Casey Grooms Of Soulbound On The Future of Gaming

An Interview With David Leichner

Don’t limit yourself by assuming a certain group will/won’t be interested in what you’re building. Make your product or platform accessible to as many people as possible, and see what they do with it before writing anyone off.

As a part of our series about what’s around the corner for the gaming industry, we had the pleasure of interviewing Casey Grooms.

Casey Grooms is the co-founder of Soulbound, an avant-garde social gaming platform empowering the new creator economy. Casey is a serial entrepreneur who founded companies across mobile gaming, user acquisition, and targeting. Dedicated to a tech-driven future, he is an investor in startups ranging from inclusive game studios to AI digital twins.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you share the “backstory” behind what brought you to this particular career path?

After college, I started my first company while juggling a banking “day job.” We made mobile phone games (during the mobile phone boom!) and were eventually acquired. My entrepreneurship adventure kicked off here — and I explored several other up-and-coming sectors like fashion tech and virtual goods.

Thanks to my work in mobile gaming, I realized the demand for monetizing this content with advertising, and Pocketmath was born. Pocketmath introduced groundbreaking software for real-time bidding on mobile ads. We raised $20 million over our Series A and B rounds, hit $80 million a year in revenue, and scaled up to 50 employees.

After I exited Pocketmath, I started dipping my toe into the very early blockchain space. I was excited about the proven ownership blockchain afforded, and I created a platform for artists to simplify creator rights. From there, I spent several years building a mobile user acquisition and retention agency, helping mobile and subscription-based apps find pockets of inventory and users to download, install, and sign up for the various games and apps we worked with.

This path across advertising, music, and blockchain led me back to Web3 and gaming, where I co-founded Soulbound in 2022. I wanted to apply what I learned in these sectors and create something that addressed user and gamer needs. Today, we’re shaking up the game industry with verified gamer identities, unique social interactions, user acquisition paths for games, and rewards for artists and streamers.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

I exited my first company in 2018 and knew I wanted to do something that benefited artists. While I had casually invested in crypto for a few years, I wanted to build something that used blockchain technology, so I helped create an early social network and blockchain-powered ownership solution for musicians. The platform aimed to change the stakes for musicians during the contract negotiation phase, enabling them to avoid 360 deals and giving them more leverage over their creative rights. Through a connection of a connection, I actually pitched the COO of Parkwood Entertainment, Beyoncé’s previous management company, and got her on board as a co-founder. Just a few months later, the 2018 crypto crash prevented this company from lifting off. I made the difficult decision to close down the project to protect investors during a turbulent time for the industry.

While disheartening, this experience taught me the importance of acknowledging market conditions and building a company that could survive uncertain events. I also learned that your investors are one of your most valuable assets. Knowing when to exit is an underrated skill.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

I’ve benefited from mental and emotional support from my respective business partner(s) at each stage of my career. An amazing partner to collaborate with, brainstorm, and organize ideas is instrumental to a successful career and life. This support provides comfort and stability in all aspects of your personal and professional life as you grow and evolve. I firmly believe that a happy home is a healthy home, and a happy company is a healthy one.

I’m also grateful for the life companions in my past and present and any future partner(s) I might encounter. I look forward to sharing their experiences and business endeavors. It’s never a solo adventure.

How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?

As someone who was once a young founder with a big dream, I know how important it is to find the right support from advisors and investors. I’m proud to give back to the industry with what I’ve learned and back companies working to improve the world.

For one, I’m an investor in MidBoss, an inclusive game and media production studio that provides a creative platform for LGBTQ+ and other underrepresented groups. I also invested in Curie, a startup using ML and generative AI to produce luxury-grade 3D digital twins for e-commerce, the metaverse, and AI training. Finally, I’m a General Partner at Rhinocorn Ventures, where we back co-investments for startups. Working with these founders inspires me to keep going, and I’m excited about their ongoing impact.

Ok fantastic. Let’s now move to the main focus of our discussion. Can you tell us about the technological innovations in gaming that you are working on?

Soulbound is an avant-garde social gaming platform driving the new creator economy.

At Soulbound, we know gamers are the heart of the ecosystem. That’s why we’ve developed Soulbound Gamer Identities, one-of-a-kind player profiles with endless possibilities. Our users can share a video of their best game KO, post a new high score, display quest trophies, or do all three while earning our token, DRIP. DRIP uses proof of play to verify identity and accomplishments.

We’re also pioneering a new way to make GameFi social. Boring emoji reactions and “likes” make most social interactions feel very 2019. We’re bringing street style to Soulbound with social vandalism. ‘Soulmates’ can slap a sticker on a friend’s post to roast their meme attempts or sticker their favorite game’s announcement of new skins. These aren’t your typical WhatsApp stickers–artists can sell sticker packs in the Soulbound Sticker Shop, making it easy for anyone to personalize their posts.

Soulbound aims to become the go-to platform for gamers to stream and show off their achievements. Through streaming bounties, in-game quests, and DRIP rewards, Soulbound gives gamers a platform to earn money doing what they love.

Soulbound isn’t just for gamers to interact with other gamers, either. We believe word-of-mouth referrals are still king, and a (positive!) viral video can send a studio’s profits through the roof. Beyond the streams of user-generated content native to Soulbound, game studios can leverage data from Soulbound’s DRIP token to reach gamers on a whole new level. It’s a win-win: studios can reach aligned gamers, and users receive content matching their interests. The studio journey goes beyond just acquisition–games can engage their community through exclusive content and streaming opportunities.

How do you think this might disrupt the status quo?

As the web3 gaming industry matures, new areas like StreamFi, GameFi, and SocialFi will be central to onboarding everyday users. Soulbound is somewhat like a cross between Twitch and an avant-garde Steam, where players can livestream games they are playing, earn money, track their achievements, and display stickers earned in-game. We’re taking the best of several platforms to deliver something comprehensive and fun.

Soulbound technology eliminates several common occurrences in gaming: duplicate profiles and boring social interactions. Soulbound’s DRIP token ensures gamer accomplishments are uniquely theirs. It’s game over for duplicate profiles and unfair bounty farming, and the start of a new era of provability for gaming rankings.

We’re building Soulbound to become the biggest web3 live streaming and social gaming platform, providing a next-level experience for players, streamers, creators, and artists. The platform will move past web2 and web3 divisions to seamlessly bridge the two areas — at the end of the day, good gaming is good gaming. The key difference with Soulbound lies in how players, creators, and streamers monetize their time, and all games will have to move toward this new paradigm.

You, of course, know that games and toys are not simply entertainment, but they can be used for important purposes. What is the “purpose” or mission behind your company? How do you think you are helping people or society?

Soulbound’s mission is to empower the new creator economy. The new creator economy is a paradigm shift in how we see creatives. Artists, musicians, actresses, and producers might be what we currently associate with the sector. The future includes new roles like streamers, game developers, content creators, meme makers, and social media personalities.

The new creator economy we’re driving is one where anyone, regardless of background, can find success producing original work. Digitalization has reduced the need for expensive arts degrees, unpaid projects, and artificial connections. While the “traditional” creative sector might need time to catch up, Soulbound is dedicated to providing new and diverse voices with resources to build community and earn revenue from their work. Society will benefit when creative content reflects the unique experiences of different genders, orientations, cultural backgrounds, socioeconomic classes, and more.

I’m very interested in the interface between games and education. How do you think more people (parents, teachers etc.) or institutions (work, school etc.) can leverage games and gamification to enhance education?

This is a fascinating area, and I think gaming and education go hand-in-hand. We live in an attention economy, where attention spans are shorter, and compelling content is everywhere. Gamifying education, whether in a school setting or for work, training, or certifications, will help individuals absorb more takeaways. Anything currently presented as a document or slideshow can be turned into an interactive experience with rewards.

For example, the educational quiz game platform Kahoot has attracted 8 million educators and 10 billion (non-unique) users. People want to move away from the traditional textbook model, and gaming is a promising (and fun!) alternative.

There will also be an increased emphasis on gaming and design skills in the workplace. As more enterprises incorporate gamification, knowing how to design informative and engaging programs will be essential. If the younger generation can grow up comfortable with gaming and aware of what makes something work, they’ll have a sharp advantage in the labor market.

How would you define a “successful” game? Can you share an example of a game or toy that you hold up as an aspiration?

A successful game is one that isn’t afraid to change. When studios are developing new games, it’s easy to get attached to a certain storyline or feature. Gaming studios should listen to users and prioritize their needs over the status quo.

Aside from being an early avid gamer in my youth (N64 and Playstation were my favorites), I was lucky enough to play some of the earliest PC games. I spent hours a day on a game called Unreal Tournament, which eventually turned into the massive Unreal Engine, now owned by Epic Games, that any game studio can build on. Seeing the evolution of a game into an entire platform and engine for anyone to create with is absolutely inspiring. With that inspiration, I hope to inspire the next creator economy 3.0 and support creatives to build new livelihoods and inspiration streams with Soulbound.

What are the “5 Things You Need to Know To Create a Highly Successful Game” and why?

1 . Audience is everything. Offering gamers an opportunity to give feedback and share suggestions can make all the difference for gaming studios. As the people interacting with your product daily, they provide valuable insights that your team can apply for rapid improvements. Studios and platforms should encourage an open dialogue between them and their users to keep creative juices flowing.

2 . Don’t be afraid of technology. In our work at Soulbound, we see a lot of skepticism of web3 in the “traditional” gaming communities. We know the gamer identities, social interactions, and data on our platform are something gamers are looking for, and we want to encourage them to focus on utility rather than technology.

3 . Don’t limit yourself by assuming a certain group will/won’t be interested in what you’re building. Make your product or platform accessible to as many people as possible, and see what they do with it before writing anyone off.

4 . Support content creators. Streamers and influencers have unprecedented power in the industry, and it’s our responsibility to reward their contributions. Forming relationships with these creators shows them you care and appreciate their work.

5 . Gamers love showing off their accomplishments. You want your game and platform to give something “shiny” to its users that they can display on their profile. Whether that’s a digital badge, trophy, or a unique score, helping users highlight their successes is a great retention strategy.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

My mindset is that less is more — whether in shopping, business, or projects. I like the idea of a “cult of quality,” where the focus is on doing one or two things well. This relates closely to the minimalist movement, whether it’s products in software, fashion, textiles, or content.

“Fast fashion” leads to a throw-away culture, increasing waste and a disposable mindset. A quality-first mindset is beneficial for people and the planet. Buying and supporting quality products empowers an individual or business to curate a sustainable lifestyle and brand, leading to fewer repeat purchases, less waste, and more mindful consumption.

I also encourage everyone to focus their energy and time on one aspect of their life. Life is too chaotic already — take time to turn your phone off, pursue a mental cleanse, and reduce noise. Your life will feel more intentional, and you can focus your time and energy on what matters to you and what makes you a happier, healthier human. Less is more.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

My favorite quote is Latin: Igitur quī dēsīderat pācem, præparet bellum. This translates to “Therefore let him who desires peace prepare for war.”

As an ever-evolving individual, different quotes have resonated with me at different stages in my career. In the last five years, I’ve been subscribing to the idea of “if you desire peace, prepare for war.” To me, this means always building, preparing, and ensuring I have the right resources, including those I surround myself with. This is my preparation for “war.”

A large portion of my time and focus goes to hunting for resources. With Soulbound, this can include top talent, quality artists, or a star player who can move the needle. This is my preparation for the uncertainties of business. I’m dedicated to finding, hiring, and recruiting the best.

Preparing for war also means following current events. Staying informed about trends and industry news is time-consuming but worth it. Doing so allows us to continuously iterate our product-market fit and stay ahead of the competition as we continue to scale.

How can our readers follow you on social media?

You can connect with me on LinkedIn here, and visit Soulbound on our website, Telegram, Medium, Twitter, and Discord.

Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational.

About The Interviewer: David Leichner is a veteran of the Israeli high-tech industry with significant experience in the areas of cyber and security, enterprise software and communications. At Cybellum, a leading provider of Product Security Lifecycle Management, David is responsible for creating and executing the marketing strategy and managing the global marketing team that forms the foundation for Cybellum’s product and market penetration. Prior to Cybellum, David was CMO at SQream and VP Sales and Marketing at endpoint protection vendor, Cynet. David is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Jerusalem Technology College. He holds a BA in Information Systems Management and an MBA in International Business from the City University of New York.