Freak'n Genius

Freak'n Genius was a digital entertainment and technology company that initially aimed to democratize animation by leveraging motion-sensing technology.

The venture was established in November 2011 by co-founders Kyle Kesterson, the CEO, along with Clayton Weller and Dwayne Mercredi. Kesterson, an illustrator and former toy developer, brought a strong creative and design background to the team, having previously worked for companies like Funko and Giant Thinkwell. His journey is one of resilience; having faced homelessness and dropped out of high school, he found his calling in the startup world after attending a Startup Weekend. This background fueled his passion for creating tools that empower self-expression.

Freak'n Genius first gained significant attention as a participant in Microsoft's inaugural Kinect Accelerator program in 2012. The original concept was a platform that used the Kinect sensor to allow users to animate characters in real-time with their own body movements, effectively creating digital puppets. This performance-based animation was designed to be simple and accessible, removing the technical barriers of traditional animation. The company secured an initial angel investment of $525,000 in October 2012 after graduating from the accelerator.

Pivoting to mobile, the company launched the YAKiT and YAKiT Kids iOS apps. These applications allowed users to take any photo, highlight a mouth, and record a short audio clip to create an animated video. Users could add stickers and change the voice pitch to enhance the comedic effect before sharing on social platforms. The YAKiT Kids version was designed as a safe, COPPA-compliant environment for younger users and was used in educational settings to foster creativity. The apps proved popular, with YAKiT Kids briefly becoming the number one free kids' app in the iPhone app store. The business model included a white-label offering for media companies to use the animation engine for their own content, attracting brands for creating "snackable content" for social media. The company raised further funding, including $275,000 from Windforce Ventures in January 2014 and $350,000 from VegasTechFund in July 2014, bringing its total raised capital to $1.25 million. Following the investment from Tony Hsieh's fund, the company relocated from Seattle to Las Vegas. The company was later noted as being known as Campfire.

Keywords: animation technology, mobile animation app, Kinect accelerator, YAKiT app, user-generated content, digital entertainment, Kyle Kesterson, motion capture animation, photo animation, video creation tool, social sharing app, Seattle startup, VegasTechFund, performance-based animation, COPPA compliant app, educational technology, viral video creator, digital puppetry, snackable content, creative expression tools