Reimagining the Carnival: Two Bit Circus Raises $6.5 Million | Make:

raised $6.5 million with Techstars Ventures and Foundry Group. “The circus sector hasn’t been disrupted since Cirque du Soleil, and that was 20 years ago,” Techstars Ventures Managing Partner Mark Solon told the Wall Street Journal. “This is not your typical venture deal, but you don’t get outsized returns from following the crowd.” Two Bit Circus has developed a number of productions that blur the lines between performance, education, and traditional traveling shows. The Arcade Roadshow, which can be booked at conferences and other special events, engages carnival-goers with physical games that involve tumbling and dodging. They’ve experimented with custom events for clients and pop-up dinners, and in one notable effort, they built the Rube Goldberg machine for OK Go’s viral music video for the track “This Too Shall Pass.”