Maestro Media's Javon Frazier on Marvel, the Binding of Isaac, Umbrella Academy, and Creating Spinoffs Fans Love

Bloom in Tech

I talked with Javon Frazier about his work creating games, board games, subscription boxes, toys and more for fans while at Marvel for nearly a decade, and then at online-video company Studio71, before launching his own company, Maestro Media, over the past year. A self-described "black nerd" as a kid in South Los Angeles, he grew up reading comic books voraciously before picking up an MBA at NYU Stern School of Business, where he was the first African-American head of the Stern student body. After a stint at Atlantic Records, Frazier ended up at a dream job, creating merchandise, video games and other spinoffs of Marvel comic books. After the company's sale to Disney, he went on to Studio71, and worked with notables such as influencer Guava Juice, the creator of cult hit video game "The Binding of Isaac;" Dark Horse Comics' Umbrella Academy, Jeopardy king Ken Jennings and Magic: The Gathering creator Richard Garfield on projects, He's built a sophisticated process that leverages Kickstarter to market test and improve projects, and generate both startup capital and buzz We also talked about the responsibilities he feels as a Black entrepreneur and father of two young girls to build a more inclusive world of games, toys and other fan favorites.

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