Founder Friday: Roger Beaman & Anna Merzi, Co-Founders of Novel
Issue #4
Founder Friday is a new content series from SuperAngel.Fund highlighting companies in our portfolio and the inspiring founders behind them.
In our fourth edition, we are featuring Roger Beaman and Anna Merzi, Co-Founders of Novel, the Shopify-friendly platform for NFT commerce. Novel gives brands and creators the ability to create, mint and sell NFTs without a single line of code.
Novel is currently working with select partners as they refine the product and gear up for a wide scale public launch—coming soon. Novel’s no-code platform gives brands and creators the ability to create, mint and sell NFTs (non-fungible tokens) within their existing store, or through a brand new one.
For creators, Novel offers the ability to sell NFTs alongside physical products and merchandise, and provides access to a wider base of consumers via Shopify’s backend and checkout.
For merchants, Novel delivers the power of Web3 right on their storefront, enabling them to offer NFT holders VIP treatment with exclusive AMAs, drops, and events. They can build like-minded communities around different products with distinct NFT collections, and drive repeat-revenue in the secondary market each time an NFT is sold.
Both co-founders have prior startup-CEO experience, and bring a depth of knowledge to this new venture. Roger is a true technician with full stack engineering chops (holding multiple patents for his work across several companies) combined with a unique set of leadership and management capabilities that he’s flexed at the likes of Shutterstock, Goldman Sachs, and Reonomy. Before Novel, he was the Founder & CEO of Smartrr. Anna was a Kairos Fellow before launching AlgoPay and taking part in Techstars LA.
If NFTs and Web3 don’t sound super-familiar to you yet…just wait. They will soon.
Describe your company in 5 words or less.
Roger: Bringing Web3 to DTC
Anna: Approachable Web3 commerce
What was your primary motivation for starting your business?
Roger: To build a community that is a business; a business that builds communities for other businesses. There are few things more rewarding than bringing a vision to life with a great team.
Anna: The pillars of my career have always been creativity and democratization. How do we move towards a world where doing what you love is the norm, not a luxury? Web3 is a powerful response to that question, but few people today have access to it. Democratizing Web3 tooling will fundamentally change the way people create for and interact with one another - all while opening up new direct streams of income. That is a very beautiful thing that I’m grateful to be a part of.
What piece of advice would you give an entrepreneur starting a business today?
Roger: The foundation of your business is the relationship with employees, investors, and customers. You need to think of these people as respected partners and friends. Never make the mistake, no matter how much pressure you’re under, of playing the short game and screwing people over. Trust and reputation are earned in drops and lost in buckets. Life is long, play the long game.
Anna: Your customers are the hero of your story. Serving them is your North Star. Listen to their wants, empathize with their struggle, celebrate their wins. The moment your focus shifts away from what your customer needs from you, you’re off track.
What do you love to do in your free time?
Roger: I had a tough childhood, so my free time is spent looking for ways to give back to young people facing similar challenges. My favorite volunteer experience has been with Big Brothers/Big Sisters of America. Also, my wife and I are obsessed with horror movies and our 4-year old son.
Anna: I’m an avid reader. I’m rereading Richard Powers’ The Overstory now, which is a collection of shorts that really elegantly captures the human experience alongside the nature that surrounds us. It’s my third time picking it up - highly recommend.
What is the most interesting place you’ve visited recently and why?
Roger: Recently, I’ve been locked down by a pandemic, like all of us, but my favorite place on earth is Chiang Mai, Thailand. It’s a breathtakingly beautiful city at the base of a mountain and the culture is exceptionally warm and trusting.
Anna: Like all of us, Covid has kept me pretty stationary. The silver lining to this is it has led me to rediscover my city in a whole new way. Going for walks by myself through the parks and cityscapes that make up LA is now a favorite part of my routine; it helps me stay present.
What is your favorite app or tool in your work life and in your personal life?
Roger: In work life - Hubspot. They’ve rolled Calendly, Intercom, and SalesForce into a one-stop shop. As a person who obsesses over product and execution myself, I am impressed. In personal life - Audible. I get lost in good books while I travel around the city to meet people. It’s my favorite part of my routine.
Anna: I could be speaking for all of GenZ when I say my notes app is my go-to for both work and personal. It is my hub for everything from brain dumps and grand ideas to grocery lists.
What do you believe is the most important skill or attribute of a successful founder?
Roger: You need to be a passionate mercenary: to be level headed and scientific about what’s working and what’s not, while at the same time going at it with everything you’ve got.
Anna: When my dad was a kid, his father would wake him by saying “As you sleep, your competition is lapping you.” That’s extreme, but the ethos rings true. The best founders I know show up and move quickly. Do that on repeat and you will be amazed at your rate of learning and execution.
SuperAngel.Fund is an early stage fund that invests in Consumer, PropTech & Future of Work. The fund is led by Ben Zises who was the first investor and founding advisor to quip, Caraway & Arber. You can learn more and apply at SuperAngel.Fund.
