Skibidi Toilet owner Invisible Narratives secures $25m funding, hires Mark Shedletsky as president

Invisible Narratives, the US entertainment company focused on helping digital creators build global franchises, has secured long-term capital partnerships with private equity firm Verance Capital and funds managed by affiliates of BC Partners Credit.

Mark Shedletsky

The initial investment of US$25m is tied to the company’s majority acquisition of Skibidi Toilet, the YouTube-born viral franchise.

BC Partners Credit has indicated plans to deploy more than US$300m of capital into the creator economy through the Invisible Narratives platform over time. The funding will be used to invest in or acquire IP and formats, with a focus on passionate audiences, repeatable formats and what the company describes as defensible characters or worlds.

Alongside the funding announcement, Invisible Narratives has appointed Mark Shedletsky as president, with responsibility for business operations and M&A strategy. Shedletsky has previously built and sold several start-ups and held senior executive roles at MTV and Simon Fuller’s XIX Entertainment.

Invisible Narratives was founded in 2018 by Adam Goodman, former head of Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks Studios, with filmmaker Michael Bay serving as creative advisor. The company describes its model as “tradigital,” combining the creative freedom of digitally native content with the franchise-building discipline and operational infrastructure of traditional Hollywood studios.

It has spent the past two years developing Skibidi Toilet, a series originating on YouTube, into a multiplatform franchise spanning consumer products, gaming, film and television. The property now counts more than 47 million subscribers, 20 billion views, more than US$150m of consumer spending and 8.7 billion visits across licensed Roblox experiences.

Ted Goldthorpe, partner and head of BC Partners Credit, said: “BC Partners sees a significant opportunity in the creator economy and has strong conviction in platforms with deeply engaged, loyal audiences. Invisible Narratives has demonstrated an ability to cultivate and scale creator-led businesses. We look forward to working with the team to deploy additional capital as they build a billion-dollar studio that extends the confines of traditional film and television.” Goldthorpe has joined the Invisible Narratives board of directors.

Shedletsky added: “Audiences have definitively migrated to platforms like YouTube, TikTok, Steam, and Roblox where visionary creatives are building the most valuable IP. Along with our capital partners Verance and BC Partners, Invisible Narratives is uniquely positioned to become the studio of the future.”

Previous Invisible Narratives projects include horror film Crimson, led by FaZe Clan creators, a Telly Award-winning livestream format produced for Twitch, and various projects with HBO Max and STX Studios.