StartPlaying Lands $6.5 Million Seed Round From Andreessen Horowitz

<p><strong><span class&equals;"legendSpanClass"><span class&equals;"xn-location">SAN FRANCISCO<&sol;span><&sol;span><&sol;strong> &&num;8212&semi; StartPlaying&comma; the largest online platform to find tabletop role-playing games and professional Game Masters&comma; has landed a <span class&equals;"xn-money">&dollar;6&period;5 million<&sol;span> seed round led by venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz general partners <span class&equals;"xn-person">Jonathan Lai<&sol;span> and <span class&equals;"xn-person">Andrew Chen<&sol;span>&period; The funds will go towards scaling marketing to reach new players&comma; broadening StartPlaying&&num;8217&semi;s network of industry partnerships&comma; and hiring top talent&period; The company aims to double their teams&&num;8217&semi; size by the end of the year&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&&num;8220&semi;We&&num;8217&semi;re investing in putting together a world-class team&comma;&&num;8221&semi; said CEO and co-founder <span class&equals;"xn-person">Nate Tucker<&sol;span>&period; &&num;8220&semi;We believe this will be the key to maintaining StartPlaying&&num;8217&semi;s momentum&period;&&num;8221&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>With over 40 million people playing tabletop role-playing games today&comma; TTRPG has outgrown its niche beginnings&period; a16z&&num;8217&semi;s investment in the platform forecasts the consolidation of TTRPG into the mainstream and the rise of a professional avenue for skilled players&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&&num;8220&semi;Beyond growing a user base&comma; this is about community&comma;&&num;8221&semi; stated <span class&equals;"xn-person">Devon Chulick<&sol;span>&period; &&num;8220&semi;Whether it&&num;8217&semi;s helping Game Masters and players find each other or collaborating with industry partners&comma; we&&num;8217&semi;re proud to have the opportunity to bring people together through the power of games&period;&&num;8221&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Since it was founded in <span class&equals;"xn-chron">September 2020<&sol;span>&comma; StartPlaying has seen over 100&comma;000 games hosted by more than 1&comma;000 professional Game Masters on the platform to earn <span class&equals;"xn-money">&dollar;2&period;5M<&sol;span> and counting&period; StartPlaying&&num;8217&semi;s continued growth points to a demand for professional Game Masters and evergreen interest in TTRPG games&period; Of all new users that join StartPlaying&comma; almost half have never played the game&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&&num;8220&semi;The tabletop role-playing community is at its best when it&&num;8217&semi;s inclusive&comma;&&num;8221&semi; added Chulick&period; &&num;8220&semi;We want StartPlaying to continue breaking down barriers for new players&period;&&num;8221&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Players can join StartPlaying at any skill level with or without a group&period; They can choose games based on their genre preferences&comma; play style&comma; whether they&&num;8217&semi;re seeking a one-and-done session or a long-term campaign&comma; and filter based on what best fits their schedule&period; The experience is highly customizable– at its core&comma; StartPlaying works towards holding space for all players&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;