A YouTube alum's next move: turning viral cartoons into big business
An early architect of YouTube Kids has launched a new startup aiming to turn animated characters born on social media into global franchises.
Visional Pop will invest in and partner with animation creators, including those making comic-style and short-form videos on X and Instagram. It plans to help creators cultivate a presence on YouTube and other platforms and monetize mostly via consumer products, including toys and apparel.
Visional Pop was founded by Ben Grubbs, a YouTube and Turner Broadcasting alum and longtime investor in the creator economy. A firm he cofounded, Creator Sports Capital, recently led a $45 million investment into Good Good Golf.
Shortly after Visional Pop was founded late last year, it acquired YoBoHo — a 15-year-old, Mumbai-headquartered YouTube network that owns and operates over 150 channels in the kids' space.
Grubbs declined to share the acquisition price, but said YoBoHo will play a key role in the company's mission.
Visional Pop will harness YoBoHo's content distribution and audience development expertise, as well as its production infrastructure, to build YouTube channels for the creators it's working with.
YoBoHo reaches more than 200 million unique viewers monthly. In addition to incubating its own channels, it has developed YouTube channels for third parties, said founder and CEO Hitendra Merchant.
Selling products is one way creators can turn their content into a big business. Many influencers make money from the sales of items like T-shirts, keychains, and chocolate bars. However, Trump's tariffs have squeezed some pockets of the creator merch industry, such as plushies, and they have had to adapt.
Visional Pop will be based in Los Angeles, but Grubbs said he's assembling a team in Japan focused on product design and manufacturing.
Visional Pop will announce the first slate of creators it's investing in in the coming months. Grubbs said it's seeking family-friendly characters that appeal to children and adults alike.
Grubbs said he's been particularly inspired by the animated character IP market in Japan. One example is Chiikawa — a character that originated on X and has spawned dedicated retail stores in Tokyo.
"Our aspiration is to have IP that we develop and that we partner with and invest in that's going to be recognized by our grandkids," he said.
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