Charting New Avenues: Blake Chasen’s Path to Storytelling Innovation

Blake Chasen’s entrepreneurial journey is anything but linear. Like many founders, he’s faced his fair share of obstacles—pushing through unexpected hurdles, tough decisions, and the inevitable moments of doubt. But instead of giving in, Blake chose to pivot and pour his passion into something deeply personal yet universally impactful: Avenue.

Avenue is more than just a platform to read compelling stories; it’s about empowering individuals to become the authors of their adventures. By putting the user in charge of the narrative, Avenue is enabling the next generation of IP creators on the internet.

We invested in Avenue’s Seed Round in 2021 (then Tally Labs), drawn in by their vision to create storytelling and IP development tools. While the product has changed, our excitement to support Blake and the Avenue as they pursue their north star of transforming the magic of storytelling is steadfast. In this Q&A, Blake shares his thoughts on navigating the ups and downs of entrepreneurship, the decision to pivot towards Avenue, and how he’s helping others take control of their narratives, one story at a time.

What is the most valuable thing you’ve learned in building Avenue?

Blake: We launched many different products before ultimately seeing traction with Avenue. Across all of our product development, the most valuable thing I’ve learned is how fast you must launch early product versions. I know this is common online advice, but it’s hard to understand how fast you need to ship until you feel it live. 

When you’re building something valuable, you know almost immediately because you see people use the product no matter what’s wrong with it. We saw that with Avenue.

Even though the product’s first version had countless shortcomings and could have been improved further, parents and their children love Avenue. 

On the flip side, we’ve also launched many things that didn’t quickly have that initial engagement, and there were times when we hung onto those products for too long. Cutting bait can be as important as doubling down on a winner. 

In that regard, you might say that the number one skill you build as an entrepreneur at the seed stage is the judgment to identify winners and losers more quickly. Then, step 2 is scaling a winner efficiently.

What was your motivation for starting Avenue?

Blake: I’ve been an avid reader and a writer for as long as I can remember. In grade school, I used to write short stories for my mom. Fast-forward to college…Sitting bored during a finance internship, I added a second major in creative writing. 

What started as a natural passion has since developed into a more fundamental belief that exercising creativity is a human need. And kids are the most creative and imaginative people there are.

Avenue is less of a new “motivation” and more like the most current expression of a passion that I’ve always had – being creative and enabling others to do the same.

What’s your most proud moment as a founder? 

Blake: We have had many exciting moments, from revenue events to hitting meaningful milestones with our product and users. Before my entrepreneurial journey, I would have thought that those kinds of moments would make me proud. 

However, my proudest moments are when I talk to a user and hear about how our product is improving their life. Recently, I heard two stories from parents that made me feel exceptionally proud. 

One parent told me they’ve been using Avenue to generate personalized stories about their kid to overcome anxiety about returning to school. Another parent told me their children have improved their reading levels substantially because they’ve spent so much time reading personalized stories on Avenue. 

Moments like these make me prouder than any specific business milestone because they show me that we’re making a real difference in people’s lives. 

What keeps you up at night?

Blake: I’m kept up at night wondering if there’s anything keeping us from working as efficiently as possible.

We should be talking to users, building, or marketing/selling. That’s really it. Yet, on any given day, a dozen things besides those pillars will come up and feel more important even though they’re not.

What truly keeps me up at night (or worse, wakes me up in the middle of the night!) is when a side quest unrelated to our core goals creeps in. 

It’s critical that we have the courage to say no to things that aren’t directly related to building a better experience for our users and reaching more of them.

Why Avenue?

Blake: Unfortunately, almost everything we do on the consumer internet is mind-numbing. You see parents talk about this all the time. Products are designed to be addicting, and they’re designed to hook you as a consumer. 

Avenue allows people to tap into their own imagination. It has the same benefit as many of the most popular products on the consumer internet in that it generates engaging content. But what makes Avenue different—and special—is that the user is in charge of creating the thing they consume. 

In short, using Avenue brings a satisfaction that is absent from most other products on the consumer internet today.

What’s the most important trait you look for when hiring someone for the Avenue team?

Blake: We look for doers—people who love a challenge and are excited to define and execute a plan.

It’s worth noting that this is a very different skill set from what blue-chip corporate companies are looking for, and I think it’s important for founders to acknowledge this difference. 

As a former unathletic Division 3 basketball player, I’m reminded of what a coach used to tell me. He used to say that I had to “play in straight lines.” In other words, I needed to reduce all wasted movement because that was the only way I could get an edge on any play. 

At Avenue, we play in straight lines.

What are the top 3 apps used on your phone today?

Blake:

Learn more about Avenue at avenuestories.co and connect with Blake on LinkedIn. You can download Avenue from the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store.