How did Infinite Realms come to exist out of an investment pitch with Mitch Lasky at Benchmark?

I was pitching Haven to Mitch Lasky at Benchmark, explaining that players in our virtual world would eventually step through portals into other licensed fictional universes like Star Wars or Lord of the Rings. Mitch stopped me and pointed out that negotiating traditional licensing deals and building custom assets for established intellectual properties takes years and carries immense financial friction. He told me to forget the standalone game and instead build the underlying enterprise infrastructure to automate IP world adaptations. He backed the concept with a one million USD pre-seed check, leading to the creation of Infinite Realms.