How much did MojiLaLa raise with this deck?

According to the catalogue data, MojiLaLa raised $1,500,000 in 2016 following this presentation. The deck itself does not specify the 'Ask' amount or the terms of the round, which is common in decks shared publicly after a successful close.

What was MojiLaLa's primary growth strategy?

The strategy was entirely organic. Slide 7 highlights that they reached 200,000 downloads with '$0 Market Spend.' This was achieved by building a massive library of 15,000 emojis from 2,000+ independent artists, creating a marketplace effect where the content itself drove user discovery.

Which messaging platforms did MojiLaLa support?

The deck lists several major global platforms as key distribution channels on Slide 9, including the Apple iMessage Store, Baidu, Line, Gfycat, and Kika (the largest Android keyboard). Slide 5 also references WeChat, Kik, Telegram, Messenger, and Snapchat.

Who were the founders of MojiLaLa?

The company was co-founded by CEO Dana Loberg and CTO Sahin Boydas. Their backgrounds include education at Yale and professional experience or affiliations with 500 Startups, Fox, and McCann Worldgroup, as shown on Slide 10.

Is there a business model or revenue slide in the deck?

No. The 11-slide deck completely omits a business model, revenue projections, or unit economics. It focuses exclusively on the problem, the solution, the growth of the artist community, and user traction metrics.

MojiLaLa Pitch Deck (2016): 11-Slide Breakdown

See all 11 slides of the MojiLaLa pitch deck — a 2016 deck — with a slide-by-slide teardown of what the deck does well and where it falls short.

MojiLaLa's 11-slide deck from 2016 is a masterclass in demonstrating early-stage traction and market fit. By positioning itself as the essential bridge between independent artists and fragmented messaging platforms like iMessage, Line, and WeChat, the company successfully raised $1.5 million. The deck relies heavily on impressive growth metrics, such as acquiring over 2,000 artists and 15,000 emojis within five months. While it lacks explicit financial projections or a detailed business model slide, it compensates with strong social proof—including a slide featuring caricatures of top-tier VC…

Key takeaways

The company achieved 200,000 organic downloads in just four months with zero marketing spend (Slide 7).
MojiLaLa successfully onboarded over 2,000 artists within its first six months of operation (Slide 7).
The platform's library grew to 15,000 emojis in five months, demonstrating rapid supply-side scaling (Slide 7).
The deck identifies a 'Disconnect Between Designers and Chat Platforms' as the core problem it solves (Slide 5).
MojiLaLa claims the #1 position as a sticker distributor for Apple iMessage (Slide 8).
The engineering team holds significant technical credibility, with 7,000 stars on GitHub and a top 20 ranking in San Francisco for Swift (Slide 10).
Distribution is diversified across major global platforms including Baidu, Line, Kika, and Gfycat (Slide 9).
The deck uses caricatures of prominent investors like Peter Thiel and Marc Andreessen to suggest a broad market desire for the product (Slide 3).

The Marketplace for Digital Expression

MojiLaLa’s 2016 pitch deck is a concise, visually-driven presentation that captures the peak of the 'sticker' and 'emoji' craze. At a time when messaging platforms were opening up their ecosystems to third-party developers, MojiLaLa positioned itself not just as an app, but as a marketplace. The deck is designed to prove one thing: that there is a massive, untapped supply of creative talent that needs a bridge to the billions of users on chat platforms.

The Hook: Market Scale and Social Proof (Slides 1-3)

Slide 1: Title Slide The deck opens with a clean logo and the simple descriptor: 'Emoji Marketplace.' It establishes the brand identity immediately with a playful character in the corner, signaling the creative nature of the business.

Slide 2: Emojis are a Global Phenomena This slide establishes the Total Addressable Market (TAM) through usage volume rather than dollar amounts. It cites '6B Sent Daily' and '2 Trillion Sent Yearly.' By using the paper plane icon (commonly associated with Telegram or messaging), it anchors the product in the communication sector.

Slide 3: Everyone Wants Emojis! This is a unique 'social proof' slide. Instead of listing logos of partner companies, it features caricatures of high-profile venture capitalists and tech leaders (including Peter Thiel, Marc Andreessen, and Kevin Rose) alongside their firm logos (A16Z, Y Combinator, Greylock). While it doesn't explicitly claim these individuals are investors, it uses their likeness to suggest that the smartest minds in tech recognize the emoji trend as a significant movement.

Defining the Gap (Slides 4-6)

Slide 4: Transition Slide A repeat of the title slide, used to reset the narrative before diving into the problem/solution phase.

Slide 5: Problem - Disconnect Between Designers and Chat Platforms The core conflict is presented visually. On one side, an artist; on the other, a fragmented wall of logos including WeChat, Line, Snapchat, and Facebook Messenger. The arrows indicate a broken or difficult path for artists to get their work onto these platforms. This identifies MojiLaLa's role as a middleman or aggregator.

Slide 6: We Connect Designers with Chat Platforms The solution slide shows the product in action across different interfaces. It displays an iMessage-style interface and an Android-style sticker shop. This proves the product is cross-platform and already functional, showing specific sticker packs like 'Designer’s Life' by an artist in Indonesia.

The Traction Flywheel (Slides 7-9)

Slide 7: 2,000+ Artists Joined MojiLaLa in Just 6 Months This is the 'money slide' of the deck. It features a steep growth curve showing artist acquisition from August to January. Key metrics highlighted include:

15k Emojis in 5 Months · 200k Downloads in 4 months with $0 Market Spend

This slide is critical because it proves the marketplace is working on both sides: artists are joining (supply) and users are downloading (demand) without the company needing to pay for users.

Slide 8: #1 Sticker Distributor for Apple iMessage MojiLaLa stakes a claim to dominance in the most important ecosystem of the time. Being '#1' provides a powerful competitive moat and suggests that their curation or distribution tech is superior to individual artists trying to go it alone.

Slide 9: Key Distribution Channels This slide expands the scope beyond Apple. By listing Baidu, Line, Kika, and Gfycat, MojiLaLa demonstrates that they are not platform-dependent. The mention of Kika as the 'Largest Android Keyboard' is a strategic nod to their reach in the Android ecosystem, which is often harder to monetize but offers massive scale.

The Team and Summary (Slides 10-11)

Slide 10: Powerful Engineer Team The team slide focuses on the two co-founders, Dana Loberg (CEO) and Sahin Boydas (CTO). The 'Powerful Engineer Team' headline is backed by two specific technical accolades:

Engineer Team has 7K Stars in GitHub · Ranked Top 20 in San Francisco in Swift

The inclusion of logos like Yale, 500 Startups, and 20th Century Fox provides institutional credibility. The focus on GitHub stars is a clever way to quantify technical talent for non-technical investors.

Slide 11: Summary and Contact The final slide reiterates the three most impressive metrics: the #1 ranking in iMessage, the 15k emoji library, and the 200k organic downloads. It ends with a clear call to action (the founders' email address) and a whimsical graphic of a flying stack of cash, perhaps a nod to the $1.5M they were seeking or the revenue potential of the marketplace.

What Works in the MojiLaLa Deck

The deck excels at quantifying traction . In an era where many 'content' startups struggled to show growth, MojiLaLa provided hard numbers on both supply (artists/emojis) and demand (downloads). The fact that this growth was achieved with '0 Market Spend' is a massive signal to investors that the product has inherent virality or strong SEO/ASO (App Store Optimization).

The visual storytelling is also highly effective. By showing the 'Disconnect' on Slide 5 and the 'Connection' on Slide 6, the founders explain a complex marketplace dynamic in seconds. They don't over-explain the tech; they show the result.

What is Missing from the MojiLaLa Deck

The most glaring omission is the Business Model . There is no mention of how MojiLaLa makes money. Do they take a cut of sticker pack sales? Is it an ad-supported model? Is there a subscription? While the 'flying cash' on the last slide hints at monetization, the mechanics are left to the imagination. For a 'Later' stage deck (as categorized), investors would typically expect a slide on Unit Economics, LTV (Lifetime Value), and CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost), even if the current CAC is zero.

Additionally, there is no Competition Slide . In 2016, the sticker market was crowded with players like Giphy, Bitmoji (acquired by Snapchat), and various platform-native stores. Failing to address how MojiLaLa differentiates from these giants is a missed opportunity to define their 'moat.'

What a Founder Should Copy

Founders should emulate the Technical Credibility section on Slide 10. Instead of just saying 'we have great engineers,' MojiLaLa used third-party validation (GitHub stars and Swift rankings). This is much more persuasive than a list of previous job titles.

Another takeaway is the Supply-Side Focus . If you are building a marketplace, proving you can acquire the 'supply' (in this case, artists) is often harder than getting users. MojiLaLa’s graph showing 2,000+ artists joining in six months proves there is a 'push' from the creative community to use their platform, which is a leading indicator of long-term success.

Frequently asked questions

How much did MojiLaLa raise with this deck?: According to the catalogue data, MojiLaLa raised $1,500,000 in 2016 following this presentation. The deck itself does not specify the 'Ask' amount or the terms of the round, which is common in decks shared publicly after a successful close.
What was MojiLaLa's primary growth strategy?: The strategy was entirely organic. Slide 7 highlights that they reached 200,000 downloads with '$0 Market Spend.' This was achieved by building a massive library of 15,000 emojis from 2,000+ independent artists, creating a marketplace effect where the content itself drove user discovery.
Which messaging platforms did MojiLaLa support?: The deck lists several major global platforms as key distribution channels on Slide 9, including the Apple iMessage Store, Baidu, Line, Gfycat, and Kika (the largest Android keyboard). Slide 5 also references WeChat, Kik, Telegram, Messenger, and Snapchat.
Who were the founders of MojiLaLa?: The company was co-founded by CEO Dana Loberg and CTO Sahin Boydas. Their backgrounds include education at Yale and professional experience or affiliations with 500 Startups, Fox, and McCann Worldgroup, as shown on Slide 10.
Is there a business model or revenue slide in the deck?: No. The 11-slide deck completely omits a business model, revenue projections, or unit economics. It focuses exclusively on the problem, the solution, the growth of the artist community, and user traction metrics.

Cover slide of the MojiLaLa pitch deck — Later (per catalogue) 2016 — MojiLaLa pitch deck, slide 1 (2016)

MojiLaLa pitch deck: the facts

Company: MojiLaLa
Year: 2016
Stage: Later (per catalogue)
Slides: 11
Sector: Emoji Marketplace / Digital Content
Deck type: Pitch Deck
Outcome: $1,500,000 Raised
Headquarters: San Francisco, USA

MojiLaLa pitch deck PDF

The full MojiLaLa deck is embedded on this page and can be read slide by slide in the browser — no download or account required. Each slide is covered in the breakdown above.

What the MojiLaLa pitch deck was used for

This deck is MojiLaLa’s 2016 fundraising presentation, catalogued as a later-stage seed marketplace deck with 11 slides focused on its emoji and sticker marketplace. It was used around the time MojiLaLa participated in 500 Startups Batch 19 to raise a seed round targeting approximately $1.5M, following early traction of 200,000 organic downloads with zero marketing spend. The deck positions MojiLaLa as the bridge between independent artists and fragmented global messaging platforms such as iMessage, Line and WeChat. Public commentary on the deck links it directly to the seed financing that ultimately totaled $1.5M from investors including Great Oaks Ventures, Betaworks Ventures and IVP partner Dennis Phelps.

Business model: Marketplace for emoji/sticker packs where independent artists upload designs, which are then distributed via MojiLaLa’s own keyboard/app and partner messaging platforms; artists typically receive around 50% of sales profits.

Round: Seed
Raised: $1.5M seed round
Investors: Great Oaks Ventures., Betaworks Ventures., Dennis Phelps (IVP partner)., 500 Startups / 500 Global (accelerator and investor)., hubraum (listed as a key investor in later company profiles).
Founded: 2016
Founders: Dana Loberg, Sahin Boydas.
Headquarters: Silicon Valley / Sunnyvale, California, United States.
Industry: Digital content / emoji and sticker marketplace for messaging platforms.
Total funding: $1.5M total equity funding across multiple rounds.

Year: 2016–2017 (deck dated 2016; TechCrunch reports the seed round in August 2017, and Yahoo Finance notes the $1.5M goal earlier in 2017).

Raising: Seed round in the $1M–$5M range, with a goal of raising $1.5M publicly stated in a Yahoo Finance feature and matching the amount later reported as closed.

Lead investor: Great Oaks Ventures is identified as a seed investor and is commonly cited first among MojiLaLa’s backers, consistent with it acting as a lead or primary institutional investor in the $1.5M seed round.

Use of funds as presented: Public materials emphasize using the seed capital to scale the sticker marketplace, onboard more artists, deepen integrations with messaging platforms worldwide, and grow distribution partnerships to reach ‘billions of emoji fans’.

What happened after the MojiLaLa deck

Using this 2016 marketplace deck and subsequent demo‑day presentation, MojiLaLa secured approximately $1.5M in seed funding from a group of institutional and angel investors, participated in 500 Startups Batch 19, scaled its artist and sticker catalogue significantly, and ultimately served as the foundation for the founders’ next venture, Leo AR, with indications that the MojiLaLa business or asse

Raised a **$1.5M seed round** from investors including Great Oaks Ventures, Betaworks Ventures, and IVP partner Dennis P
Participated in **500 Startups Silicon Valley Batch 19** and presented MojiLaLa at 500 Demo Day with metrics such as 2,0
Expanded the marketplace catalogue to more than **12,000 stickers** in the MojiLaLa keyboard and later to over **50,000
Evolved the business into Leo AR, with the founders later describing MojiLaLa as the initial sticker marketplace that pr

What the MojiLaLa deck got right

Compelling early traction on both demand and supply sides. The deck and demo‑day presentation highlight **strong early traction**: 200,000 organic downloads in four months with zero marketing spend, 2,000+ artists joining in six months, and 15,000 emojis created in five months, which together demonstrate marketplace velocity on both sides.
Clear marketplace positioning around creators and distribution. MojiLaLa is clearly positioned as a **bridge between independent sticker artists and fragmented global messaging platforms** (iMessage, Line, WeChat, Viber, Kakao), which gives investors a straightforward thesis around unlocking distribution and monetization for creators.
Creator‑friendly revenue sharing model. The business model shares approximately **50% of sales profits with artists**, clearly aligning incentives and supporting ongoing supply‑side growth by making the platform attractive and fair to creators.
Validation through accelerator participation and demo‑day performance. The company’s participation in **500 Startups Batch 19** and the ability to present strong metrics at demo day validate execution quality and help de‑risk the team for investors looking at a 2016 seed‑stage consumer marketplace.
Strong investor syndicate in a major startup ecosystem. Being based in **Silicon Valley/Sunnyvale** with backing from well‑known seed investors (Great Oaks Ventures, Betaworks Ventures, IVP partner Dennis Phelps) signals both ecosystem embeddedness and access to follow‑on funding and strategic relationships.
Credible founding team with demonstrated evolution to a second venture. Public narratives later show that MojiLaLa served as the foundation for Leo AR and that the founders successfully navigated a transition or sale of their first company, suggesting that the 2016 deck helped support a broader long‑term vision around digital expression and AR content.

What could have been stronger

Funding ask and terms are not explicit in the deck. Public analyses of the deck note that it does not clearly state the round size or funding ‘ask’ on the slides, even though the company ultimately raised $1.5M; this can make it harder for investors to quickly anchor on the desired check size and terms when viewing the deck in isolation.
Limited visibility into marketplace unit economics. While the deck and demo‑day slides showcase strong download numbers and artist adoption, externally available commentary does not highlight detailed unit economics (take‑rate, customer acquisition cost, lifetime value) or cohort behavior, which later‑stage seed investors may expect for a marketplace model.
Defensibility vs native and competing sticker platforms not fully developed. MojiLaLa’s positioning as an emoji marketplace in a rapidly evolving messaging ecosystem means long‑term differentiation versus platforms’ native sticker stores and competing keyboards is not deeply articulated in public descriptions of the deck, leaving questions about defensibility and platform risk.

How an investor would read this deck

What draws attention

Early **traction metrics** such as 200,000 organic downloads in four months with zero marketing spend and rapid artist onboarding (2,000+ artists in six months, 15k emojis in five months) would stand out as evidence of product‑market fit on both the demand and supply sides of the marketplace.
The deck’s framing of MojiLaLa as a **bridge between independent artists and fragmented messaging platforms** like iMessage, Line, WeChat, Viber and Kakao highlights a clear distribution‑driven value proposition and network‑effect potential.
Participation in **500 Startups Batch 19** and the ability to attract recognized seed investors such as Great Oaks Ventures, Betaworks Ventures and IVP partner Dennis Phelps would signal validation and access to downstream capital.
The business model of sharing approximately **50% of sales profits with artists** could appeal to investors as a creator‑friendly structure that supports supply growth and brand goodwill in the artist community.

Risks that stand out

**Platform dependency risk** from relying on external messaging apps and keyboard ecosystems (iMessage, Line, WeChat, etc.), where policy or technical changes could impact distribution and monetization.
Potential **competition from native sticker/emoji stores** and other third‑party keyboards, which could compress margins or limit MojiLaLa’s ability to differentiate and maintain distribution dominance.
Risk that **early traction metrics may not translate into sustainable monetization**, if a large share of downloads do not convert to paid sticker purchases or if artist payouts constrain margins.
Execution risk around **scaling artist quality and curation** as the marketplace grows beyond tens of thousands of stickers, to avoid catalogue clutter and maintain a compelling user experience.

Questions this deck invites

How did download growth and active user metrics evolve after the initial 200k organic downloads—specifically retention, engagement, and conversion to paid sticker purchases?
What were MojiLaLa’s unit economics at the time of the seed round (take‑rate, artist payout structure in practice, customer acquisition cost, and payback period) and how did these compare to other digital content marketplaces?
How reliant was MojiLaLa on third‑party messaging platforms for distribution, and what specific partnership or platform‑risk mitigation strategies were in place (e.g., contracts, API dependencies, platform rule changes)?
What was the company’s roadmap for evolving from a 2D sticker marketplace into broader digital expression or AR content (given later evolution into Leo AR), and how did that influence the seed investors’ thesis?
How concentrated was revenue across top artists and regions, and what mechanisms were used to ensure ongoing artist quality, curation, and discovery in a catalogue that quickly grew beyond 15,000 emojis and 50,000+ stickers?

What founders can take from the MojiLaLa deck

A focused marketplace narrative that clearly connects independent creators to large, fragmented distribution channels (messaging platforms worldwide) can be compelling when supported by early traction metrics such as downloads and creator sign‑ups.
Demonstrating strong **organic growth with zero marketing spend** is particularly powerful for consumer apps and marketplaces, as it signals underlying product appeal before significant capital is deployed on paid acquisition.
Participation in a well‑known accelerator (such as 500 Startups) and showcasing demo‑day metrics publicly can help validate the opportunity and attract institutional seed investors, especially when combined with clear marketplace positioning.
Aligning incentives with creators—such as giving artists around 50% of sales profits—can be a key differentiator in creator‑driven marketplaces, helping to accelerate supply‑side growth and goodwill.
Even when a deck ultimately leads to a successful raise, omitting a clearly articulated funding ask and use‑of‑funds can create avoidable friction; explicitly stating the round size and key milestones tied to the capital helps investors quickly assess fit.
Early positioning in a specific niche (emoji/stickers) can serve as a stepping‑stone to broader categories (e.g., AR content, as later seen with Leo AR), suggesting that founders can use traction in a narrow segment to justify expansion into adjacent, higher‑upside markets.

MojiLaLa pitch deck: common questions

What does MojiLaLa do?

MojiLaLa is an emoji and sticker marketplace that lets independent artists and studios upload sticker packs, which are then sold and distributed through the MojiLaLa keyboard/app and partner messaging platforms, with artists typically receiving 50% of the profits from sales.

How much did MojiLaLa raise with this pitch deck?

According to TechCrunch and multiple funding databases, MojiLaLa raised a **$1.5M seed round** led by Great Oaks Ventures and Betaworks Ventures, with participation from IVP partner Dennis Phelps. Catalogue data and a dedicated pitch‑deck breakdown explicitly connect this 2016–2017 deck to raising approximately $1.5M.

Who invested in MojiLaLa’s seed round?

MojiLaLa’s deck and related materials highlight investors such as Great Oaks Ventures, Betaworks Ventures, and IVP partner Dennis Phelps in the $1.5M seed round. Later profiles and company check data list additional backers including hubraum and 500 Startups/500 Global among a total of five investors.

When was this MojiLaLa pitch deck used?

The deck was created around **2016** as a seed‑stage marketplace pitch and was later shown at **500 Startups Batch 19 Demo Day** in early 2017. Public analyses and catalogue data tag the deck as a 2016 seed marketplace presentation that preceded or accompanied MojiLaLa’s $1.5M seed financing.

Was MojiLaLa part of an accelerator when it used this deck?

Yes. MojiLaLa went through **500 Startups Silicon Valley Batch 19**, and its demo‑day presentation is publicly available, showing metrics such as 2,000+ artists in six months, 200k downloads in four months with $0 marketing spend, and 15k emojis in five months.