Sean Gearin

Before Web3, I spent years inside entertainment and media — at Warner Bros., in financial services at Chase, and across growth and strategy roles in virtual production and digital media. I earned a Duke MBA and a Loyola JD, though I was always more interested in building than practicing.

In 2021, I saw something forming at the intersection of storytelling, community ownership, and blockchain that felt genuinely new. I founded Pixel Vault with less than $20,000 and a conviction that digital-native IP built with communities — not for them — was the future of media.

Within twelve months we had raised $100M from Velvet Sea Ventures and 01 Advisors, signed by WME, executed what became the most-discussed brand collaboration in Web3 history with Adidas and Bored Ape Yacht Club, and established partnerships spanning DraftKings, the NFLPA, Dana White, Endeavor, MLB, and UFC.

I spoke on the main stage at VeeCon 2022 and as a featured speaker at VeeCon 2023 — Gary Vaynerchuk's flagship conference — alongside Arianna Huffington, Daymond John, Drew Barrymore, and the CMO of JPMorgan Chase.

In parallel, I co-founded WAGMI United — built the strategy, traveled the UK scouting clubs, and helped acquire Crawley Town FC alongside Daryl Morey and ESPN's Preston Johnson. I brought in Adidas as the club's kit sponsor in year one — the only premium apparel deal in League Two that season — and helped form a Moneyball-style analytics team alongside Daryl Morey, Rufus Peabody, Jeff Ma, and Statsbomb. The club earned promotion to League One in year two.