossal Media from Greenpoint, Brooklyn has pioneered branded street art. Their teams of talented artists paint wonderful outdoor branded murals in select U.S. cities. Capturing the works in progress has become social media content.