"AGLET" Brings the Experience of Metaverse Commerce to Life

A location-based game app for sneakerheads, AGLET. By collecting "Aglet Coins" through the pedometer function on the smartphone, users can buy sneakers within the game. Following our previous interview*, the company, after winning the Media & Brand Awareness category at the LVMH 2021 Innovation Awards and securing funding, is set for a major update and further expansion of the app's functionalities. We interviewed our founder and CEO, Ryan Mullins, about the features post-update and the vision of the company.

Towards the Next Generation of Commerce

You raised about $17 million in funding this year. What changes have come about as a result?

We raised significant funding to further develop the game. We've always wanted to challenge commerce from the perspectives of shopping, collection, and gaming. Simply put, the idea was: what if major brands like Nike, Adidas, New Balance, Atmos, Bape hired game developers and designers to design their commerce?

As mentioned in our previous interview, our initial team didn't include anyone who had previously created a game. However, we understood the culture of gaming and had played numerous games. Because of this, we focused on bringing in talent to create an ideal game. For example, we brought in the head of design from Riot Games and hired someone who had worked on famous games like "Command & Conquer" at the major game studio Scopely as the head of product. Additionally, we brought in experts in areas like systems economy. This allows us to evolve the current simple mechanism of walking around and collecting "Aglet Coins" into a more complex game. To achieve this, we needed talented individuals well-versed in gaming, so we expanded our team, which now comprises over 20 staff members worldwide.