Doppelganger Announces Three New vSide Partners and $11M in Funding

With Doppelganger's vSide opening up today, three new brands will join the ranks of existing partners like Interscope, Kitsons, and Rocawear. StarStyle, eDoc Laundry, and Downtown Records will all find homes in vSide. Additionally, Doppelganger announced $11 million in new funding, bringing its total funding to $25 million. The latest round was  led by new investor ComVentures, whose partner Michael Rolnick will join Doppelganger's board, along with existing backers Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Trident Capital, Draper Richards, KPG Ventures and Greycroft Partners. 

 

StarStyle and eDoc Laundry both focus on fashion, though with a media twist. StarStyle sells clothing lines that have been featured prominently on television, music videos, or film. Its virtual stores will allow users to watch the original content that featured the item before buying a virtual representation. There's been no mention of tying the purchases to physical goods, but Doppelganger is changing its selling models.

Sellers in vSide can change the flow of items leaving their stores to create limited editions and more demand. Also, some items can be restricted to users with certain levels of respekt, the in-world status meter. That provides an incentive for users to boost their levels, but it also ensures that a seller's items are only seen on the trend setting avatars of early decision makers. It seems like it might be worthwhile for the brand extension even if the premium items don't have higher price tags, though that's still an option.

eDoc Laundry is likewise making its merchandise hard to acquire. eDoc tells murder mysteries that users must work to solve and find secret characters with items for sale along the way.

"Our shirts have always told stories and brought together communities of people dedicated to solving their mysteries," saideDoc CEO Dawne Weisman. "Now, we’ll bring vSide not only innovative fashion, but also a new form of narrative social game play that we have created especially for this dynamic virtual environment."

Doppelganger says it will use the new funding "to support and accelerate the growth of the business, deliver innovative entertainment and tools to encourage users to participate, create and explore in a controlled online environment, while also looking to expand relationships with strategic media partners and brands."