Mantel, the social network built specifically for collectors, announced the release of its mobile app Wednesday.
Until now, the platform has been web-based, with its community of collectors interacting in a familiar social media feed-style ecosystem, but with one key difference: It's all about collecting.
“Reddit meets Instagram for collectors,” Mantel CEO Evan Parker told cllct.
Now, collectors will be able to reach that community via the new app, which Parker says will start with the core functionalities of the web-based platform and quickly incorporate new features such as groups, which will allow users to huddle in niche communities surrounding topics as narrow as 1991 SkyBox basketball cards.
Some of the features touted in the app’s initial release include a personalized feed depending on collector preferences, exclusive content, collection showcase and marketplace insights, which Mantel describes as “real-time trends and analysis to make informed buying, selling, or trading decisions.”
When Parker, backed by Alexis Ohanian, Reddit co-founder and founder of VC firm 776, and Brent Montgomery, who built a reality TV empire fueled in part by the success of “Pawn Stars,” first started rolling out the platform to users, he had to make a tough decision: Wait until everything was perfectly buttoned up, complete with an app and every feature on the product roadmap, or get it into the hands of the public and see where the community leads.
On the advice of Ohanian, Parker chose the latter route.
Parker says he sometimes thinks he should have released an app sooner, but remains steadfast in his belief the process of testing and seeing what people liked and didn’t like was invaluable to getting Mantel where it is now.
“We're really trying to just make it the way that people want to use it,” Parker said. "What's useful for everybody, and what's going to get people to come back and hang out.
"I'm not the owner of all the answers, and so if I don't ask people what they like, I'm gonna be building something that I like, but maybe nobody else does.”
This drive to build a community for collectors — in a way the big incumbent social media platforms such as Twitter and Instagram are not — is possibly the most important part of Mantel’s mission.
Parker sees the platform as a bit of a “safe space,” one where collectors can tune out the noise on other platforms and engage solely with content and communities in the collecting world, whether that’s sports cards or coins.
It also has been clear to Parker from the start that the expansion of categories beyond sports cards is a non-negotiable.
“Every single collector I know … we collect more than one thing,” Parker said.
The authenticity of the community has stood out for Mantel. There are familiar faces, like-minded users and Reddit-style comment threads solely focused on collectibles, unencumbered by the interlopers found elsewhere attempting to wedge politics or crypto into the conversation.
Any time you get a community of collectors together, buying and selling is bound to transpire. And while Mantel isn’t interested in necessarily becoming a true marketplace, Parker realizes the importance of ensuring users aren’t burned by poor experiences on the platform.
To combat this, ahead of the release of features such as direct messaging, which will lead to an increased volume of off-platform transactions, Mantel plans to institute features such as reputation scores and other guardrails meant to protect members of the community.
The app is a natural step for the company, and one Parker understands is a must-have to remain relevant to users that are largely mobile native. The beta version of the app allowed for Mantel to adjust to the needs of collectors and listen to feedback.
One of the biggest challenges Parker foresees on the horizon will be protecting the communal feel of the platform as things scale.
“I'm sure that Twitter on day one was much nicer than it is now,” Parker said, noting bad actors are a fact of life when it comes to growing a venture-backed social media company.
“Our belief is that people are going to be searching for niche communities that talk about the things they care about,” Parker added. “Mantel can be the place that you go for those people seeking out these spaces.”
Will Stern is a reporter and editor for cllct.