A Deep Dive into the Web3 Content Platform StoryCo: Building the Next Marvel Universe with the Power of Fans
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A Deep Dive into the Web3 Content Platform StoryCo: Building the Next Marvel Universe with the Power of Fans
Enabling creators and enthusiasts to co-create, co-own, and jointly operate and develop new story universes.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsIf you're a devoted Marvel fan, have you ever wished to own a piece of the Marvel IP?
If you love writing, have you ever felt the urge to continue a novel you adore?
When a beloved story is turned into a terrible movie, have you ever joined others on social media to express your anger: “This isn’t what we wanted!”
Throughout history, great stories have always had the power to bring people together. With the help of advanced entertainment industries and modern communication technologies, stories now spread faster and influence society more deeply than ever. As a result, nearly everyone has become a fan of some story—be it The Three-Body Problem, the Marvel Universe, Doraemon, or 1984. People love these stories so much that they spontaneously create vast amounts of derivative works, even inserting themselves as characters within them. Often, we feel like we are the true owners of these stories—but in reality, we’ve never actually owned the stories we cherish.
Due to lack of resources, connections, and communication channels possessed by large institutions, fans struggle to make their voices heard and have almost no influence over the future development of the IPs they love. This causes content evolution to gradually lose representativeness, prevents talented creators within communities from finding opportunities to shine, and deprives original creators of deeper engagement and interaction with their audience.
The current Hollywood creative model
What if creators and fans could co-create, jointly own, and collaboratively manage and grow new story universes? This is exactly what StoryCo—a recently funded $6 million startup—aims to do.
The StoryCo Model
StoryCo is an open media platform where people can share story ideas, create interactive and immersive storytelling experiences, and sell digital works. Once a story concludes, its IP and a corresponding governance organization are formed. But this isn’t the end—it’s just the beginning. At this point, IP expansion enters a more open phase: anyone can contribute new characters or story branches, and community members collectively decide whether to adopt ideas, how to reward contributors, how funds should be allocated for IP development, and which Hollywood studios to partner with to bring the IP to the big screen.
Team Background
StoryCo was founded by two brothers.
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J.P. Alanís is a Hollywood veteran who has worked across multiple production companies. He previously founded Golf Media, a direct-to-consumer media platform. Before launching StoryCo, he served as an executive at Whalerock Industries, a production company behind several series on Discovery Channel, HBO, and Netflix. Whalerock also operates a studio dedicated to sci-fi, supernatural, and fantasy audio programs, expanding foundational IPs into TV and film—a process central to StoryCo’s future ecosystem.
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His brother Justin Alanís is a tech entrepreneur and investor. He ran a small investment fund for nine years and founded a proptech startup focused on rental platforms, which he successfully exited in 2018. Since then, he has focused on Web3 and community-driven projects, participating in MetaCartel Ventures—one of the earliest compliant Venture DAOs—and later becoming active in the SeedClub ecosystem after connecting with its founder Jess.
Other core team members bring diverse expertise: some have led commercial creative efforts with top sports and entertainment celebrities; others have extensive experience developing AR/VR experiences and interactive video products; some have participated in the full production cycle of dozens of films at Universal Pictures, while others specialize in smart contract development and Web3 applications.
How to Create an IP via StoryCo – A Case Study: "The Disco Ball"
StoryCo defines four key professional roles: Story Architect, Story Artist, Story Musician, and Producer.
The Story Architect is the lead creator who proposes the concept and writes the novel or script. Artists visually interpret the narrative, musicians compose soundtracks, and Producers act as bridges between creators, the community, and Hollywood after the IP forms—securing funding and resources, establishing studio partnerships, and overseeing production.
Currently, StoryCo is incubating a sci-fi multiverse story called "The Disco Ball".
Its Story Architect is Kyle Killen, a renowned Hollywood producer and showrunner best known for creating the high-budget adaptation of the game Halo, with episodes costing up to $10 million each.
Building on Kyle’s narrative, several Hollywood-based visual artists and musicians are crafting visuals and music. Supported by the platform, they’re transforming the script into a multi-chapter interactive graphic novel.
Community Time
Through StoryCo, "The Disco Ball" launched its StoryPass—a free-to-claim but non-transferable NFT. Holders board the ISS with Captain Alma and embark on a cross-dimensional journey.
"The Disco Ball" StoryPass
Users don't just passively consume the story—they actively interact, decode clues, suggest solutions to challenges faced by the protagonist, help determine plot branches, and even participate in real-world puzzle-solving events. These interactions deepen emotional engagement with the story. Contributions and explorations generate data points known as “story moments,” recorded on the StoryPass as proof of participation and eligibility for future rewards.
Interactive experience design for the story (details blurred for confidentiality)
Once the interactive exploration phase of "The Disco Ball" concludes, a collection of NFTs called Astronauts will be minted, officially launching the "Disco Ball" DAO. Holding an Astronaut NFT grants membership in the DAO. Most active participants during the interactive phase will receive Astronaut NFTs as gifts. The remaining NFTs will be sold publicly, with proceeds forming the initial treasury of the "Disco Ball" DAO.
Astronaut collectibles representing membership in the "Disco Ball" DAO
If "The Disco Ball" gains popularity, the DAO launches with a high-quality IP, an engaged community, and a meaningful treasury to support further development. All future revenues generated from the IP—including subsequent NFT sales, royalties, licensing fees—will flow back into the DAO treasury, with members collectively deciding how to use the funds.
All that came before is merely prologue. Under community stewardship, "The Disco Ball" will continue evolving. Through StoryCo, creators worldwide can write fan fiction, expand subplots, or introduce new characters based on the main narrative. If their work is recognized by the DAO, they’ll be rewarded; the best contributions may be integrated into the canonical storyline, with creators receiving substantial incentives including IP ownership rights.
The DAO can also issue public tasks based on its expansion needs—for example, fleshing out specific side plots or characters. Some story elements may require expert input, such as scientific consultants for depictions of interstellar travel. These tasks will be openly available, and anyone can claim them to earn rewards.
Even fans who don’t create content can contribute through feedback and voting on story directions.
StoryCo deliberately avoids jargon-heavy terms like NFT and DAO, using instead familiar language such as “pass,” “organization,” and “story treasury.” It's likely the platform will offer custodial solutions so users unfamiliar with crypto wallets can join seamlessly, enabling access to broader mainstream audiences.
Multiple Possibilities
While "The Disco Ball" began with institutional backing and professional creatives, StoryCo is an open platform—anyone, including you and me, can initiate a story and serve as Story Architect. So long as a story resonates and builds community consensus, it can evolve into a full-fledged IP.
In a conversation with co-founder JP, I learned that IP creation on StoryCo will follow four models:
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StoryCo-incubated IPs.
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Fully community-created IPs.
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Expansion of existing established IPs.
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Narrative development for existing NFT projects—for example, creating stories for Bored Apes.
All four paths hold potential for breakthrough successes. In November, I learned the team was already in talks with several well-known film studios about collaborating to expand their existing IPs on the StoryCo platform—including major superhero franchises familiar to many.
Relationship Between StoryCo, the Producer Community, and the "Disco Ball" DAO
StoryCo was initially named StoryDAO, but due to confusion around the term, it rebranded to StoryCo (“Co” meaning co-creation) before announcing its first IP. Nevertheless, traces of DAO remain—the parent company is still legally registered in Delaware as Story DAO Labs Inc.
From the above, it’s clear that StoryCo itself is not a DAO—at least not yet. But it is deeply connected to the DAO concept.
At launch, StoryCo opened applications for a “Producer Community,” selecting 300 individuals from diverse cultural and skill backgrounds and issuing them exclusive “Producer” NFTs. These included directors, writers, lawyers, artists, investors, and Web3 participants. I was fortunate to join this group, which gave me deep insight into the project.
However, this community does not own or control the platform. Instead, it acts as a talent and idea pool supporting StoryCo and "The Disco Ball." This represents a classic hybrid model of business-community collaboration. Members contribute to creative, governance, and product development, and receive exclusive perks—such as free NFTs, special events, premiere invitations, and possibly partial ownership. Given that "The Disco Ball" is highly likely to become a series or film, all Producer Community members will be credited as co-producers, earning at minimum honorary status as “Hollywood producers.”
But the Producer Community is more than just a network. When members minted their Producer NFTs, each paid 0.1 ETH—not to the founders, but into a shared treasury under collective management. Thus, the Producer Community is also a micro-treasury DAO. Beyond supporting StoryCo and community creations, questions remain about its long-term identity: Will it eventually receive equity in StoryCo? These aspects are still undefined. Until now, most efforts have focused on platform development, with limited community involvement. As the platform launches and "The Disco Ball" IP matures, more participation opportunities will emerge. The application portal, closed for six months, will soon reopen, accepting seven new members per month.
Despite past low activity, members have started contributing organically—discussing compliance and copyright frameworks needed for operations, suggesting casting choices for future "Disco Ball" roles, and sharing industry contacts. I personally introduced several high-quality IP holders and business teams to StoryCo. Members learn from one another and explore collaborations. The community has already initiated proposals—on reopening applications, setting up review systems—and even funded and voted to include a community artist in designing the antagonist for "The Disco Ball."
Community proposals
As a support community around StoryCo, the Producer Community doesn’t own or control the platform. Yet it’s deeply involved in its development—especially for the first IP—and will play an increasingly important role going forward. Clarifying these relationships may take time. This ambiguity, however, is common among brand-aligned community DAOs I’ve observed.
Still, people have gathered here because they believe in community-driven creativity, resonate with StoryCo’s vision, and want to learn, observe, and contribute from day one. As a community, members get to know one another, exchange knowledge, and offer mutual support. The journey itself is already a reward.
Various community activities
Compared to the ambiguous Producer Community, the "Disco Ball" DAO is clearly defined: it’s an independent DAO, a community organization that owns and operates the "Disco Ball" IP. StoryCo is building compliant legal structures to enable communities to share IP ownership through such models. "The Disco Ball" won’t be the only DAO on StoryCo. As new IPs emerge, more DAOs will form and grow—perhaps eventually giving rise to community-owned universes rivaling Star Wars or Marvel.
Final Thoughts
StoryCo is a bold experiment and an innovative co-creation project. Judging by its investor and advisor lineup, team composition, and community support, StoryCo has made a strong start.
Yet exploration carries uncertainty. How much creative energy can this model unleash? Is it scalable? Without strong initial backing, can purely community-driven IPs succeed? I don’t have answers to these questions.
But one thing I’m certain of: story fans want to participate in creation. They have the ability to contribute, and those contributions deserve recognition. Shared ownership and proper incentives will strengthen the bond between fans and the stories they love, ultimately building a more open and inclusive story universe.
Note: StoryCo currently only offers registration for the DiscoBall Pass. The interactive experience is not yet live. Most information in this article comes from public sources, private community meetings, and direct conversations with both founders, with minimal subjective speculation. However, discrepancies between this description and the final product may still occur upon launch.
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