The Team

Erik Mendelson brings two decades of parallel experience in entertainment and technology — a combination that makes him uniquely qualified to architect BARS Fund's dual-asset thesis. As an executive music producer, he has operated inside the economics of music IP: understanding catalog valuation, royalty mechanics, and the industry relationships that determine deal quality.

As an award-winning technologist and blockchain innovation leader, Erik has navigated the operational and compliance landscape of digital assets from the inside. He understands how Bitcoin treasury structures work, where they fail, and what it would take to fund them sustainably.

The BARS Fund thesis — using music royalties to finance a Bitcoin treasury — is a direct expression of Erik's experience at the intersection of both industries. He is the architect of the dual-asset structure that no other fund has built.

Shawn Mims — known globally as MIMS — is a multi-platinum recording artist whose career spans music performance, catalog ownership, and active investment in music IP. His first-hand experience as a rights holder gives him a dimension of insight that institutional investors in music IP cannot access: the view from inside the catalog.

As a serial entrepreneur, MIMS has built businesses across entertainment, investment, and technology. He brings to BARS Fund not just industry credibility, but an active pipeline of catalog acquisition opportunities that institutional capital alone cannot source — relationships with artists, managers, and estate representatives who know and trust him.

His focus within BARS Fund is artist catalog acquisition: identifying premium IP, structuring deals that are fair to artists and generative for investors, and building a music portfolio that produces the royalty distributions the dual-asset strategy depends on.

Corey Llewellyn — known in the industry as CL — is a tenured music executive with a career built on the operational side of music: marketing, promotion, and branding at scale. As the founder of one of the world's most influential music marketing companies, he has managed the commercial lifecycle of catalog IP across virtually every genre and platform.

CL's role within BARS Fund extends beyond operations: his marketing infrastructure gives the fund's catalog acquisitions immediate commercial leverage. When BARS Fund acquires music IP, CL's promotional network activates that catalog — driving streams, sync placements, and licensing revenue from day one. That operational advantage increases the royalty yield of every catalog we own.

His experience as a serial entrepreneur also brings financial and structural discipline to BARS Fund's operations — the same approach that has built lasting businesses in an industry where most companies fail within the first few years.