James Paul

Chief Operating Officer, Co-Founder

2024 - Current

Director of Community

2021 - 2024

→ Direct management of 17.5k Discord, 75+ Physical and Virtual Events , $500k in giveaways, that resulted in 200k+ mobile app downloads. → Achieved 6x Discord growth, contributing to $7M Seed and $36M Series A funding round, 20x valuation since joining. → Drove $7M+ in revenue, via hosting a 20 hour Twitter space, personally responding to 600+ help desk tickets in 24 hours, in-discord tournaments (4x activity), SEO-optimized GIFs (20M+ views), and high engagement sales events, ensuring a concierge level customer exp. → Led a community team of 6 with a kindness-first approach, nicknamed the "Compassion Engineer" & "Shadow Connector" thrived in ambiguity, leveraging research and open door community office hours to track community sentiment for optimal impact. → Proposed, sourced, and project managed $400k worth of swag creation orders scaling to 44 countries, including custom snowboards and apparel, through hands on vendor management and custom built logistical tracking systems. → Created CRM using qualitative metrics and managed marketing tech stack, optimizing targeting, engagement, and sales, collaborating across Design, UI, Product, Blockchain, and 3D teams, organized in Asana for Project Management.

Venture Partner

2022 - 2024

→ Sourced deal flow by networking & identifying opportunities, assessing early-stage metaverse startups to ensure a technological future we all want to live in.

Owner

2023 - 2024

→ Pioneered an AI-driven personalized greeting card platform leveraging OpenAI's API for advanced image analysis and Dall-E's generative capabilities to transform user-uploaded photos into custom pet greeting cards, offering a blend of personalization and AI creativity. → Solved the "VCR problem" of AI tools with intuitive UI democratizing access to 2,000 MAU upon MVP launch. → Managed cross-functional teams using agile project management, including developers, designers, and marketing professionals on 4 week sprint.

VR/AR Installation & LBE Producer

2018 - 2021

→ Taking virtual & augmented reality to the people. Responsible for 115,000+ XR live user demos at installations worldwide! → Festivals & Events: Warner Media Upfronts 2020, WarnerMedia Day 2019 aka HBO Max Launch, World Economic Forum (China), SXSW, Telluride Film Festival, VRLA, EarthX (2018 & 2019), EMA Honors Benefits Gala, IADB Forum (Colombia), UN Biodiversity Conference (Egypt), Lindau Nobel Laureate Mtg (Germany) → Clients & Partners: HBO, Turner Broadcasting, WarnerMedia, AT&T, Mars Inc., Kekst CNC, Wonderspaces, Mk2, WITHIN, Vulcan Productions, The Ocean Agency, Gentle Manhands, New Reality Co., Gateway VR Showroom, Littlstar, Environmental Media Association, STRIVR, Inter-American Development Bank, Happily → Content: CHORUS (6 person multi-user VR installation), TREE (VR utilizing haptics & scent), READY PLAYER ONE Activation & LBE Physical Overhaul, SPHERES, MEZO Mixed Reality (20ft A/V temple networked with AR HMD), INTO THE NOW (VR), CORAL VISION 20/20 (360 VR), WHERE THOUGHTS GO Hardware: Magic Leap, Oculus Quest, Oculus Rift, Microsoft Hololens, HTC Vive, Oculus Go, Mk2 Pod System, Subpac

Guest Lecturer & Mentor

2021 - 2021

→ Co-taught 6 week graduate level course, "Social Change in Immersive Storytelling" with a 100% course completion rate. → Concept projects pulling from source material from Maya Angelou, Tupac Shakur, Li Bai, and Langston Hughes. → Mentored a cohort of 12 students, fostering a collaborative learning environment in narrative storytelling for VR.

Associate Producer on WarnerMedia Upfronts 2020

2020 - 2020

→ Managed $1M budget for WarnerMedia Upfront at Madison Square Garden

Event Production Manager

2019 - 2019

HBO Max Launch Event // WarnerMedia Day → Personally managed a $750K budget for the successful event including a comprehensive Warner Brothers lot takeover that led to a $1B increase in market cap, 15x increase in social volume and 2M+ social impressions day after. Recap deck available upon request. → Directed diverse staff & event logistics for over 600 HNI/VIP stakeholder guests, spanning the entire guest journey including security, valet, set dressed tailored lot tour, a reception, catering, photography, zoned audio, musical talent, production assistants and swag. → Curated 10 IP brand activations from franchises such as Game of Thrones, Westworld, and The Dark Knight alongside 125 custom print graphics including wrapping the iconic Warner Brothers Water Tower.

Office of Chris Milk

2017 - 2018

→ Produced VR installations for 20k+, 1 demo at a time, at premier events such as Sundance, SXSW, TED, Unity Vision, Google Zeitgeist, Tribeca FF, a16z CEO BBQ & more, demonstrating project management for bespoke user experiences. Highlight: 30' JR pasting of Agnes Varda. → Fabricated & built high-quality 6-figure VR installations on a 3-figure budget, showcasing financial prudence and resource allocation skills. → Supported CEO, managing both professional and personal tasks, including high profile collaborations. → Produced sizzle reel for $40MM Series B raise. → Part of core team during a period of rapid growth and innovation, culminating in a successful $400M+ acquisition by Meta.

Associate Producer

2015 - 2016

GHOSTBUSTERS (2016) → Promoted from Line Producer/Executive Producer's Assistant to Associate Producer, by showcasing exceptional communication & stakeholder management with a diverse political group of creatives, talent, unions, agencies, lawyers, and studio executives. → Ensured adherence to $200M budget through budget tracking with Studio Execs, papered deal memos, produced splinter unit & swag. → Gifted $20 from Bill Murray, an apology from Dan Aykroyd, and tears of joy from Ivan Reitman, enquire to learn more.